Waldorf schools are bright, sunny places that base their good works on the bright, sunny philosophy called Anthroposophy. 

This is the view often expressed, at least informally, by Waldorf faculties. More to the point, it is how many Waldorf teachers truly see matters. And families entering a Waldorf community are likely to see matters much the same way, initially if not permanently.

There is much truth in both halves of the Waldorf vision: The schools are often bright and sunny, and the thinking behind the schools can often seem alluring. But much is also omitted from this account. Clouds sometimes pass across the Sun, dimming the light.

Let's consider both halves of the vision, looking at the schools and at the underlying philosophy. We will emphasize the positive as much as we can before glancing briefly into the shadows.

We'll begin with the foundation on which the schools stand, the "philosophy."

I.

Sunny Anthroposophy

Rudolf Steiner's followers, like Steiner himself, generally characterize their worldview as wondrously affirmative. Anthroposophy describes a universe that centers on humanity; a universe in which all things, including apparent evils, cooperate harmoniously for our betterment; a universe in which we are evolving, as if by karmic inevitability, toward supreme spiritual heights.

Steiner did indeed speak in such terms, and his followers tend indeed to think in such terms. Not always, not exclusively. But let's accentuate the positive.

Anthroposophists generally affirm that the entire universe centers on us and exists for our benefit. [See "The Center"]. Above us, steering events in this universe, are legions of gods arrayed in celestial ranks. [See "Polytheism".] The gods love us and may even be said to worship us. [See "Reality and Fantasy".] Their divine intention is to assist us as we evolve to higher and higher levels of spiritually, with the objective that one day we ourselves will emerge as the highest of gods, constituting the loftiest hierarchy of all. [See "Tenth Hierarchy".]

This set of propositions is obviously extremely attractive; it greatly flatters us as human beings, creatures who sometimes are told that we are nothing more than slightly smarter apes, trapped in a world where God is dead and life has no meaning. Anthroposophy reassures us not only that our lives have great meaning and value, but that we can scarcely overstate our own importance. We are bathed in warm, glowing, celestial admiration and respect. Who would not want to receive such marvelous reassurances?

The Waldorf belief system is built around a joyously optimistic narrative, outlining the future stages of humanity's evolution. [See "Matters of Form".] If this narrative is "true" (a slippery concept in Anthroposophy), our apotheosis is assured. Steiner foresaw the future clairvoyantly. He did not predict  what is to come, he knew  what is to come. [See "Exactly".] Placing our reliance on his psychic powers, and working to develop similar powers according to his instructions [see "Knowing the Worlds"], we can face the future with the utmost confidence.

Not everyone will be redeemed, perhaps, but very nearly everyone will be. According to the most cheery reading of Anthroposophical doctrine, the spirits who evolve highest will, from time to time, reach back and pull forward the recalcitrant and deviant, leading them to the upward path. [See, e.g., "Sixth Epoch".] They will lift up the ones who have fallen behind. This is, in a sense, what the gods have been doing for us all along. The gods are beings much like ourselves; they were human once, but by now they have evolved to higher levels, just as we will do. [See, e.g., "Evolution, Anyone?"] From their higher position, they look down and back at us, and they lend us their divine aid.

The course of evolution has required flawed and faulty beings to branch off — they have been left behind while the more healthful souls proceeded upward. Most animals, for instance, are beings who once developed alongside us, but at various points they reached the limits of their capacities, so they branched off and were left behind. [See "Neutered Nature".] Likewise, others of our former companions sank from their place at our side, effectively lost their souls, and became subhuman "nature spirits." [See, e.g., "Secrets".] The Waldorf belief system emphasizes freedom, which means that individuals have the ability to choose the correct path leading upward, or they may choose an alternative, incorrect path that leads downward. [See "Freedom".] Whether the gods will reach back and redeem all the beings who chose wrong is moot; but an optimistic reading suggests that they may well do so in all but the most dire cases. [See, e.g., "Enemies".]

Anthroposophists often assert that there is no real evil in the universe. Everything, including the actions of apparently malevolent spirits, ultimately contributes to our well-being. This is a somewhat hazy area in Anthroposophical belief (the problem of evil is a difficult conceptual challenge in most theologies). Steiner taught, for instance, that Lucifer — whom he sometimes identified as the Devil — actually brings humanity important gifts. [See "Lucifer".] The obstacles placed in our path by other "evil" spirits may likewise be seen as necessary for our spiritual education, as it were. (On the other hand, Steiner taught of spirits who seem genuinely baleful and malicious, whose actions may contravene the intentions of the gods, and who may thus be considered literally evil. [See "Evil Ones".] But for the present, we are accentuating the positive.)

To outsiders, it may seem that Anthroposophists wear rose-colored glasses. Belief in clairvoyance may seem unjustifiable, and denying the actuality of evil may seem ingenuous. But the rosy perspective adopted by most of Steiner's followers may be, indeed, central to the charm of Anthroposophy. More sophisticated and nuanced perspectives are also present in Anthroposophy — Steiner's teachings are complex; doctrinal disputes are certainly not unknown among Anthroposophists. Still, a comforting glow of self-assured blessedness can be discerned in most Anthroposophical enterprises.

To wrap up this section, we should circle back to emphasize a key upbeat element of Anthroposophy. At one level, Anthroposophy essentially consists of Rudolf Steiner's occult teachings. [See "Occultism".] Certainly, Anthroposophists tend to accept Steiner's teachings as nearly unarguable, and they tend to stoutly defend Steiner whenever he is criticized. Nonetheless, Anthroposophists generally believe that they are free agents, able to rely on their own sharpened intuitive powers to receive personal revelations. [See "Serving the Gods".] In this sense, Anthroposophy is a living faith (or, as Anthroposophists would put it, a living "spiritual science"), and each Anthroposophist is an independent spiritual explorer, able to attain independent knowledge of the spirit realm. Being human, and particularly being an Anthroposophist, is indeed magnificent. The central human intuition, according to Anthroposophy, is "I am" — the thrilling knowledge that one exists as an independent being, a part of the divine plan, an incarnation of divinity. 

II.

Sunny Waldorf

The optimism of Anthroposophy generally suffuses Waldorf schools. The schools are often strikingly beautiful — filled with prismatic art, they radiate spiritual warmth. Wholesome values abound — reverence for nature, emphasis on organic foods and materials, disengagement from technological gadgetry and the complications of the hurried, harried outside world. The schools are frequently comforting retreats, sanctuaries in which children are allowed time and scope for unhurried learning, playtime is long and unstructured, imagination and sentiment are honored, and myths and sacred tales are given primacy over the dreary findings of materialistic science.

Many Waldorf teachers are Anthroposophists of one degree or another. Some have a deep, sophisticated knowledge of Rudolf Steiner's teachings; others are less fully informed. And some Waldorf teachers have no ties to Anthroposophy at all. Still, by and large, the schools seek to embody positive spiritual forces as found in Anthroposophy, and to fend off the more dire trends of contemporary life. [See, e.g., "Spiritual Agenda" and "Soul School".]

The Waldorf curriculum aims to address the "whole child" — head, heart, and hands. [See "Holistic Education".] The curriculum seeks to present each subject at the appropriate time in the students' development [see "Curriculum"], using methods that are sensitive and pliant [see "Methods"]. Art is given great emphasis [see "Magical Arts"], and intuitive/imaginative thought is nurtured as opposed to cold, damaging critical thought [see "Thinking Cap"]. Fundamentally, the schools recognize human spirituality, and they strive to foster spiritual growth far more than merely imparting academic instruction [see "Academics" and "Conclusion"].

Waldorf teachers are often extremely devoted and conscientious. They usually undergo a special form of training meant to enable them to present all subjects beautifully [see "Teaching Training"], and they are encouraged to develop a special form of consciousness meant to yield deep wisdom [see "The Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness"].

If not all Waldorf teachers have warm, sunny personalities, most strive to embody the best in human potentiality. Steiner said that Waldorf teachers should endeavor to make themselves nearly flawless role models for their students, and Waldorf teachers tend to take such injunctions seriously. [See, e.g., "The Schools Themselves".] The teachers usually try to inspire not just admiration but love in their students. At the first Waldorf school, Steiner often asked the assembled students whether they loved their teachers, and the answer usually came back, in a happy chorus, "Yes!" [See, e.g., "Mistreating Kids Lovingly".]

III.

Clouds?

If that were the whole story, there would nothing left to say. We would have to commend Anthroposophy and Waldorf, and we would wish to make ourselves worthy of them.

Most of the other pages here at Waldorf Watch are devoted to examining Anthroposophy and Waldorf in some depth; various problems, some quite serious, are identified. We needn't try to explore all those issues at this stage. Instead, let's simply summarize a few of the more prominent points that you may want to delve into.

◊ If Anthroposophy is generally sunny, it is not wholly so. There are contradictions, ambiguities, and complexities that sometimes alter the cheery picture I have outlined. [See, e.g., "Ahriman", "Hell", "Sin", and "Evil".]

◊ The reliability of the "knowledge" presented by Anthroposophy is highly suspect. [See, e.g., "Steiner's 'Science'" and "Steiner's Blunders".] There are strong reasons to suspect that, in affirming their occult "knowledge," Anthroposophists deceive themselves. [See, e.g., "Why? Oh Why?" and "Fooling (Ourselves)".]

◊ There appears to be no true foundation for Anthroposophy. Everything in Anthroposophy ultimately depends on clairvoyance. If clairvoyance does not exist, there is no basis for Anthroposophy. The evidence available to us indicates that clairvoyance does not exist. [See "Clairvoyance".]

◊ Waldorf education may share the defects of Anthroposophy. To the degree that a Waldorf school is devoted to Anthroposophy, it may inculcate its students with a wholly false view of reality. [See, e.g., "Indoctrination" and "Today Too".] Anthroposophy is a  newly devised religion that, at least arguably, is severely disconnected from reality. [See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?", "Steiner Static", "Why? Oh Why?", and "Fooling (Ourselves)".]

◊ Waldorf schools are often accused to deceiving families about their real purposes. [See, e.g., "Our Experience" and "He Went to Waldorf".] In part, this may be intentional [see "Secrets"]; in part, it may reflect the self-deception that characterizes Anthroposophy as a whole. The morality of the Waldorf movement is, at a minimum, open to question.

On this page, we have tried to accentuate at the positive. But here at the end we have stepped into the shadows. It is up to you to decide whether you want to pursue any of these questions further. If you do, you might begin by visiting the Waldorf Watch Table of Contents or the Waldorf Watch Index. Another option for beginning an investigation of Waldorf schooling is to visit Waldorf Straight Talk.

— Roger Rawlings

The beguiling face of Anthroposophy peers out from Anthroposophical art.

Such art is used on the covers of Anthroposophical publications,

and it can often be found hanging on the walls of Waldorf schools.

The art is typically mystical, dreamlike, and religious.

The images, above, come from the covers 

of these Anthroposophical/Waldorf books:

Angela Lord, EASTER - Rudolf Steiner's Watercolor Painting

(SteinerBooks, 2011)

Roy Wilkinson, THE INTERPRETATION OF FAIRY TALES

(Rudolf Steiner College Press, 1997)

Marjorie Spoch, TEACHING AS A LIVELY ART

(Anthroposophic Press, 1985)

Agnes Nobel, EDUCATING THROUGH ART - The Steiner School Approach

(Floris Books, 1991)

Marsha Post, THE WALDORF SCHOOL BOOK OF SOUPS

(Bell Pond Books, SteinerBooks, 2006)

Ron Odama, ASTROLOGY & ANTHROPOSOPHY

(Bennett & Hastings, 2009)

Richard Moore, FIVE PLAYS FOR WALDORF FESTIVALS

(Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship, 2004)

Charles Kovacs, PARSIFAL and the Search for the Grail

(Floris Books, Waldorf Education Resources, 2002)

Jakob Streit, PUCK THE GNOME

(Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 2004)

Waldorf schools often seem, at least initially, too good to be true: warm, sunny, loving, lovely. The same goes for presentations of Waldorf education — books, pamphlets, posters, videos, open houses, festivals, PR pitches of all kinds. Warm, sunny, loving, lovely. Do these presentations accurately reflect the real nature of Waldorf education? Possibly. Or possibly not. Do your best to learn the truth. (One piece of common advice may apply here. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.)

AFTERWORDS

I.

Redemption

Will we all be redeemed? Will we all ascend as members of the Tenth Hierarchy? Will errant individuals recognize their errors and reform? Will subhumans rise to become human — and will they then, along with the rest of us, eventually attain superhuman status?

Anthroposophy leans toward an optimistic "Yes!" in answer to such questions. The gods have a plan. It is wise and benevolent. It encompasses all possibilities, and it directs all toward the good.

The matter is not quite so simple, however. Steiner taught that human beings are in the process of becoming supremely free. [See "Freedom".] We have descended far onto the physical plane of existence, where the demons Lucifer and Ahriman offer us the option of doing evil. We can freely choose the white upward path toward virtue and apotheosis, or we can freely choose the black downward path into depravity. [See "White / Black".] Due to Lucifer and Ahriman, we have gained the knowledge of good and evil, and consequently we can make our own decisions. Christ the Sun God has shown us the correct way forward [see "Prototype"], but we are free to do as we like within the constraints of our self-created karma [see "Karma"]. And our freedom will be all the greater when we evolve to transcend karma. [See "Sixth Epoch".]

Much of this seems uplifting. But judged dispassionately, the "freedom" offered by Anthroposophy is terribly constricting. We really have just two options, and only one of them leads to a clearly happy ending. The other leads to dreadful consequences, which no sane person would opt for. Still, so long as we are "free," we retain the possibility of making the self-punishing choice; we can forego redemption and hurtle down the black path instead.

If the gods honor our "freedom" — if they do not overrule us and take us to the white path against our will — then the possibility must remain open: Some of us may opt not to be saved. Some may genuinely, albeit perversely, prefer the black path.

Steiner taught that becoming thoroughly evil is extremely difficult. Most souls will not descend all the way into darkness; most will sooner or later turn toward redemption. But some will choose the difficult, self-destructive downward path. In fact, according to Steiner, the downward path actually contains sixteen sub-paths, and a soul must travel all sixteen before becoming wholly lost. 

"No one is obliged to take all the sixteen paths and thereby fall out of evolution. We must only be aware of the possibility." — Rudolf Steiner, THE INFLUENCE OF SPIRITUAL BEINGS UPON MAN (Anthroposophic Press, 1961), lecture 8, GA 102.

Taking all sixteen paths essentially means fully embracing evil during sixteen successive incarnations. Only then will you suffer the supreme penalty: "falling out of evolution." The penalty, in other words, is that you will lose the ability to reincarnate, so you will no longer be able to evolve upward. You will no longer rise toward redemption. You will be lost.

Who would willingly make this choice? Who would perversely travel the downward path sixteen times in a row? Only a fool, surely. So, surely, very few individuals will be lost. But some  will be. The danger, Steiner said, is real. Indeed, the danger confronts us in our current incarnations: 

"[T]oday...the spirit-soul is asleep. The human being is thus in danger of drifting into the Ahrimanic world, in which case the spirit-soul will evaporate into the cosmos. We live in a time when people face the danger of losing their souls to materialistic impulses. That is a very serious matter. We now stand confronted with that fact." — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 115.

Even toward the end of time, Steiner taught, the errant will depart from the upward path and enter forms of perdition. Thus, far in the future, when most evil individuals have long since fallen away, a few will remain, and they will suffer the consequences of their foul choices. During Future Venus [see "Future Stages"], these remaining evil souls will be sent packing. 

"During the Venus stage, a distinct cosmic body will break away, containing all the beings who have resisted evolution and constituting an 'unredeemable moon,' so to speak. It will move toward an evolution that is so different in character from anything we can experience on Earth that there are no words that can possibly express it. The part of humanity that has continued to evolve [properly], however, will move on to the Vulcan phase of evolution in a fully spiritualized form of existence." — Rudolf Steiner, AN OUTLINE OF ESOTERIC SCIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1997) p. 394.

What will happen to the evil ones, those who "have resisted evolution?" What will they undergo on their "unredeemble moon"? Steiner doesn't say, but presumably a slight ray of hope remains: Perhaps the "evolution that is so different" will lead them, through tortuous stages, toward redemption. Perhaps. But the possibility seems extremely slim. Steiner applies the label "unredeemable" to this moon of lost souls. It will be a place, presumably, that stands in antithesis to redemption. The word "unredeemable" reverberates with a dreadful, and seemingly final, meaning.

II.

Gnomes

Among the charms of Waldorf schools is the presence of gnomes figurines, dolls, and paintings. Students in the earliest grades are virtually surrounded by gnomes; they are told many stories about gnomes; they recite poems and sing songs about gnomes. It all can seem delightful.

We need to realize, however, that in Anthroposophy gnomes are not Disneyesque cuties. Nor are they imaginary. [See "Gnomes".] In Anthroposophical belief, gnomes really exist. They are one of four primary types of "nature spirits" [see "Neutered Nature"] — they are incorporeal presences that dwell within the earth. (The other primary types of nature spirits are sylphs, fire spirits, and undines, which live in the air, in fire, and in water, respectively. [See "Beings".])

What this boils down to is that when young Waldorf students are repeatedly introduced to gnomes, they are actually being introduced to one small part of Anthroposophical mysticism. Gnomes provide Waldorf teachers with an apparently unobjectionable way to start leading children toward Anthroposophy. [See, e.g., "Sneaking It In" and "Clearing House".]

Steiner emphatically taught that gnomes are real. He said (rather surprisingly) that miners often see gnomes deep underground. They see the gnomes not with their physical eyes but with the atavistic clairvoyance that, he said, many miners possess. 

"[M]iners frequently possess....an astral vision [i.e., clairvoyance]; they know that gnomes are realities.” — Rudolf Steiner, FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1982), lecture 27, GA 93a.

Gnomes are quite clever, Steiner said. They are privy to occult secrets that are hidden from us. Despite their smarts, however, gnomes harbor hatred in their hearts. 

"[T]he gnomes, inside the earth, are actually the bearers of the ideas of the universe, of the world-all. But for the earth itself they have no liking at all. They bustle about in the earth with ideas of the universe, but they actually hate what is earthly." — Rudolf Steiner, MAN AS SYMPHONY OF THE CREATIVE WORD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1970), lecture 7. GA 230.

The gnomes who dwell in the Earth today are the successors to the gnomes who were active during the Old Moon stage of Evolution. [See "Old Moon, Etc.".] Those "moon gnomes" actually created today's Earth, in a manner of speaking. 

“The predecessors of our Earth-gnomes, the Moon-gnomes, gathered together their Moon-experiences and from them fashioned this structure, this firm structure of the solid fabric of the Earth, so that our solid Earth-structure actually arose from the experiences of the gnomes of the old Moon.” — Rudolf Steiner, MAN AS SYMPHONY OF THE CREATIVE WORD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1970), lecture 9, GA 230.

Gnomes are thus our benefactors, in a manner of speaking. But they are not actually our friends; indeed, they are not actually good. They lack morality, which is why they are sometimes called goblins. 

"Many names have been given to them, such as goblins, gnomes and so forth ... What one calls moral responsibility in man is entirely lacking in them ... Their nature prompts them to play all sorts of tricks on man....” — Rudolf Steiner, NATURE SPIRITS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1995), pp. 62-63.

Gnome figures, and dolls, and pictures may seem to contribute to the bright, sunny atmosphere that is apparent in Waldorf schools. But the reality is somewhat different. Gnome figures, and dolls, and pictures, as seen in Waldorf schools, are actually indications of the mystical worldview embraced by so many Waldorf teachers — it is the worldview, called Anthroposophy, that Waldorf schools quietly promote. If you cannot believe in the actual existence of gnomes, you may start to find the light fading from the Waldorf scene.

◊

It doesn't happen often, but occasionally a piece of Anthroposophical art

indicates, subtly, that things aren't all sunshine and sweetness.

Look again at the cover of PUCK THE GNOME;

specifically, look in the upper left-hand corner.

There you'll find this demonic visage:

As some of the other pictures we've seen suggest,

Waldorf education has a distinctly religious tone

(although the schools usually claim to be 

nonsectarian and nondenominational).

This religious tone is, in itself, an attraction for some people.

But make sure you understand, and can accept, 

the specific type of religion that is central 

to Waldorf belief and practice.

The Waldorf religion is Anthroposophy, 

which it is both polytheistic and gnostic;

it diverges far from mainstream Western faiths.

[See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?",

"Was He Christian?", "Polytheism", and "Gnosis".]

◊

This is one of my efforts to emulate typical Waldorf art,

inspired in part by the sorts of images we are considering here,

and in part by the wet-on-wet watercolor paintings

my classmates and I were taught to create in Waldorf art classes.

I use recent paintings, drawings, and photographs of my own

for various purposes throughout Waldorf Watch.

I attempt to express the spiritual vibe of Waldorf schooling

while also conveying my own post-Waldorf judgments.

— R.R.