 SNEAKING IT IN Teaching Anthroposophy to the Kids One portion of the Waldorf curriculum plunges kids directly into Anthroposophical doctrines. Sadly, cruelly, it is a part of the curriculum aimed at the youngest students, those who are least able to think for themselves, the ones who are least able to resist. Many of the stories told to Waldorf students in the lowest grades embody Anthroposophical theology. Indeed, the "Biblical" stories told to young Waldorf students often bear only the most tangential relation to the actual contents of the Bible. The stories are often subtly modified to be Anthroposophical, not Judeo-Christian. Likewise, the myths and legends told to Waldorf students often contain Anthroposophical doctrines. In some instances, Waldorf teachers make their Anthroposophical messages plain to their students; in other cases, they do not. Sometimes the surprising, occult "content" of the stories exists mainly in the teachers' minds. In these instances, the students may not receive the messages the teachers have in mind. But in other instances, when the teachers are more forthright, the Anthroposophical belief system makes clear appearances in the classroom, and then the children are clearly subjected to indoctrination. Overall, an Anthroposophical mood and atmosphere is created in Waldorf classrooms, with the intention not so much of teaching young kids specific Anthroposophical concepts (usually), but of planting seeds in the children’s souls (always). The myths and "Bible" stories and legends and fairy tales combine to encourage the kids to feel and dream as their Waldorf teachers do — they are intended to start the kids down the path toward Rudolf Steiner’s embrace. Here's a brief survey. "BIBLE" STORIES Here are some quotations from AND THERE WAS LIGHT, a book that revises Bible stories to conform to Anthroposophical belief. We will also dip into other, similar Anthroposophical texts. Waldorf teachers use such books to guide their classwork with the young students. When they recite these stories in class, they are presenting Anthroposophical dogma in only slightly disguised form. We'll begin with a story that may seem unobjectionable, since it stays close to Judeo-Christian tradition. But telltale signs of Anthroposophical occultism begin to intrude, signs that will become more pronounced in subsequent stories. Waldorf teachers who present such material in class are conducting none-too-subtle indoctrination of the youngest, most susceptible children. The process may justifiably be termed brainwashing.  AND THERE WAS LIGHT, by Jakob Streit (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 2006). Starting at the beginning, let's consider the story behind the Creation story, according to Waldorf belief: “Lucifer stayed with the lesser angels and asked them, ‘Will you help me build a throne? I will sit upon it and be your god’ ... Michael saw what Lucifer was doing. Full of dread, he brought the news to God Father ... God Father spoke, ‘Tell Lucifer to destroy his heart. I will give him a new, shining heart’ ... But Lucifer had stirred up many angels; he did not want a new heart ... [T]he spirits separated into two groups. Michael’s group was above, Lucifer’s below ... Lucifer and his angels fought [against the good angels] desperately ... Their faces became gloomy and ugly. Claws grew out of their fingers ... Lucifer and his followers were cast from heaven ... Since that time there exists a dark, lower world. The evil spirits [of the lower world] forged a throne for Lucifer ... Michael closed the cleft in heaven. A scar remained where it had been.” — AND THERE WAS LIGHT, pp. 8-9. • Waldorf schools usually claim to be nonsectarian and nondenominational. Yet Waldorf students are told religious story after religious story. These stories reinforce the spiritual atmosphere in Waldorf classrooms. • In the Waldorf belief system, Lucifer is one of the two great demons who oppose the proper spiritual evolution of humanity. The other is Ahriman. The importance of Lucifer is stressed in many Waldorf stories. [See "Lucifer" and "Ahriman".] • Lucifer has a corrupted heart. In Waldorf belief, the heart is not a pump but a crucial sense organ, the seat of feelings that (unlike the ditherings of the deceitful brain) lead us to spiritual truth. Through stories like this one, Waldorf children are taught the great importance of the heart, [See "Steiner's Specific" and "Reality and Fantasy".] • "God Father" is a unique Anthroposophical formulation. This is not God the Father or Jehovah, but an amorphous ground of being, the Godhead. [See "God" and "Genesis".] According to Steiner, "God the Father" is only a distant ideal, while Jehovah is a lowly god, one of many. • Steiner also taught that Michael is the god who rules over the current stage of our evolution. He is the warrior god who serves as the champion of Christ, the Sun God. [See "Michael" and "Sun God".] Michael works to repair the damage caused by Lucifer and Ahriman. Through many stories, Waldorf children are taught the great importance of Michael. So this story, which stays fairly close to orthodox ideas, nonetheless begins to veer into occult doctrines. Waldorf teachers who tell young students stories such as this are, at a minimum, introducing the kids to an Antroposophical perspective.  The first day of Creation, as described in Anthroposophy, is rather different from what we find in the Bible. “As God Father sat upon his throne, he called out seven words through heaven. The seven colors of the rainbow appeared and shone in seven circles around his throne ... Behind the rainbow, majestic fire angels lifted a great cloud curtain, revealing a hall of heaven that had never been seen before. In the hallway were thousands upon thousands of sleeping souls, countless as the stars in heaven ... The fire-angels lowered the curtail and opened the gate of heaven ... Light began to shine, to blaze and sparkle brightly. The darkness withdrew to the depths. Fire-angels stripped flames from their garments, and the new world grew warm. It bubbled and flamed and flashed. Thunder rumbled and rolled so loudly that the evil spirits in the deep huddled in fear. Above them the angels’ eyes, like a thousand suns, sparkled from the bright light of the first day of creation.” — AND THERE WAS LIGHT, p. 13. • As we noted previously, Anthroposophy is a polytheistic faith, with vast numbers of gods, including "fire angels." Many Waldorf stories condition children to accept polytheism. • There are no references to "fire angels" in the Bible, but in Anthroposophical doctrine fire angels or "fire spirits" are gods two levels above man, and they played a major role in the Creation. [See "Polytheism".] Waldorf students receive such lessons in stories like this one. • As for the number seven — there are no references to this number in Genesis 1 or 2, save for the seventh day of creation. In Anthroposophy, however, seven is a magic number — Steiner called it the number of perfection. [See "Magic Numbers".] Steiner taught that there will be seven main stages of human evolution, and there are seven planetary spheres (seven circles), and the human constitution has seven members, and children mature in seven-year-long periods, and, and... Here, Waldorf students are introduced to the importance of the number seven. • The reference to thunder is at least an oblique reference to Thor, whom Steiner identified as a real god, one who played a leading role in human evolution. Waldorf students hear a great deal about Thor. [See "The Gods".] • As for "evil spirits in the deep," both the Bible and Anthroposophy speak of evil spirits. [See "Evil Ones".] In the Bible, their home is Hell. Anthroposophy rejects the Biblical description of Hell. Instead, according to Waldorf belief, evil beings are consigned to the abyss — the deep chasm separating Earth from the higher worlds. [See "Hell" and "Higher Worlds".] In this story, Waldorf students are told of evil spirits huddled in such a chasm or "deep." Steiner explicitly rejected monotheism, and Waldorf students are encouraged to think that the universe swarms with spiritual powers, gods and demons, spiritual beings both above and below us.
Here is the last day of Creation, according to the Waldorf belief system. “When everything had been created, God Father looked upon His work and saw that it was good. He gave the angels dominion over the new creation. The Elohim ruled over the sun and the sun light, the moon and stars. The Cherubim held power over lightning and thunder. The rocks, the water, the air and the fire — all were given their rulers.” — AND THERE WAS LIGHT, p. 29. • In Anthroposophy, angels are gods. There are many gods and many ranks of gods. The Elohim are gods four levels above man, while the Cherubim are gods eight levels above man. [See “Polytheism”.] • Astrology plays a large role in the Waldorf belief system, with gods dwelling on planets and stars (Jehovah, for instance, is a Moon god, Christ is the Sun God, Lucifer hales from Venus, and so forth). Here we see gods being given dominion over stars and planets. [See “Planetary Spirits”.] • According to Waldorf belief, various gods extend their powers through natural phenomena on Earth. But, in addition, “nature spirits” or "elemental beings" are present in nature. These are invisible presences lower than gods: Gnomes reside in the ground ("rocks"), undines in the water, sylphs in the air, and salamanders in fire. [See “Neutered Nature”.] According to Waldorf belief, such beings really exist, and Waldorf students are told many tales about them. (Gnomes are especially present in Waldorf schools; gnome dolls and figurines can be found in many Waldorf classrooms.) Comparing the Anthroposophical version of Creation with the Biblical version shows significant differences. Children who are told the sorts of stories found in AND THERE WAS LIGHT are not being given orthodox Bible stories. Here are the ending verses in Genesis 1 and the beginning verses in Genesis 2, telling of the sixth and seventh days of Creation. Note that the gods mentioned in the Anthroposophical version (Elohim, Cherubim) are not mentioned here; also, according to the Bible, dominion is given not to the gods and nature spirits, but to man. And, certainly, according to the Bible there is one God, one Creator; the Bible is not polytheistic. “27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. “28 God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’ “29 Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. “30 ‘And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so. “31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day. “1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. “2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. “3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.’” — THE HOLY BIBLE, New International Version.
AND THERE WAS LIGHT was written by Anthroposophist Jakob Streit. Another Anthroposophist, Roy Wilkinson, wrote a complementary volume, COMMENTARY ON THE OLD TESTAMENT STORIES (Rudolf Steiner College Press, 2001), which we should dip into from time to time. Here is Wilkinson's discussion of the Creation story in the Bible.
The Waldorf meaning of the Creation story is radically unlike anything you will hear in a synagogue, church, or mosque. • "Spiritual science," in Waldorf belief, is Anthroposophy, the occult system created by Rudolf Steiner. It is also sometimes called occult science or esoteric science. • A key concept in Anthroposophy — one not near the hearts of anyone who takes the Bible literally — is evolution. • Evolution as described by Steiner has no connection to the biological process traced by modern science. Steiner taught that we have evolved through "planetary conditions" or "planetary stages" — we began on Saturn ("a huge globe of heat"), progressed to the Sun (gas and light), and then to the Moon (liquid), before coming to Earth, the fourth of our planetary stages. Each of the planetary stages encompasses the entire solar system, including the Earth as it exists during that period. • Our evolution is overseen by numerous "spiritual beings" or gods, who have a divine plan for our development to higher and higher forms. • "In the beginning..." Wilkinson explains that this phrase in the Bible refers not to the real beginning of the universe but to the beginning of our current, fourth planetary stage — life on Earth in its present incarnation. • The most shocking part of the Waldorf version of creation entails God. In Waldorf belief, God is not Jehovah, God Almighty, the Creator, or Allah. “God” is a committee of high-ranking spiritual beings. Anthroposophists see the Old Testament as a set of stories about the activities of numerous gods of varying ranks. Here, Wilkinson says that the gods called Spirits of Form (aka Elohim or Exusiai) were instrumental in creating us. • Wilkinson's discussion of the word "Elohim" is, at best, debatable. Here is a truer account: "Though Elohim is plural in form, it is understood in the singular sense. Thus, in Genesis the words, 'In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth,' Elohim is monotheistic in connotation, though its grammatical structure seems polytheistic. The Israelites probably borrowed the Canaanite plural noun Elohim and made it singular in meaning in their cultic practices and theological reflections." [ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA.] Thus, while Wilkinson argues that "Elohim" connotes a polytheistic universe, in fact the Bible is monotheistic. • The Spirits of Form are equivalent to the angelic order called Powers. See, e.g., Rudolf Steiner, EXCURSUS ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1937), lecture 4, GA 124.
"There had been certain beings in the spiritual world who had failed in their normal progress and they had become self-willed. They are known as the Luciferic beings [i.e., Lucifer and his minions]. Ever since humanbeings had been endowed with astrality, i.e., the possibility of having feelings, passions, desires [sic: interpolation by Wilkinson], they were open to Luciferic influence. For their own purposes these beings made human beings aware of themselves earlier than planned by the creators [sic]; they awakened the senses of humans (opened their eyes) [sic: interpolation by Wilkinson] who began to lose consciousness of the divine in favor of the terrestrial. By becoming conscious of themselves in the world of the senses [i.e., in the physical world], they acquired the ability to choose freely between good and evil." — COMMENTARY ON THE OLD TESTAMENT STORIES, p. 20. Here are some of the Anthroposophical doctrines Waldorf students are exposed to it this narrative. Some can be reconciled with the Bible; others cannot. • Sin, in the Waldorf view, involves the failure to evolve properly. [See “Sin”.] Thus, those spirits who allied themselves with Lucifer “failed in their normal progress.” [See “Abnormal”.] • Evolving in the wrong direction means asserting your own will rather than following the divine plan of the gods. This is what Lucifer and his minions have done — they became “self-willed.” • Lucifer is one of the main demons who threaten man’s own proper evolution. The other is Ahriman. [See “Lucifer” and “Ahriman”.] • As humans have evolved to higher, more spiritually capable levels (we became “endowed with astrality”), we have developed our own capacities for inner existence (“having feelings, passions, desires...”), which has opened us to being influenced by Lucifer. • Lucifer and his minions pushed us to evolve too quickly in one way, derailing the plan of the gods by making us too self-aware (they “made man aware of himself earlier than planned by the creators”). • We became earthly, physcial, “terrestrial,” which distanced us from the spirit realm. • This was good, in a sense — we developed the possibility of free choice (we could “choose freely between good and evil), so in this sense Lucifer helped us. But the potential cost of his influence is extremely threatening: We are increasingly cut off from the intentions of the good gods who created us (we are not doing what was “planned by the creators”). We should note that Wilkinson’s explanations of Anthroposophical doctrine are sometimes questionable; nonetheless, they represent a view from inside the ranks of Waldorf teachers.
"Michael accompanied Adam and Eve to the earth. In the evening, it grew cold. Shaking with cold, Adam and Eve built a small hut out of bushes and made garments of leaves ... Adam and Eve could no longer hear the heavenly music or the angels' voices ... Michael came to Adam and Eve to comfort them. 'You have not lost heaven completely. Pray to God. Then the thread of light, which binds your souls to heaven, will not tear. At night this thread draws you toward the heavenly light." — AND THERE WAS LIGHT, p. 34. • In the Bible, the fall of mankind meant we were cast out of the Garden of Eden. But according to Waldorf belief, mankind's fall meant leaving the spiritual worlds and descending to Earth. (Steiner taught that before life on Earth we passed through evolutionary stages on Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon. Along the way, although evolving, we became progressively less spiritual and more physical. Likewise, individual humans are born on Earth after descending from the spirit worlds where they lived before birth.) • in Waldorf belief, Christ is the Sun God and Michael is the Archangel of the Sun. Michael has special responsibility for overseeing human evolution, so he accompanied us to Earth. • Descending to Earth means being cut off from the spirit worlds ("Adam and Eve could no longer hear the heavenly music or the angels' voices") — but our exile is not absolute. According to Steiner, when we sleep at night, we ascend again into the higher worlds (our astral bodies and our "I"s make this trip, while our physical and etheric bodies stay below). This is what Michael tells Adam and Eve to comfort them: At night, the thread leading back into the heavens “draws you toward the heavenly light." Or, in Steiner’s own words, "[T]he astral body ... is outside the human being at night ... [Also] the I. This is how we are at night. We are two people in the night." — Rudolf Steiner, BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS 1919-1924 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2003), p. 102.  Many Anthroposophical texts change the meanings of "myths, stories and legends" in accordance with the indications provided by Rudolf Steiner. Here's another such text: THE REVELATION OF EVOLUTIONARY EVENTS In Myths, Stories and Legends (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 1997). “The Old Testament story of Cain and Abel reveals the transition from Lemuria to Atlantis. Again, Cain and Abel do not represent individuals of that time, but rather, they represent humanity at the beginning of Atlantis. Cain, the first born son of Adam and Eve, is the last born of the Lemurian age and the first born of the Atlantean age ... As Cain’s heritage is from before the Fall, he is not aware of the difference between good and evil, but as the world begins to absorb the contrast of good and evil, Cain become capable of doing evil, and 'Cain attacked his brother Abel and murdered him' (Gen. 4:8).” — EveLynn B. Debusschere, THE REVELATION OF EVOLUTIONARY EVENTS (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 1997), pp. 22-24. • Anthroposophists believe that before the current epoch, humans lived on two lost continents, first Lemuria and then Atlantis. [See “Prehistory 101“ and “Atlantis and the Aryans”.] • In Waldorf belief, many of the individuals in the Bible are actually composite portraits of humanity at various stages of spiritual evolution. • Quoting the Bible, the author tries to make her extremely unbiblical narrative seem consistent with orthodox teachings. • Steiner taught that the general trend of evolution is toward spiritual betterment, but he also stressed that the universe teems with evil beings and even evil gods. “[W]e are watching the battle waged by the good gods against the evil gods....” — Rudolf Steiner, KARMIC RELATIONSHIPS, Vol. II (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1974), p. 251. [See “Evil” and “Evil Ones”.] Atlantis, Lemuria, evolution, multiple gods [see "Polytheism"] — this is not the Bible that Jews and Christians revere.
You may not be familiar with the following "Bible" story: "And it came to pass that an angel of God led Adam into a cave. The angel shows Adam a book in which the seventy-two Signs of Light were written. All the wisdom of the world was written in the book. The angel taught Adam to read the signs in the book and said, 'Before you die, you must give this book to a man whose soul is filled with the light of God, so that the wisdom of the angels may continue to shine on earth' ... The Book of Life was not written on parchment; it was Light written in Light." — AND THERE WAS LIGHT, p. 45. • In the Book of Revelation, the "Book of Life" is the record kept by God, listing the names of the saved. Some references to such a book may also be inferred from passages in the Old Testament. But the book in this story is different. This Book contains "all the wisdom of the world," and it is "Light written in Light." In Waldorf belief, there is a transcendent encyclopedia of all knowledge written on a akasha, a universal light or ether. This Book is the Akashic Record, and it can be read by great clairvoyants such as Rudolf Steiner. [See "Akasha".] • The story tells of the Book being passed on to a successor of Adam, a man who has divine wisdom. This savant would be an Initiate, a wise leader who possesses spiritual knowledge hidden from others. Anthroposophy is built on the belief in initiation. Rudolf Steiner is viewed as one of the greatest initiates. [See "Guru".] • In Anthroposophy (a word meaning human wisdom), wisdom is all important. As a gnostic faith, Anthroposophy teaches that salvation comes not through faith or good works (even though these are important), but through the possession of secret divine wisdom. Here, children are told of "the wisdom of the angels" which must be preserved and spread among men. [See "Gnosis".] • The wondrous book contains "signs." Waldorf belief contains many references to mystic signs and runes. One Steiner text is called OCCULT SIGNS AND SYMBOLS. Here, Waldorf students are introduced to such ideas. [See "Signs".] • Seventy-two is a magical number, in Waldorf belief. Steiner taught that there are 72 planetary gods,* and the average human life is 72 years, and we breathe about 72 times a minute, and so forth — so everything makes sense, in an occult sense. And these are the sort of lessons Waldorf schools instill through unbiblical "Bible" stories. * Steiner attributed this tenet to Iamblichus. See the lecture "Spiritual Wisdom in the Early Christian Centuries", GA 213.
Noah is a different figure in Waldorf belief than he is in the Bible: "In heaven God chose a strong soul and said, 'You shall go to earth where your name shall be Noah. On the earth, try to lead men toward the Good. I will be with you.' Then God called the angel of birth and said, 'Lead this soul [i.e., Noah] into a house on earth wherein the good still shines. This soul shall renew my ways on earth.'" — AND THERE WAS LIGHT, p. 86. • According to Waldorf belief, Noah was a great spiritual guide, an Initiate, who descended from the higher worlds to live in Atlantis. [See "Old Testament".] Having great clairvoyant powers, he led the most highly evolved humans to safety when Atlantis sank. (In one Waldorf school, a visitor spotted a map of the world that included the continent of Atlantis.) God sent Noah to Earth, into a house of righteousness, and Noah subsequently became a great leader. • "The Good," in Anthroposophy, is evolution leading toward spiritual perfection. People who are unable to evolve must be left behind, as so many were when Atlantis was destroyed. The Biblical story of the Ark, then, becomes a metaphor for what Waldorf teachers think really happened in human history — we evolved on Atlantis, then Noah and his followers left that doomed continent. [See "Evolution, Anyone?" and "Atlantis and the Aryans".] • Note that in this story, reference is made to God. Waldorf students are often told about God, even though Anthroposophy teaches that the universe is occupied by many gods. "God," in Anthroposophy, is the somewhat amorphous Godhead that was involved in the Creation, and He is the ultimate divine unity that will arise in the distant future. Waldorf students are led toward at least a vague comprehension of the Anthroposophical vision while being encouraged to embrace religion generally. [See "Prayers".] • The story refers to "the angel of birth." In Waldorf belief, angels — that is, gods who are only a bit higher than man — have many specific roles and identities. In this case, one angel has responsibility for overseeing human births on Earth. Many Waldorf stories drive home similar lessons, all of them consistent with Anthroposophical dogma.
Here is Waldorf teacher Ray Wilkinson's description of Noah and the Flood: "Many people, and also giants, now lived on the earth but humanity had become wicked ... The story refers to the sinking of the continent of Atlantis ... Noah, or Manu, as he is known elsewhere [i.e., in other religions and/or mythologies], was the leader of the sun-oracle of Atlantis [i.e., a center of occult knowledge on Atlantis] ... He was the most advanced leader and he was obviously still in touch with the creators of the Earth, the Elohim or Spirits of Form ... Noah gathered together people sufficiently mature and, knowing that the catastrophe was coming, emigrated to the center of Asia ... Here he set up a cultural or mystery center from which the early Post-Atlantis civilizations were inspired." — COMMENTARY ON THE OLD TESTAMENT STORIES, pp. 24-25. As you can see, very little of this has a basis in the Biblical account of the Flood. But these are the sorts of concepts that initiated Waldorf teachers have in mind when telling "Bible" stories to their students. How much Anthroposophical doctrine actually registers on the students varies from class to class and the precise wording each teacher chooses when telling these stories. [For more on the Flood, see "Noah".]
The following is another "Bible" story about the mysterious book kept in a cave: "After visiting the [sinful] city, Noah's soul was deeply troubled. The Archangel Raphael helped Noah to understand the acts of life and the meaning of death, to distinguish good and evil spirits. Raphael took Noah to the cave of the Holy Book, which Adam had [seen — see the story we examined, above] ... What did he find in the wisdom of the Holy Book? ... He learned to understand the powers of the sun, moon, and stars. He was able to fathom the past events of the earth, the present, and the future." — AND THERE WAS LIGHT, p. 93. This story, meant for young Waldorf students, makes fairly clear reference to some Anthroposophical concepts (e.g., the Akashic Record, astrology) while alluding to other concepts that might be made to seem consistent with either Anthroposophy or the Bible, depending on the choices made by individual Waldorf teachers. • The possibility of finding hidden knowledge that confers virtual omniscience is central to Anthroposophy. Indeed, "occult science" — that is, comprehensive hidden knowledge — is precisely what Steiner offered his followers. [See his book AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE; for a summary, see "Everything".] The prospect of acquiring great hidden knowledge is clearly conveyed here. • The "Holy Book" in this story is obviously not the Bible, which is not hidden in a cave. Instead, this "Holy Book" enables Noah to acquire something akin to omniscience: knowledge of the stars, the planets, the earth, the past, and the future. The idea that such a hidden record exists is clearly conveyed in this story. In Anthroposophy, it is the Akashic Record. [See "Akasha".] • Astrology ("the powers of the sun, moon, and stars") is alien to mainstream Christianity but it looms large in Waldorf belief. [See "Astrology" and "Waldorf Astrology".] The concept of astrological or celestial powers in the stars and planets is clearly conveyed here. • Biblical teachings about prophecy are mixed. The Bible identifies several prophets, and the final book of the New Testament is a work of prophecy. On the other hand, at least some Biblical passages indicate that knowledge of the future is denied to humanity — no one knows the hour of her/his death, for instance, or the hour of Christ's return. Prophecy is more clearly affirmed in Anthroposophy. Anthroposophists believe that Steiner saw the future, and this story affirms the possibility of such prevision (Noah "was able to fathom ... the future"). • The "meaning of death" is quite different in Anthroposophy than in Christianity. According to Anthroposophy, we die, spend a while in the spirit realms, and are then reincarnated. According to mainstream Christianity, we die, are judged, and go to our reward or punishment. (The day of judgment may come immediately or, depending on Biblical interpretation, it may be delayed. But Christianity teaches that we live one life on Earth and are then judged, largely on the basis of our faith — or lack of faith — in Christ.) This story at least raises the issue of death's meaning. • Both Christianity and Anthroposophy speak of "good and evil spirits," but again the doctrinal differences are great. In Christianity, God is omnipotent and thus never truly endangered by Satan and his minions. In Anthroposophy, there are many good gods and many evil gods, and the balance between good and evil is more precarious. Good should triumph, but there is no guarantee. [See "Evil Ones".] The message conveyed to young Waldorf students on this score will depend on the words and tone adopted by their teacher.
Here is Wilkinson writing about Abraham and the ram: "In the Platonic year [a period of approximately 26,000 regular years] the earth comes under the influence of a particular sign of the Zodiac every 2160 years. This period marks the duration of a cultural epoch ... The new age of Aries, the ram, began in 747 B.C. ... Abraham saw the ram, i.e. he looked forward to the new age; but the ram's horns were caught in a thicket. Horns are symbols for two centers in the head connected with clairvoyance. When the ram is sacrificed, it means that in the new era men will no longer have the faculty of clairvoyance." — COMMENTARY ON THE OLD TESTAMENT STORIES, p. 35. • Once again, we see astrology being imposed on the Bible: the zodiac, the age of Aries, implicitly the sign of the ram... • Steiner claimed that ancient people had natural clairvoyance: This is what allowed them to create "true" myths, fairy tales, and Old Testament stories. But later people evolved to a condition in which most clairvoyant powers have been lost. Fortunately, however, Steiner himself employed "exact clairvoyance" to learn deep spiritual truths, such as the real meaning of the stories in the Bible. • In Waldorf belief, a "cultural epoch" is a period lasting about 2,1600 years — the length of time when a particular sign of the zodiac has its greatest influence. There are also "great epochs" that are much longer. As Wilkinson indicates, the stages of our evolution are closely connected to the astrological powers of the stars. Or so Anthroposophists believe. The sort of "logic" found in Anthroposophy is reflected here. The Bible includes a story about a ram. There's an astrological sign called the ram. Therefore, the Bible story must be about our evolution through astrologically influenced stages. (For more about the sort of "thinking" encouraged in Waldorf schools, see "Thinking Cap". For the use of clairvoyance by Waldorf faculty, see "The Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness".) The surprising Waldorf version of the Exodus: "The exodus from Egypt is contemporary with the fall of Troy. The ancient world of divinely led humanity gives way to that of the individual, independent personalities with ego characteristics. The Israelites are experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is a step on the path of spiritual development ... The Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness ... [They] had to experience the realities of the harsh physical world. Earth forces were still active. Their god [Jehovah] was drawing near to the earth and he was experienced in the earthly elements ... Between the creator gods (the Elohim), Jehovah and Christ, there is a close connection. Christ is a manifestation of the Elohim; Jehovah is his servant. Christ was worshipped by many different peoples under a different name as a being of the sun-sphere. He descended to the earth in stages before incarnating in the body of Jesus. During the Moses era the Christ being was in the earth's atmosphere; hence the Jews experienced him in the elements — as a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire." — COMMENTARY ON THE OLD TESTAMENT STORIES, pp. 54-55. • Many people will be surprised that the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt is really, to a significant extent, a story about Christ. According to Steiner, Christ is the Sun God, while Jehovah is associated with the Moon — Judaism, hence, is the Moon religion. • Note the reference to Troy. Steiner taught that the Bible is "true" in some ways, but he extended equal credence to many other traditions, myths, legends, and religions. Many different peoples have worshipped many different gods — but under Anthroposophy, many of these gods are rolled up together: They turn out to be the same god(s) seen differently or at different stages of evolution. • According to Steiner, Christ and Jehovah are two of the Elohim, the Creators of man ("Between the creator gods (the Elohim), Jehovah and Christ..."). Christ later came to Earth to become the human Prototype. [See "Prototype".] Jehovah moved to the Moon, and from there he exerted special influence on mankind at one time. He is essentially obsolete today, however, just as Judaism is obsolete, according to Steiner. "Judaism as such has long outlived itself and no longer has a legitimate place in the modern life of peoples." — Rudolf Steiner, "Vom Wesen des Judentums" {On the Nature of the Jews}, DIE GESCHICHTE DER MENSCHHEIT UND DIE WELTANSCHAUUNGEN DER KULTURVOLKER, Dornach, 1968. [See "RS on Jews".] • Wilkinson's conception of "homelessness" imposes an Anthroposophical gloss on the desperate desert wanderings of the ancient Hebrews — it was all to the good, since it raised the Hebrews to a higher level of consciousness (before Hebrew consciousness became obsolete). In Anthroposophical doctrine, the purpose of the Jewish nation was to prepare the way for Christ. Jews had to become spiritually conscious enough to fulfill this mission; but once it was fulfilled, the Jewish nation no longer had a reason to exist. [See "Also Forbidden".] And a Waldorf version of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho: "Christ, the spirit of the sun, was approaching ... Jericho was situated in a remnant of fertile ground which had all around been destroyed by volcanic activity ... The city was decadent. The spiritual force of the the Israelites may have won the day as did the pope when confronted by Attila ... When the Gibeonites brought stale bread and old wine, they were demonstrating that they recognized that their spiritual resources were outmoded ... Joshua supposedly cried for the sun and moon to stand still. As recorded in the Bible this is a wrong translation. The call was a supplication to the spiritual being of the sun: 'Spirit of the Sun, shine on Gibeon. [sic]'" — COMMENTARY ON THE OLD TESTAMENT STORIES, pp. 68-69. • Again, Christ makes an appearance in the Old Testament, according to Anthroposophists. Understand, however, that the Anthroposophical Christ is the Sun God. Anthroposophy strays as far from the New Testament as it does from the Old. • The Pope also appears here, tangentially. But Steiner considered mainstream Christian denominations — certainly including Catholicism — nearly as obsolete as Judaism. The true faith (which Anthroposophists refer to as "spiritual science") is Anthroposophy.* • Also tangentially: Steiner had many interesting things to say about volcanoes. Humans cause volcanic eruptions through the use and misuse of their willpower and thoughts. Also, if you trace lines between volcanoes on the surface of the Earth, you will discover that the Earth is really a sort of rounded pyramid, not a globe — or so Steiner said.** [See "Summing Up".] • Steiner and Wilkinson correct the Bible's assertion that Joshua called for the sun and moon to stand still ("As recorded in the Bible this is a wrong translation"). In fact, they claim, Joshua was calling on Christ, the Sun God ("The call was a supplication to the spiritual being of the sun"). Anthroposophy repeatedly "corrects" the Bible. One of the most stunning "corrections" is Steiner's concoction of a "Fifth Gospel" that presents the "true" meaning of the four gospels of the New Testament. [See Rudolf Steiner, THE FIFTH GOSPEL — From the Akashic Record (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2001). Anthroposophical commentaries on Steiner's "gospel" can be found in such books at Peter Selg's RUDOLF STEINER AND THE FIFTH GOSPEL (SteinerBooks, 2010).]
Perhaps this is a sufficient survey of the Waldorf versions of Old Testament stories. Anthroposophical texts twist Bible stories, turning them into Anthroposophical stories. Waldorf teachers who tell the Anthroposophical version of these tales to the young children in their charge are setting the children's feet on the path toward Anthroposophical belief. [For more on the Waldorf version of the Book of Genesis, see "Genesis", "Old Testament", and "Noah". For the changes Anthroposophy inflicts on Christianity, see "Was He Christian?", "Sun God", "Christmas", "Prototype", "Sermon", "Gnosis", "Power Words", and "Events".]
MYTHS, LEGENDS, FAIRY TALES Waldorf schools use myths, legends, and fairy tales much as they use "Bible" stories: as vehicles for implanting Anthroposophical views and attitudes in the students. The myths given greatest importance at Waldorf schools are those of northern Europe: Norse myths. Steiner taught that Norse myths convey special insights into human evolution and, indeed, he said that they parallel many of his spiritual "discoveries." [See "The Gods".] Waldorf teachers generally believe that virtually all myths and legends are true, at some level, but they are particularly convinced that Norse myths are true. Steiner's taught that the Norse gods really exist and the events described in Norse myths really happened (or will happen). Here is Waldorf educator Charles Kovacs indicating how teachers should introduce Norse myths to Waldorf students. Imagine him standing at the head of a classroom, talking to the children:
“The stories I am going to tell are very special. They are wonderful stories of strange beings called ‘gods’ and of giants and dwarfs ... These stories were not just made up; they came about in a different way ... As long as Adam and Eve were still in paradise they could see God ... Then came the children of Adam and Eve, and their children’s children; they could still see God, but not very often ... The more people became used to living on earth ... the less they could see God ... [B]ut very many of them, not just a few, could see the angels ... There were many peoples in the world who worshipped the angel-gods, and they had wonderful stories about them. The most wonderful stories were told among people who are called Norsemen ... When these brave, fierce Norsemen had fought a battle, they came home to celebrate their victory with a great feast ... The most important part of the feast was when a man called a ‘bard’ took a harp and sang or recited a poem ... These bards could see the angel-gods better than the others. This is how the stories I am going to tell you came about. They are stories that these wise bards among the Norsemen heard from the angels, from the angel-gods.” — Charles Kovacs, NORSE MYTHOLOGY, Waldorf Education Resources (Floris Books, 2009), pp. 7-9. Kovacs creates a weird blend of pagan myths and Biblical teachings. He goes from gods, giants, and dwarfs to Adam and Eve and then back to the Norse angel-gods. His is not fully faithful to Steiner's teachings (Kovacs suggests that monotheism is the underlying truth, whereas Steiner's doctrines are polytheistic), but generally he follows the Steiner/Waldorf line: Norse gods really exist and Norse myths are true.  To the modern, rational mind, the Waldorf belief system is almost inconceivably backward and foolish, but Steiner's followers are perfectly serious. The following is from Anthroposophist Ernst Uehli: “Thor, like Odin, renounced his ascendance and became, therefor, the leader of the Germanic peoples’ experience of the ego-birth. Had he ascended he would have become an archangel being. He stayed at the angel level. Out of this renunciation grew the tremendous power that made him leader of the Germanic ego-birth. Rudolf Steiner ... characterizes him as one of the mightiest angels there ever was.” — Ernst Uehli, NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND THE MODERN HUMAN BEING (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 1999), p. 69. This statement is full of Anthroposophical jargon, but the main thing we should recognize is that Anthroposophists accept the proposition that Thor is a real being. Thor, the angel, the “leader of the Germanic ego-birth,” really exists. And how do we know this? Because Rudolf Steiner said so, calling him a mighty angel indeed. (If you want to penetrate the jargon, you could consult the Brief Waldorf - Steiner Encyclopedia, where you will find this: “According to Steiner: [Thor is] an Angel who renounced further evolution to help mankind. Steiner taught that, like other Norse gods, Thor was known to Germanic/Nordic man. ’German-Nordic man has an interest in an Angel-being who is endowed with special power ... And that Being is Thor ... [Thor is] a Being who could have risen to far higher rank had he followed the normal course of evolution, but who renounced advancement comparatively early and remained at the stage of a [sic] Angel ... Thor plays an active part in the implanting of the individual ego [in human beings] ... [T]he pulsation of the blood [in the human body] corresponds to the thunder and lightning [ruled by Thor] ... Germanic-Nordic man sees this clairvoyantly....’" The quotation comes from Rudolf Steiner, THE MISSION OF THE FOLK SOULS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2005), pp. 134-135.) It is almost unnecessary to describe the Waldorf versions of specific Norse, which are usually told with at least a suggestion that they are literally true. Thus, the Waldorf "meaning" of a Norse myth is the myth itself, its literal description of the actions of gods, giants, dwarfs, and other beings thought to really exist. Overall, Norse myths and Anthroposophy share at least these concepts: ◊ polytheism ◊ immaterial beings aside from the gods themselves (e.g., dwarfs, giants) ◊ contending bands of gods (in a manner of speaking, good gods and bad gods) ◊ gods that are imperfect, that may need to evolve or to be replaced ◊ a hierarchy of states of consciousness (Odin’s quest) ◊ a hierarchy of being (the world of the dwarfs is below the world of men — above the world of men is the world of the old gods — above the world of the old gods is the world of the new gods; and the old world of men is replaced by a new world of men) ◊ a creation story without a Creator* ◊ a Christlike god who dies but is reborn (Baldur, god of the dying spring, returns with each new spring; in Anthroposophy, Christ is the Sun God, crucified on Earth) ◊ an apocalypse that paves the way not for the Kingdom of God but for a new human realm under a new heaven ◊ the primacy of mankind (in the myths, the first man is born before the first gods; in Anthroposophy, humans are the original Earthly life) ◊ celebration of Aryan qualities (in the myths, the first man is blond and the guardian of the spirit realm is the whitest god; in Anthroposophy white Aryans are the most advanced race) ◊ the search for gnostic or occult wisdom, e.g., the mystic runes (think celestial script, think Akashic Record) ◊ association of art with spiritual contact ◊ derogation of commerce and its gods ◊ dead humans who are still active, still able to be contacted ◊ a duality of forces hostile to mankind (in the myths, the land of fire and the land of fog; in Anthroposophy, Ahriman and Lucifer) ◊ the production of good out of evil ◊ magic, sorcery ◊ evil souls in animal form (wolf, serpent; in Anthroposophy, the animal forms of the "evil race") ◊ divination, knowledge of the future ◊ [fill in the blank — I have undoubtedly missed some parallels between the myths and Steiner's doctrines]
Norse myths are not, by any means, the only myths told at Waldorf schools. Waldorf schools tend to teach virtually all myths as if they are history, not fabulous inventions. A fundamental confusion between fantasy and reality can result in the students’ minds. Two quick examples: One of the books in the Waldorf Resources series is ANCIENT GREECE by Charles Kovacs (Floris Books, 2004). It consists of Waldorf retellings of ancient Greek mythology. Children listening to these tales as told in Waldorf schools will quickly enter a mental space in which myth and history blur (and this is intentional: Waldorf teachers belief that myths are true).* In relating the myth of Prometheus bringing fire to mankind, Kovacs says “A race of giants, called Titans, had been masters of the world until [the gods] defeated them in a terrible battle ... At that time, life on earth was difficult. There were many wild animals around but people had no weapons to fight them with and lived in fear and dread ... Today we take fire for granted ... But in those days people ate their food raw and huddled together in the cold and dark....” [p. 14] Giants, gods, man, fire. And where is the line between fantasy and reality? There is none. Today we have fire, but in those days we didn’t. What days are we talking about? The days before a giant stole fire from the gods and gave it to us. The phrasing of the story makes this sound like an historical event. The next story Kovacs tells is about Pandora and her box. “She lifted the lid. As soon as the lid was open ... hundreds of little winged creatures came out ... [T]hey were nothing other hundreds of illnesses and worries ... Pandora opened the lid again and out came something that was like a great shining white butterfly, and that was Hope. And so, when we are sick or have worries, it is Hope that can help us overcome our difficulties.” [p. 17] Kovacs shifts subtly from the myth to reality, again blurring the difference. Pandora let Hope out of the box, “and so” we now have Hope to help us. Why do we have it? Because of Pandora’s actions. Once again, the phrasing of the story makes this sound like an historical event.
The legends about King Arthur and his knights are often emphasized in Waldorf schools. If you dig just slightly beneath the surface, the reason become evident. These are all Anthroposophical doctrines: • Lemuria and Atlantis existed, • humans have four bodies (physical, etheric, astral, and ego), • proto-humans had four different physical/soul natures, etc. [See, e.g., "Atlantis and the Aryans", "Incarnation", "Neutered Nature", etc.] • According to Waldorf belief, the transition from Lemuria to Atlantis was momentous, marking significant evolutionary progress. Having been four different types of humans, sharing "group souls," we became individual humans possessing individual souls (although we retain some forms of group souls even today). • Steiner taught that early in our evolution on Earth there were four kinds of proto-humans, which he designated as the the bull race, the eagle race, the lion race, and "man" — these last being the proto-humans who were most harmoniously developed. Each type of proto-human shared a single collective or "group" soul. The effects of that period remain today: The modern female body comes largely from the lion race, the modern male body from the bull race. [See "Four Group Souls".] • The term "race" recurs in Anthroposophical teachings often, and sometimes it has no reference to races as we understand them now. However, racial differences have profound meaning in the Waldorf belief system. • As a digression, we might also note that, In Waldorf belief, our relationship to animals is different from what science teaches. We did not evolve from them — rather, we passed through stages at which the animals of today remain stuck. We ejected these forms as we evolved upwards. Thus, the animals evolved from us, not vice versa. ("Lower" human races still resemble certain animals: ”You must realise clearly that certain higher animals, particularly animals that live much in the company of man, such as domestic animals, have a kind of self-consciousness, resembling that of the lower savages of to-day.” — Rudolf Steiner, “Man's Relationship with the Surrounding World” (General Anthroposophical Society, 1941), GA 98. Fortunately, such doctrines are usually not openly expressed in Waldorf schools today. Whether they crop up through inference may be a different matter.) The legend of the search for the Holy Grail has particular meaning in Waldorf schools. For Anthroposophists, the Grail signifiies occult or mystery knowledge. “[I]n this arising of the Holy Grail there stands before us everything that went into the post-Christian renewal of the principle of the ancient Mysteries. Fundamentally speaking, the phrase the 'Holy Grail', with all that belongs to it, involves a reappearing of the essence of the Eastern Mysteries.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE MYSTERIES OF THE EAST AND OF CHRISTIANITY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1972), lecture 4, Feb. 7, 1913. Also see Rudolf Steiner, THE HOLY GRAIL (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2001), p. 11. Taking this a step further, the Grail becomes Anthroposophy itself, the mysery knowledge that Waldorf teachers think they possess. [See "Grail".] Even simple fairy tales are used, in Waldorf schools, to teach Anthroposophy. Here is "Hansel and Gretel": “The story portrays spirit and soul descending into a physical body and ascending again, enriched, to the spiritual world ... The story could also be looked upon as an initiation process. Soul and spirit are engaged in developing higher organs ... Yet another interpretation would be to consider the story as one of human evolution. With the expulsion from Paradise the human being enters the material world. Through his experiences he regains the faculty of spiritual perception in a new way and regains his spiritual home enriched.” — Roy Wilkinson, THE INTERPRETATION OF FAIRY TALES (Henry Goulden, 1984), pp. 13-14. • Anthroposophists believe that we have both spirits and souls. We descended to life on Earth from spiritual worlds, and we will ascend again. • Initiation — the process of gaining access to hidden spiritual knowledge — is near the heart of Anthroposophy. [See “Inside Scoop”.] • “Higher organs” are nonphysical, invisible organs, predominantly organs of clairvoyance. (“[O]rgans of clairvoyance build themselves...” — Rudolf Steiner, KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT (Anthroposophic Press, 1944), p. 28.) • Evolution is another central concept in Anthroposophy — we have evolved from Saturn and are on our way to Vulcan. We lost “paradise” by coming to Earth (a sadly material place), but we will move on. [See “Matters of Form”.] • The “faculty of spiritual perception” is clairvoyance. Ancient people had it; we tend not to have it now — but we can regain it, in an improved form, by following Anthroposophy. Such are some of Waldorf beliefs hidden below the happy surface of “Hansel and Gretel” — according to Waldorf belief. Here is "Snow White": “In human development there are certain obvious stages of development. For the first seven years of its life the child is, so to speak, carried by heavenly powers. Then a change takes place ... [W]hen Snow White is seven, it is she who is the most beautiful. She has grown into her own being to a certain extent. The significance is that a new type of human being is coming into existence ... When the queen thinks she is eating Snow White's lungs and liver, she aims at acquiring the new powers ... Snow White ... wanders alone in the woods and comes to a little hut which is the home of the seven dwarfs. The significance here is that the child's soul (and the human soul in general at a certain stage) is still in connection with the elemental powers ... The negative powers now attack the developing soul ... The elemental beings can assist humans to some degree but some things are beyond there powers ... [A] higher power is needed to awaken [Snow White]. The power of the higher self, in the form of the prince, arrives ... [T]he old magical powers must die. It is the beginning of a new era." — Waldorf Teacher Roy Wilkinson, THE INTERPRETATION OF FAIRY TALES (Rudolf Steiner College Press, 1997) , pp. 16-17.
Earlier, I said that it is almost unnecessary to look at specific Norse myths. Nevertheless, poking around through the Waldorf versions of various Norse myths can be illuminating. Here is the meaning of the myth sometimes called "The Treasure of the Gods": "The story deals with the Luciferic influence (the Fall in the Bible) which brought the human being into physical existence and to consciousness of self as an individual earlier than the creator gods had intended. The result was separation from the divine, separation into races, different languages and dissension. "...[G]olden hair signifies innocent wisdom, direct communication with the divine. When Sif's golden hair is replaced by that manufactured by the dwarfs, it symbolizes replacement of heavenly wisdom by that of the earth. "...Thor represents the ego power. The union of Thor and Sife therefore signifies group consciousness, a group ego." — Roy Wilkinson, THE NORSE STORIES AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE (Rudolf Steiner College Press, 1999), p. 43. • Lucifer is described by Steiner as one of the two arch-demons who threaten humanity. (The other is Ahriman.) It is partly through the influence of Lucifer ("the Luciferic influence") that we descended to our present, lowly condition in the physical universe. [See "Lucifer" and "Ahriman".] • The idea that blond people are purer, more highly evolved, and closer to the gods runs through much of Anthroposophical lore. [See "Atlantis and the Aryans".] • The multiplicity of gods is a basic Waldorf belief, as is the idea that there are many "creator gods" — that is, many gods helped bring us into existence and have contributed to our subsequent evolution. [See "Polytheism".] • Here we see the god Thor identified with the human spiritual ego — i.e., the spiritual part of ourselves that incarnates at about age 21. [See "Incarnation".] • Group souls, according to Steiner, are souls that all members of a group (such as a species, a nation, or a race) share. Animals do not have individual egos, but they share group souls. Humans have individual egos, but they also share various group souls. (This idea reached Steiner through Theosophy. See "Basics".) • The most appalling Anthroposophical tenet reflected here concerns race. As Wilkinson says, evil gods or demons are thought to have interfered in human evolution, thus producing — among other things — "separation into races". “Lucifer and Ahriman ... fought against this harmonious tendency of development in the evolution of humanity, and they managed to change the whole process so that various developments were shifted and displaced. While there should have been basically only one form of human being ... Lucifer and Ahriman preserved [earlier human types] ... Thus, forms that should have disappeared remained. Instead of racial diversities developing consecutively, older racial forms remained unchanged and newer ones began to evolve at the same time. Instead of the intended consecutive development of races, there was a coexistence of races. That is how it came about that physically different races inhabited the earth and are still there in our time although evolution should really have proceeded [unimpeded].” — Rudolf Steiner, THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), p. 75. Consider what it means for such ideas to seep into Waldorf classrooms, even in the form of entertaining stories from long ago.
Here is the Waldorf take on the myth sometimes called "Loki's Punishment": "The story is one of the suffering of humanity brought about by the influence of Lucifer. "Lucifer brought human beings to the physical world and Luciferic forces are at work in them ... The ego forces prevail but suffering is involved. "...Loki was tied to a rock in a cave with bands that turned to iron ... [on his] neck, loins and round the legs ... These are parts of the body where the Lucifer influence has been strong — speech, reproduction and will impulses.... "In the picture of Loki's suffering is reflected what men and women experience through his influence." — Roy Wilkinson, THE NORSE STORIES AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE, p. 71. • In Norse myths, Loki is a prankster god, sometimes depicted as a humourous figure despite being fundamentally evil. In general, according to Waldorf belief, Loki represents Lucifer. Steiner taught that Lucifer is evil yet he also brings us gifts having real value. See, e.g., "Lucifer".) • As we have seen, mankind's fall, according to Waldorf belief, is the descent to the physical Earth. Lucifer/Loki is the agent who caused this descent. • In Waldorf belief, "Luciferic" forces and beings or influences reflecting the power of Lucifer. • Steiner taught that the ego is evil when it leads to egoism, but "ego forces" can also be good when they allow us to develop our divine spiritual identities. [See "Ego".] • Steiner taught that Lucifer and Ahriman — the two great demons — affect us in very particular ways, including in particular parts of our bodies. We see this doctrine here. [For a glimpse of the Waldorf conception of the human constitution, see "What We Are".] • Although Anthroposophists often like to say that Lucifer ultimately serves the good gods, we see this myth presented as a cautionary tale — in effect, a sermon, warning of the suffering we will endure if we follow Lucifer. When told in a Waldorf class, this myth becomes one of the many religious lessons given to the students. [See, e.g., "Prayers".]  NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND THE MODERN HUMAN BEING, by Ernst Uehli (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 1999). It is hard to overstate the importance Waldorf schools attach to Norse myths. While recognizing that myths are not precisely equivalent to objectively verifiable statements of fact, the schools usually accept Steiner's assurance that Norse myths are essentially true and they teach children crucial beliefs and attitudes. Telling children these myths is meant to inculcate Anthroposophy in an easily absorbed form. "Rudolf Steiner once remarked that he could find no other mythology that spoke to the human condition the was that Norse myths do ... These pictures create an important, imaginative basis for children to more deeply understand human development and human consciousness. Especially in the inexorable move toward the twilight of the gods in these myths, we find picture which speaks to the journey of every child who passes through the portal of the 'nine-year change.'" — James Pewtherer, editor, NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND THE MODERN HUMAN BEING (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 1999), pp. 5-6. • In Anthroposophy, and specifically in Waldorf schools, imagination is not considered simple inventiveness, fantasizing, or picturing things in the mind. Imagination, in the Waldorf view, starts with these but grows to become a form of clairvoyance. [See "Steiner's 'Science'".] • Occult conceptions of human development and human consciousness are central to both Anthroposophy and Waldorf education. We "develop" both as we incarnate additional bodies and as we evolve upward spiritually. We improve our consciousness not by becoming more rational or intellectual, but by drawing closer to clairvoyance. (Intellect has some value in our present, extremely physical stage of evolution, but not much beyond this stage.) • In Norse myths, the twilight of the gods is the ultimate battle of gods and giants in which all are destroyed — but a basis is created for further evolution in a new universe. Rudolf Steiner incorporated this vision into his own doctrines. Waldorf students are led toward a vision of humanity evolving through a long, sometimes tortuous series of stages in which the entire universe itself undergoes cyclical changes. [See "All vs. All" and "Everything".] "[T]here is in the Norse stories a great depth of knowledge ... relics of the old Mystery wisdom. They present a picture of evolution, of the creation and development of the human being and his connection with higher beings, the fading of the old world conception, and the birth of the ego which leads to new powers of perception ... The stories hint at the coming of Christ but they also show that humanity must suffer before the Christ impulse can take hold." — Roy Wilkinson, THE NORSE STORIES AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE, p. 5. • "Mystery" wisdom or knowledge is hidden, occult knowledge — such as Anthroposophy. [See, e.g., "Best".] Anthroposophy is revealed knowledge for grown initiates, but in Waldorf schools it is indeed often hidden, conveyed primarily through covert methods. • In the Waldorf worldview, the "higher beings" are the hierarchies of gods; the "adverse powers" are demons and other evil spirits. [See "Polytheism" and "Evil Ones"] • "[T]he fading of the old world conception" refers to the evolution of humanity's comprehension of the spirit worlds and spiritual truths. This evolution led to the current pinnacle, found in Anthroposophy. • The "ego" is the fourth human body, the spark of divine individual identity. • "[N]ew powers of perception" are what Anthroposophy theoretically enables: clairvoyance. • Christ, or the Sun God, stands at the center of Waldorf beliefs. Steiner and his followers think they perceive Christ in virtually everything, including ancient, non-Christian myths. Waldorf students are always led toward this vision of Christ. (Certainly Anthroposophists always work toward this vision. "[E]verything we strive for, every line we read of our anthroposophical science, is an entering into a relationship with Christ. In a certain sense, we really do nothing else." — Rudolf Steiner, TOWARD IMAGINATION (SteinerBooks, 1990), p. 36.) The god Baldur is the primary Christ figure in Norse myths. Steiner taught that Baldur — like the other Norse gods — really exists, and the stories of his life and death both reflect real events in Baldur's experience and they provide symbolic representations of the life and death of Christ. "At the time of Baluder, the human organization [i.e., constitution] was different. The astral and the formative [i.e., etheric] bodies were free and more in motion. They were not tightly bound to the physical body as later. The ego, therefore, worked more deeply into the physical organization [constitution] ... The killing of Baldur at the behest of Loki is ... an evolutionary happening. It came about slowly through the effect of the poisoning that changed the blood due to changes in nourishment." — Ernst Uehli, NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND THE MODERN HUMAN BEING, pp. 37-40. Such elaborate interpretations may bend Norse myths out of shape. (In the story of Baldur's death, a dart hits and kills Baldur. This is a quick process, not at all a gradual evolution.) But such interpretations are the key to the Waldorf approach, and these are what Waldorf teachers try to convey, if only indirectly. Thus, for instance, Waldorf schools try to lead families toward the Anthroposophical conception of health and medicine. [See, e.g., "Steiner's Quackery".] Children who absorb the essence of Waldorf-told Norse myths are — the schools hope — more inclined to open themselves to Anthroposophical approaches in all spheres of life.
Many, many other myths are told to Waldorf students. In most cases, the Waldorf versions of these myths are crafted to convey Anthroposophical messages of the sort we have discussed here. We can end our survey at this point, but I encourage you to get ahold Anthrposophical books like the ones I have quoted and check them for yourself. Waldorf teachers smuggle Anthroposophy into the classroom in many ways. The teachings about myths, legends, and Bible stories form just one of these methods, but perhaps a particularly potent one. Students who attend Waldorf schools for only a few years — and particularly students who enter in the higher grades — may emerge largely unscathed. They almost certainly will detect a strange, spiritual vibe in the school, but it may not penetrate their consciousness very deeply. But children who enter in an early grade — and particularly students who remain in the school for most or all of their school years — will almost always be deeply affected. By the end, they will have undergone a long, orchestrated conditioning process. The process is especially insidious in the earliest years, when visions and feelings are implanted that may last a lifetime. To further examine the ways that Anthroposophy suffuses Waldorf education, see, e.g., "Magical Arts", "Spiritual Agenda", "Soul School", "Curriculum", "Eurythmy", "Mystic Math", "Lesson Books", "Foundations", "Methods", etc. "Anthroposophy will be in the school." — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 495.   Studies of details from paintings intended for the ceiling of the Anthroposophical headquarters. See THE GOETHEANUM CUPOLA MOTIFS OF RUDOLF STEINER (SteinerBooks, 2011), p. 145. [R. R., 2011.]  Although Anthroposophy is often conveyed to Waldorf students in subtle, indirect form, as through the sorts of stories and myths we have been examining, Anthroposophy is sometimes conveyed more directly in the study of ordinary academic subjects such as history. The following is from the description of a Waldorf teacher's guide, published by the Rudolf Steiner College Press. The subject is history. The subtext is clairvoyance. "The History curriculum for fifth and sixth grades in a Waldorf school follows the thread of development of cultures through Ancient India, Persia, Egypt and Chaldea, Greece, and Rome. This provides a picture of the changing human consciousness from ancient clairvoyance to the loss of spiritual vision and, with it, the awakening of independent ego awareness and materialism. The teacher is guided to a deeper understanding of the spiritual significance of mythologies and great epics, and shows how the ancient world points the way to the future." TEACHING HISTORY, Vol. 1 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2000). Students taught history in this way are being fed Anthroposophy, which considers itself the "way to the future." "Changing human consciousness." "ancient clairvoyance," "the loss of spiritual vision," "independent ego awareness," "the spiritual significance of mythologies and great epics" — these are all terms and concepts that have special importance in Anthroposophy. And, clearly, if a child is taught that human history has involved the loss of an ancient form of clairvoyance, that child is being taught Anthroposophical belief. From the Waldorf Watch "news" page: “When ... love of fairy tales is coupled with an understanding on the part of the story teller, doors are opened to the whole realm of life in which fairy tales are true and live forever.” — Joan Almon, WHAT IS A WALDORF KINDERGARTEN? (SteinerBooks, 2007), p. 53. Almon is a Waldorf teacher and co-general secretary of the Anthroposophical Society of America. Everyone loves fairy tales. And what could be more natural and pleasant than for Waldorf teachers to tell fairy tales to their young students? But as always, we need to look beneath the Waldorf surface for the mysticism the guides Waldorf teachers. What do Waldorf teachers mean when they say that “fairy tales are true and live forever”? They mean that fairy tales are true clairvoyant reports about the spirit realms. They mean that ancient people had powers of clairvoyance, and they used these to see into the invisible realms beyond Earth, and they reported what they saw by telling these stories to one another. Fairy tales, to put this simply, are true. “Fairy tales are never thought out [i.e., invented]; they are the final remains of ancient clairvoyance, experienced in dreams by human beings who still had the power ... All the fairy tales in existence are thus the remnants of the original clairvoyance.” — Rudolf Steiner, ON THE MYSTERY DRAMAS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1983), p. 93. Waldorf teachers tell their students fairy tales in order to convey their occult beliefs to the children. ◊◊◊◊ "'The Stones Cry Out' at Waldorf event Nov. 17 “Imagine that stones could talk! Where do they come from? How were they made? Join the sixth grade students of the White Mountain Waldorf School [New Hampshire, USA] — a ‘star-studded cast’ — for a musical rendition of this age-old question [sic] ... Explore the woes of being a common sedimentary rock when metamorphic and igneous rocks (the local bullies) laugh at your expense ... Witness Obsidian, the great illusionist, wow the crowds ... All this and more is happening on Thursday evening, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. at The Salyards in Conway Village. This short performance arises out of the student's study of mineralogy. Donations, to cover the cost of the venue, will be accepted at the door.” [11-11-0211http://www.conwaydailysun.com/node/477377/18672] This sounds cute. You might bear in mind, however, that in Waldorf belief stones really are alive and have emotions. Indeed, the various strata of the Earth are all alive, much evil radiates from them, and they are quite sensitive pain (their own, not yours). Anthroposophical beliefs such as these are usually not taught to Waldorf students directly, but Anthroposophy is often conveyed to the students through indirect methods. "The Stones Cry Out" seems to give us a clear example of Waldorf students beings taught Anthroposophy at least indirectly. Here is a glimpse at Rudolf Steiner's wisdom about rocks. He said that one stratum of the earth is the Fire Earth. “The Fire Earth is made essentially of feeling and will. It is sensitive to pain and would cry out if stepped on. It consists entirely of passions." [Rudolf Steiner, THE INTERIOR OF THE EARTH (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2006), p. 31.] Deeper down, Steiner said, is the Splintering Earth. “The essential thing is that this layer shatters moral qualities ... Through the power it radiates up to the earth’s surface, it is responsible for the fact that strife and disharmony exist....” [Ibid., p. 31.] Anthroposophy also makes its presence felt in Waldorf events that occur outside of normal school hours, such as festivals.  "In the autumn, at harvest season, we celebrate Michaelmas (pronounced Mick-el-mas). Michaelmas is September 29th and celebrates the forces of the Archangel Michael (usually pronounced Myk-i-el), the time-spirit of this epoch. ... The Michaelic forces [i.e., soul forces provided by Michael] imbue us with the confidence and courage to look to the spiritual world ... Michael represents the unconquered hero, fighting against evil and the powers of darkness ... We celebrate with a play about St. George, the human counterpart of Michael, taming the dragon." — Eugene Waldorf School [http://www.eugenewaldorf.org/community/festivals/]. The school isn't playing around. It affirms Anthroposophical doctrine. [For more on the "powers of darkness", see "Evil Ones".] A news item: "The Eugene Waldorf School [Oregon, USA] will present an outdoor medieval play at 11:15 a.m. Thursday. Grades one through eight will perform a pageant with gnomes, farmers, villagers, royalty, St. George and a dragon. The play celebrates Michaelmas, which takes place near the autumnal equinox. Bring a picnic for after the play." [9-26-2011 http://www.registerguard.com/web/newslocalnews/26908940-41/eugene-call-library-springfield-www.html.csp] Waldorf schools use colorful events like this to recruit new families and to charm the parents of current students. Such festivals can be fun. But they are also significant in ways that may not be immediately apparent. Michaelmas is a religious holiday, the celebration of the archangel Michael. In Waldorf belief, Michael is the warrior-god who oversees the current stage of human evolution — as the Eugene Waldorf School says, he is the "time-spirit of this epoch." [See "Michael".] From the Waldorf perspective, a play about Michael's earthly representative slaying a dragon (the embodiment of demonic evil) is not merely a play — it is an enactment of Waldorf religious belief. If a Waldorf school presents itself as a nondenominational institution, you might ask why it celebrates Michaelmas. ("Founded in Europe in 1919, Waldorf Education now includes schools on every continent and has grown to become the world's largest independent, nondenominational school system...." http://www.eugenewaldorf.org/ourschool/philosophy/) Things get more fraught the more you inquire. According to Rudolf Steiner, beings such as gnomes ("a pageant with gnomes...") really exist. Gnomes are "nature spirits" who live underground. [See "Gnomes".] In the Waldorf belief system, there are several other kinds of nature spirits, including sylphs (who live in the air), undines (who live in water), and "salamanders" (who live in fire). [See "Neutered Nature".] Waldorf beliefs are bizarre and backward, but don't be misled. Waldorf teachers really embrace these beliefs, and they want their students to embrace them alsoi, sooner or later. Michael represents one of the high spiritual powers recognized in the Waldorf religion, and nature spirits represent lowly spiritual powers recognized in the same belief system. Waldorf schools exist to promote this system. They usually go about this task quietly, indirectly, subtly. But go about it they do. [See "Here's the Answer" and "Spiritual Agenda".] Waldorf festivals are colorful and fun. They are good recruitment tools. They are also techniques for involving students in Anthroposophy, leading them through enactments of Anthroposophical belief. Children who study Michael (or any of the other gods and spirits posited by Anthroposophy), and then create art about what they have learned, and piece together costumes, and build implements (swords, shields, helmets...), undergo an absorbing tutelage. They move deeper into a belief system that they may not recognize as such, but a belief system that gradually becomes their own, if the intentions of their teachers are fulfilled. Waldorf students who absorb their teachers' understanding of the events, beings, and concepts depicted in Waldorf festivals and other celebrations — these students are absorbing Anthroposophy. Anthroposophy is often injected into the Waldorf curriculum in nonverbal form. This occurs especially in the style of dance called eurythmy. Steiner said that eurythmy establishes direct links to the spirit realm. Thus, eurythmy is Anthroposophy in action, a physical discipline that seeks to achieve on the level of movement the same soul-molding effects that Waldorf classroom work aims at through other means. in most Waldorf schools, eurythmy is a required subject. A child in a eurythmy class is taught to feel in muscles and bones the spiritual lessons that Anthroposophy tries to impart at all levels, verbal and nonverbal. The child should sense the presence of invisible gods as well as the effects of previous lives (reincarnation) — basic Anthroposophical lessons — without needing to find words to express these things. Eurythmy "proves" to the student the truth of Anthroposophical doctrines, and this "proof" is all the stronger for occurring below the level of conscious thought or verbal speech. In Waldorf belief, emotion and feeling are far more important and "true" than brainwork of any kind. "Consider the art of eurythmy ... We are moving the human organism ... [W]e allow this human being to make manifest what we study inwardly, what is already prepared in us as a result of previous lives; we transfer this to our limbs ... Eurythmy shapes and moves the human organism in a way that furnishes direct external proof of our participation in the supersensible [i.e., supernatural] world. In having people do eurythmy, we link them directly to the supersensible world." — Rudolf Steiner, ART AS SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 246-247. You may not believe that eurythmy can have these effects, but Waldorf teachers believe it, and their belief can rub off on the kids. Eurythmy classes are often the most solemn and "spiritual" activities in Waldorf schools. These classes embody the ideas at the heart of Waldorf education. Thus, for instance, the Rudolf Steiner College sells DVDs that present eurythmy as an extremely important and powerful discipline. In effect, the entire Waldorf curriculum is conveyed to children through eurythmy. A child who comes out of eurythmy lessons feeling exalted, more spiritual, transported, in touch with "higher worlds," dazed, removed from humdrum ordinary life, unfocused, cloudy, enraptured by the mythic and magical and mysterious — that child has received Anthroposophy.*  "Waldorf Curriculum Through Eurythmy DVD "Eurythmy is an art of movement developed by Rudolf Steiner and often called 'visible speech' and 'visible tone.' This lively workshop session offers a kinesthetic introduction to the evolution of consciousness at the heart of the Waldorf curriculum, highlighting the key stages of child development through fourth grade."[http://www.steinercollege.edu/store/product.php?productid=18643&cat=0&page=1] The "evolution of consciousness" is a concept at the center of Anthroposopy — the belief that we are evolving toward higher and higher forms of spiritual consciousness (clairvoyance and super-clairvoyance) that lead us to greater and greater wisdom and divinity. [See "Everything".] The "key stages of child development" are seven-year long phases during which various invisible "bodies" incarnate. [See "Most Important" and "Incarnation".] Eurythmy teachers are often deeply devoted Anthroposophists who believe these doctrines with every fiber of their being, and they strive to convey these beliefs — as felt realities, not thoughts — to their students.  Waldorf eurythmist Sabrina Nordoff [Pinnacle, 1963].
 [Rudolf Steiner College, http://www.steinercollege.edu/, September, 2011.] Training for new Waldorf or Steiner teachers takes place in special institutions where the trainees are immersed in the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and enlisted in the task of bringing Anthroposophy to their students. This image shows a class at the Rudolf Steiner College in California, USA. The photos on the wall depict Rudolf Steiner and the Anthroposophical headquarters, the Goetheanum. (The original Goetheanum, seen in these photos, burned; it was replaced by a second, equally massive structure.) The drawing on the blackboard includes the 12 signs of the zodiac — astrology is basic to the Waldorf belief system. The well-thumbed book on the student's desk is Steiner's OUTLINE OF ESOTERIC SCIENCE (original title: OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE) — Steiner's main exposition of his esoteric or occult teachings. Note that if Waldorf teachers are fulfilling the intentions of the gods — if they are the conduits for "that streaming down from above," divine beneficence — then the primary recipients of their attentions will be their students. This is what their work as Waldorf teachers means. Waldorf teachers work to fulfill the "divine cosmic plan" for the people to whom they minister, their students. But Waldorf teachers are also instructed to keep quiet about their activities. "We should be quiet about how we handle things in the school, we should maintain a kind of school confidentiality." — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, p. 10. The most important kinds of knowledge — the kinds of knowledge possessed by people who serve the gods and fulfill the divine plan — are secret, hidden, occult. Inner truths must not be revealed to outsiders or the uninitiated. "The ancient teachers of the mysteries used to preserve such secrets as esoteric knowledge because they could not be imparted directly. In a certain sense, all teachers must be in possession of truths that they cannot directly pass on to the world." — Rudolf Steiner, THE CHILD'S CHANGING CONSCIOUSNESS AS THE BASIS OF PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE, Foundations of Waldorf Education (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 84. Waldorf teachers use various techniques for passing their secretive knowledge to their students while concealing it from the outside world. But, then again, sometimes they speak openly with their students. Steiner said that older Waldorf students should sometimes be given direct, clear knowledge of Anthroposophical doctrines. For instance, while young students should not be instructed about reincarnation and karma, older students should. "In the younger group, we must omit everything related to reincarnation and karma. We can deal with that only in the second group, but there we must address it. From ten years of age on, we should go through those things. It is particularly important in this instruction that we pay attention to the student’s own activity from the very beginning. We should not just speak of reincarnation and karma theoretically, but practically." — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, p. 18. Note that Steiner was not prescribing academic discussions; he was not saying that the students should learn that some people in foreign lands believe in reincarnation and karma. He was talking about "practical" knowledge of reincarnation and karma. What does this mean? It means that Anthroposophists believe in reincarnation and karma, and they think that after a certain age students should know about these phenomena in order to make the correct, practical decisions in their lives. And, of course, the teachers should lend a hand, helping the students to fulfill their karmas. "We [should] pay attention to the student’s own activity." And thus we see, once again, that Steiner was correct when he said "Anthroposophy will be in the school." Often Anthroposophy will be present in disguised form. Sometimes Anthroposophy will be present in open form. But either way, it will be present. Another item from the "news" page:  October, 2011.] From the Center for Anthroposophy — New Hampshire, USA — which offers Waldorf teacher training: "1) study of the basic books of Rudolf Steiner, including How to Know Higher Worlds, Theosophy, An Outline of Esoteric Science, and Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path: A Philosophy of Freedom "2) cultivation of artistic activities that are transformative in nature, such as speech, drama, music, eurythmy, painting, drawing, woodwork, sculpture, and more "3) some experience of life in a Waldorf school as well as other cultural initiatives arising from the work of Rudolf Steiner." [10-15-2011 http://www.centerforanthroposophy.org/programs/foundation-studies/overview/] The primary component of Waldorf teacher training is study of the occult works of Rudolf Steiner (see item #1, above). A few notes may be in order. 1) HOW TO KNOW HIGHER WORLDS is a guide to the development of clairvoyance, which Waldorf teachers use to study the spirit worlds as well as to understand the souls of their students. That there is no such thing as clairvoyance should, perhaps, give us pause. Indeed, because Waldorf schools depend so heavily on a nonexistent "power," there is in fact no rational basis for Waldorf education. [See "Clairvoyance", "The Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness", "Foundations", etc.] 2) THEOSOPHY lays out many of Steiner's occult teachings. When Steiner first became an occultist, he joined the Theosophical Society and soon became head of the German branch. Later, he broke away to create his own movement, which he named Anthroposophy. (Theosophy places God — theos — at its center; Anthropososophy places man — anthropos — at the center.) In reality, Steiner's teachings changed very little after the switch. Even while a Theosophist, Steiner referred to his own teachings as Anthroposophy, and the Theosophy his followers now study is Steiner's version, which departs significantly from standard Theosophy. It is, in a word, Anthroposophy. [To examine Theosophy, visit, for instance, The Theosophical Society. Also see "Basics".] 3) AN OUTLINE OF ESOTERIC SCIENCE is Steiner's magnum opus, in which he describes the spiritual realities he claims to have ascertained through clairvoyance. The original title of the book was AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE, but his followers belatedly realized that the word "occult" worries most people, so they made the change for PR purposes. Nonetheless, occultism is the core of the Waldorf belief system. Other Steiner books bear such titles as OCCULT HISTORY, THE OCCULT SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOOD, AN OCCULT PHYSIOLOGY, OCCULT SEALS AND SIGNS, and so forth. Even if we define "occult" as merely meaning "secret" or "hidden," we might want to reflect. Waldorf education is based on "secret" or "hidden" spiritual knowledge gained through the use of clairvoyance. How comfortable are you with this? [See "Occultism", "Exactly", "Occult Lodges", "Everything", etc.] 4) THINKING AS A SPIRITUAL PATH: A PHILOSOPHY OF FREEDOM is actually titled INTUITIVE THINKING AS A SPIRITUAL PATH: A PHILOSOPHY OF FREEDOM [emphasis added]. In the Waldorf belief system, intuition is a high form of clairvoyance that we will perfect when we live on Vulcan (a future stage of our evolution). Waldorf schools emphasize intuition along with lower forms of clairvoyance: inspiration and imagination. Most people use these words without reference to clairvoyance; but in the Waldorf belief system, even such a simple statement as "We encourage imaginative thinking" is actually a reference to clairvoyance. [See, e.g., "Thinking", "Thinking Cap", "Steiner's 'Science'", and "Vulcan".] Originally, INTUITIVE THINKING AS A SPIRITUAL PATH — published in 1893 as THE PHILOSOPHY OF FREEDOM — was straightforward philosophy, not an occult text. Steiner thought the book would establish him as the next great German philosopher. This did not happen, and soon after his disappointment, Steiner astonished his family and friends by announcing that he was now an occultist (previously, he had been a secular intellectual who mocked occultism). Thereafter, he revised his book to make it consistent with his new, mystical beliefs. [See "What a Guy", "Freedom", and "Philosophy".] Waldorf schools still like to refer to Steiner as a philosopher (it sounds so much better than "occultist"), but Steiner wrote no further philosophical texts after switching to occultism. Today it almost seems unfair to label someone an occultist, but Steiner embraced the term. He said such things as "We have been equipped for our task by the methods of occult science", "Recently in my occult research the following question arose...", "[W]e must turn to occult science and ask what is that which is to be discovered in the spiritual world...", and so forth. He was an occultist, and Waldorf education is built on the foundation of his occult teachings. Be forewarned. [For more on Waldorf teacher training, see "Teacher Training".] |