As far as I know, Kristen Ann never taught at a Waldorf school. However, she took Waldorf teacher training, and her account would seem to belong here at Waldorf Watch. The following is taken from her website, exploringsacredspace.com, where she promotes her book, EXPLORING SACRED SPACE. Kristen Ann gives us a peek into the mindset shared by at least some of Rudolf Steiner’s followers.

Among occultists, esotericists, and the generally gullible, 2012 was expected to be a stupendous year — indeed, many expected the world to end. This was the doom they thought the ancient Mayans had forecast. At least one subset of Anthroposophists shared in the resulting tizzy, although they put their own Anthroposophical backspin on the story. For the semi-official Steinerite view of what 2012 was likely to bring, see such books as CHRIST AND THE MAYA CALENDAR: 2012 and the Coming of the Antichrist (Lindisfarne Books, 2009) [http://www.steinerbooks.org/detail.html?session=78242f88a58f7c8c72dbb0ac6f159098&id=9781584200710.] Lindisfarne is an imprint of the Anthroposophic Press.

For a peek at prior Anthroposophical predictions of impending events, see "Millennium".

—Roger Rawlings

"Exploring Sacred Space: A Vast Quest" reveals further details that people need to know at this pivotal moment in history. Many other disclosures are also given, including some of the deepest Egyptian mysteries. Learn what the Egyptians knew about extraterrestrial races and why they have been so interested in our planet at this time. Kristen's meetings with Dan Fry in the late '70s are also described in detail. Dan Fry was a contactee starting in the '50s. Kristen spent several weekends with Dan and Florence Fry at their 1970s home in Tonapah, Arizona. She and Dan had the most fascinating, eye-opening conversations about the startling facts that the aliens had told him about our history and our future. Many of these conversations are detailed in the book. The list of respected people who've had encounters [with aliens] continues to grow. We will reach a point where this part of the total scenario of what is and what will be happening on this planet will come out. [http://exploringsacredspace.com/Short_bio_of_Kristen_Ann++.html]

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* Promotional material for CHRIST AND THE MAYA CALENDAR:

"Despite the explosion of books, videos and TV shows that claim to penetrate the mystery of '2012'-the numerical shorthand for the completion on December 21, 2012, of the thirteenth B'ak'tun cycle in the Long Count of the Maya calendar-consensus about its meaning seems to remain elusive. As metaphysical speculation mounts, professional astronomers and ethnologists dismiss the whole body of modern interpretations of the Mayan calendar as New Age gobbledygook. Among the supposed seers themselves-including José Arguelles, Carl Johann Calleman, and Daniel Pinchbeck-doctrinal disputes worthy of academics are now the norm. The scholars have every right to be miffed at the sometimes sloppy thinking and exaggerated claims of the seers, which tend toward enthusiastic proclamations of an imminent, universally accelerated psychic evolution, while the seers themselves have legitimate critiques about the limits of scientific inquiry when it comes to the prophetic traditions of ancient peoples. Christ and the Maya Calendar approaches the significance of 2012 by spiritually penetrating phenomena of today. Drawing on the book of Revelation — which provides an archetype for understanding spiritual history, as well as on Rudolf Steiner's Apocalyptic indications — a completely new context for grasping the end date of the Maya calendar emerges. In a November 1919 lecture, Steiner made a stunning remark about Ahriman: 'Ahriman skillfully prepares his goal beforehand ... [and] will find an important instrument for preparing his incarnation. His incarnation is undoubtedly coming, and this lack of insight will enable him to prepare it triumphantly.' The subtitle of this book — "2012 and the Coming of the Antichrist" — refers to this coming incarnation of Ahriman. In fact, Steiner narrowed the timeline for Ahriman's incarnation, saying it would come "before even a small part of the third millennium has run its course." Just after Christmas 1919, Steiner revealed more about the impending incarnation of Ahriman, saying almost offhandedly that Ahriman's name might be 'John William Smith.'* With this remark, he clearly pointed to the incarnation occurring in the English-speaking West, while other remarks made it is certain Steiner meant that the incarnation would take place in America. In addition to penetrating the spiritual background of our time in relation to the coming of the Antichrist (the incarnation of Ahriman), the authors explore the significance of the Mexican mysteries and present a wealth of new research with the intention of helping the reader to navigate the Apocalyptic scenario currently shaping up, with the global financial crisis as one important expression. Most important, the authors refer to the Second Coming of Christ as the true event of our time; the incarnation of Satan/Ahriman is its shadow. The authors also show the significance of Divine Sophia as the antidote to negative consequences of Ahriman's incarnation. Finally, as a positive manifestation of the world of spirit in our time, the book discusses the significance of the young anthroposophist, Judith von Halle, who since Easter 2004 has born the stigmata, the visible signs of the wounds of Christ." [http://www.amazon.com/Christ-Maya-Calendar-Robert-Powell/dp/1584200715/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418498451&sr=1-1]

* "When the incarnation of Ahriman takes place in the Western World we shall simply see inscribed in the local Register, the birth of John William Smith (of course, this will not be the name) and people will look upon the child as a citizen in comfortable circumstances like any other, and they will sleep through what has in reality taken place." — Rudolf Steiner, THE COSMIC NEW YEAR (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1938), lecture 3, GA 195.

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Postscript

I am writing this postscript late in 2014. All the excitement and dread occasioned by the pending arrival of the terrible, epochal year 2012 has pretty well died down. The world did not end, evidently. Nor did a "Transition" to a new phase of evolution begin, evidently. Nor was Ahriman incarnated, evidently. (Quite possibly 2012 saw the birth of John William Smith — or multiple John William Smiths, come to that — but since Steiner said this wouldn't be Ahriman's actual alias, checking into birth registries for this name would get us nowhere.)

Most of the fuss about 2012 was nonsense. The fuss arose because, by some interpretations, projections in the ancient Mayan calendar did not extend beyond December 21, 2012. [See THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/370868/Mayan-calendar.] Some mystics convince themselves that the ancient Mayans knew what the future held (Doom!), although various commentators said the Mayan calendar was being misinterpreted. [See WIKIPEDIA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_calendar.] But surely the uproar was baseless whether or not anyone knew how to read the Mayan calendar. Why in the world would anyone think an ancient calendar held the key to the future? Why in the world would anyone turn to an ancient people for knowledge of the future? Why in the world?

Books such as EXPLORING SACRED SPACE and CHRIST AND THE MAYA CALENDAR open a window into the bemused and benighted echo chamber of Anthroposophical thought. Both books raom far and wide; they do not confine themselves to Steiner's teachings. Yet both books lean heavily on Steiner, and both follow a pattern established by Steiner himself. Anthroposophists generally affirm the reality of mystical, metaphysical, and paranormal phenomena, just as Steiner did. And Anthroposophists generally look to the ancient world for "wisdom" while rejected most of the science and scholarship of the modern world. Typically, Anthroposophists latch onto the strange and mysterious, affirming them as realities while insisting on their own "higher" insights into these phenomena. No one has the fundamental answers except Anthroposophists with their clairvoyant super-vision reaching far into the past and far into the future. Or so Anthroposophists complacently believe. Do ghosts exist? Yes, but they aren't what most people think. Do gnomes exist? Yes, but they aren't what most people think. Do flying saucers exist? Yes, but they aren't what most people think. Is the world headed for catastrophe? Yes, but not as non-Anthroposophists think. Only Anthroposophists know the truth about these things and much much more.

Anthroposophy is a delusional worldview buttressed by claims of superior, "objective," clairvoyant knowledge. No one outside Anthroposophy need be concerned about any of this. Anthroposophists certainly have the right to believe whatever they like, just as they are free to tell each other any tales they like. But anyone standing outside Anthroposophy who finds Anthroposophical thinking false should pause and consider carefully before sending children to Waldorf schools, which are based on Anthroposophical thinking.

[To delve into Anthroposophical forecasts of various futures see, e.g., "Millennium", "Past and Future", "Future Stages", and "Steiner Static". To look into Anthroposophy's approach to ancient "wisdom," see "The Ancients."

— Roger Rawlings

December 14, 2014

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A note about URL's (Web addresses) and links to them: These may become outdated. Owners of websites may remove pages, change their locations, etc. I work to maintain the URL's and links at my own websites, but I cannot control what happens elsewhere. If any URL's or links I present here prove to be outdated, I apologize. They were all current when I produced the various essays at my sites, and perhaps with a little Internet sleuthing you may be able to find materials that otherwise seem to have vanished or been altered.

— R.R.