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WALDORF / STEINER 

NEWS ARCHIVE

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March 16, 2018

to

March 31, 2018

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This site supplements Waldorf Watch.

To go to Waldorf Watch itself, please click here:

Waldorf Watch.

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The news items below are presented in reverse chronological order — newest first, oldest last.

Please excuse a certain amount of repetition in the contents of this archive. Items that now appear close together on the screen may have originally been separated by intervals of several days.

Many of the items in this archive generalize about Waldorf schools, describing them as Rudolf Steiner and leading Waldorf representatives have said they should be and as evidence shows they often are today. Not all Waldorf schools, Waldorf charter schools, and Waldorf-inspired schools conform to this model precisely. To evaluate an individual school, you should carefully examine its stated purposes, its practices (which may or may not be consistent with its stated purposes), and the composition of its faculty.

— Roger Rawlings

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.March 30, 2018

APOLLO, HU, 

AHURA MAZDA, BALDR...

Most Waldorf schools are currently arranging and staging their annual spring festivals. In recent coverage here, we have looked at some of the auxiliary and even pagan beliefs built into these festivals. Now, as we approach Easter Sunday, we should focus on the central theme of the festivals occurring at this season in Waldorf schools.

Waldorf spring festivals may be staged at almost any time during the spring months, but they are always tied, at their core, to the Christian holy day of Easter. Despite this tie, there are important differences between orthodox Christian observances of Easter and the rituals enacted in and around Waldorf schools. Whereas Christianity is one of the world's major monotheistic faiths, the religion underlying the Waldorf movement — Anthroposophy — is polytheistic. Anthroposophy reveres gods who rule over many planets and stars in the cosmos. Among these is the Sun God. 

The founder of Waldorf education, Rudolf Steiner, taught that the Sun God incarnated on the Earth; he dwelt here in the body of a man named Jesus. Steiner taught that this god is the spirit who has become known as Christ. The Sun God, or Christ, resided on the Earth for three years. He poured his spiritual influence into the Earth, thereby changing the course of human evolution. After that, he returned to the Sun. He now resides in the etheric sphere surrounding the Earth. [See the “news” item for March 10, 2018: “Spring, and the Sun God, at Waldorf”.]

A book published by a Waldorf teachers' association helps us recognize the position of the Sun God at the center of Waldorf Easter observances.

Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America, 2008

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Various texts reproduced in the book underscore the importance of the Sun and its god in Waldorf Easter rituals. Thus, for instance, on we find this:

“Christ was no earthly man. He was a Sun-Being dwelling in [i.e., incarnated in] the body of Jesus….” — Rudolf Steiner, EASTER, p. 12.

Here is a key verse, appearing early in the book:

“Easter-Mood

When out of world-wide spaces

The sun speaks to the human mind,

And gladness from the depths of soul

Becomes, in seeing, one with light,

Then rising from the sheath of self,

Thoughts soar to distances of space

And dimly bind

The human being to the Spirit’s life.”

— Rudolf Steiner, EASTER, p. 3.

This verse summarizes the Waldorf/Anthroposophical conception of Easter. The Sun, or the Sun God, “speaks to the human mind.” The reverent recipient of the Sun’s message receives “gladness [that] becomes…one with light” — that is, the soul attains joyful connection with the Sun and its illumination. This leads to resurrection as conceived in Anthroposophy: the rising of the individual human out of the limits of the self and into union with the divine. “Then rising from the sheath of self…The human being [rises] to the Spirit’s life.”

Other verses in the book address Christ as the spirit of illumination or sunlight. And the spiritual power of the Sun is reiterated over and over. Thus, for instance, we find the following:

“He who illuminates the clouds,

May he illuminate…

Even me.” — p. 17

“Sun, you radiance-harborer….” — p. 18

“When I gaze into the sun,

Radiantly it speaks to me….’ — p. 18

“I can feel, when I look inward…

The soul-bright human sun.” — p. 18

“As the sun in the sky

Sends light to the Earth…” — p. 19

“God’s spirit shines

In sunlight bright….” — p. 19

“You, O my soul,

Give thanks to the light….” — p. 20

“The sun gives light…

For the sun

Does love….” — p. 20

“Light is Love … ’tis woven sunshine,

Love-beams shining from a world

of creative entities….” — p. 30

“The Canticle of the Sun

…Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures,

especially Sir Brother Sun….” — p. 35

If Sun verses such as these are interpreted as merely metaphorical expressions of Christian belief, they may seem unobjectionable to many parents considering Waldorf schools for their children. But if we take such verses as literal expressions of the pagan beliefs found in Anthroposophy, many parents will probably recoil. And, indeed, the Waldorf vision of Christ conceives him to be a god who came to Earth not from Heaven but from the Sun.  

The Christ adored in Waldorf schools is the same solar spirit worshipped by many pagan peoples in the past, peoples who gave him such names as Apollo. Thus, for instance, Rudolf Steiner said the following:

“Apollo, the Sun god, was the representative of the divine spiritual beings [i.e., gods] which exist behind the tapestry of the sense world... We may now ask: What is the relation of Apollo to the Christ? ... [W]hen the Greek uttered the name of Apollo he was indeed referring to the being which later was revealed as the Christ, but he could only conceive of it [i.e., that god, Christ] in a kind of veiled form, as Apollo.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE EAST IN THE LIGHT OF THE WEST (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1940), lecture 6, GA 113.

Putting things perhaps a bit more clearly, one of Steiner's prominent followers has written this:

“The rituals through which one can contact gods and goddesses of old offer a deep sense of satisfaction. However, times have changed, spiritual beings evolve also and are known by other names. Christ, the Sun God, who was known by earlier peoples under such names as Ahura Mazda, Hu or Balder [Baldr], has now united himself with the earth and its future evolution.” — Margaret Jonas, Introduction to RUDOLF STEINER SPEAKS TO THE BRITISH (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998), p. 5.

In brief, Christ is the Sun God (aka Apollo, Ahura Mazda, Hu, Balder...) who has become deeply involved with Earthly affairs, in particular human spiritual affairs. 

Easter at Waldorf does not conform to mainstream Christian beliefs. Waldorf Easter is polytheistic and, in many ways, pagan.

We will wrap up our coverage of Waldorf spring festivals in a day or so.

[For more on the nature of Anthroposophical religious beliefs, see "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?", "Was He Christian?", and "Waldorf Worship". For more on Waldorf polytheism and paganism, see "Polytheism" and "Pagan". For more on the Sun God, see "Sun God". Steiner taught that the Sun God has come to Earth more than once: See "Christ Events". Steiner taught that other gods have also come to Earth, in the form of avatars. (Steiner said that Christ is the greatest of the avatars.) See "Avatars".]

— R.R.

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March 28, 2018

◊ READINGS ◊

SPRING MINISTRY

AT WALDORF

During the Waldorf school year, three major festivals are usually observed: the fall, winter, and spring festivals (Michaelmas, Christmas, and Easter, each observed with admixtures from non-Christian traditions). During these festivals, multiple Anthroposophical beliefs are enacted. Often, students are encouraged to affirm these beliefs. But on other occasions, faculty members minister to the students without making the meaning of their actions evident.

Here are some indications concerning Easter observances at Waldorf schools. To understand the indications, you need to know that Anthroposophy teaches that human beings have twelve senses, associated with the twelve signs of the zodiac. Moreover, human beings are reincarnating spirits whose recurrent lives on Earth are meant to enable them to evolve to higher spiritual levels. Waldorf teachers seek to aid students in this process, which is the core of the Anthroposophical creed.

The following, written by a Waldorf teacher, is from a Waldorf journal project:

How can we [Waldorf teachers] create new festivals that give lifelong strength to the children we teach? Today's children require tactile experiences. Those incarnating today have strong social awareness and they long to "touch" the world with their full beings. Considering the twelve senses allows us to facilitate this need....

At Easter/Passover we are at the time of nature's rebirth ... Our feelings are being stirred by the movements of the natural world....

How can we bring these experiences to children? The answer lies in the activation of their [twelve] senses....

— David Mitchell, "Working with the Festivals through the Twelve Senses", MICHAELMAS - Waldorf Journal Project #15 (Waldorf Publications, 2015), pp. 60-61.

Mitchell then lists twelve sets of activities meant to exercise Waldorf students' twelve senses. These recommendations typify the sort of Waldorf ministry that may seem meritorious or at least unobjectionable. In some instances, occult Anthroposophical doctrines nearly emerge into plain view — for instance in discussions of the "meaning of colors" — but generally they remain hidden. (References to "rebirth", "transcendence", etc., are also suggestive.)

The key question is whether the premises for this ministry, such as the existence of twelve senses, are true. If not, then much that is false lurks just below the attractive Waldorf surface.

The twelve senses and their associated springtime (Easter) activities:

[1]  Sense of Touch ... amnesty international [sic] letters written, deeds done for the disadvantaged

[2]  Sense of Life ... experience a sunrise followed by neighborhood breakfast

[3]  Sense of Movement ... long walk with spaces for quiet reflection

[4]  Sense of Equilibrium ... contra dancing, folk dancing, Maypole dancing

[5]  Sense of Smell ... bread-baking, discuss smells that interest you

[6]  Sense of Taste ... taste salty items

[7]  Sense of Sight ... decorations with purple and yellow; discuss the meaning of colors

[8]  Sense of Warmth ... early morning walks in the brisk air; afternoon talks in the warm sun

[9]  Sense of Hearing ... make music together with all instruments

[10] Sense of Word ... read naturalists' writings of rebirth in nature

[11] Sense of Thought ... tell biographies of sorrow and its transcendence

[12] Sense of Ego ... share three deep questions in small groups with each person responding, "What three personalities influence you and why?"

— David Mitchell, "Working with the Festivals through the Twelve Senses", MICHAELMAS, pp. 62-63.

[For more on the twelve senses and their connections to the zodiac, see "What We're Made Of". For more about the Waldorf view of nature, see "Neutered Nature". For more about the "meaning of colors," see "Mystical Colors". For more about human "personalities" according to Waldorf belief, see "Humouresque" and "Temperaments". For more about human spiritual evolution, see, e.g., the entries for "evolution" and "evolution of consciousness" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia. Concerning the "full beings" of Waldorf students — the whole child, often referred to in Waldorf PR materials — see "Holistic Education".]

— R.R.

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March 26, 2018

THE WALDORF

ALTERNATIVE

From The Newcastle Herald [Australia]:

Linuwel School introduces 

"alternative to the HSC" 

for year 11 and 12 students

[by] Helen Gregory,

YASMINE Kelly has known for years she did not want to sit the Higher School Certificate (HSC).

“I had some friends and older family members do it and they were so stressed out,” Yasmine, 16, said. “I just knew then and there I did not want to put myself through it. There had to be another way.”

Yasmine attends Linuwel School in East Maitland, which has become the first school in the Hunter – and the eighth in the state – to register for year 11 and 12, but not enter candidates for the HSC.

Instead, the Steiner school has expanded beyond year 10 to offer an “alternative to the HSC” for students, who sit NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) developed and endorsed courses, plus have access to courses from other providers.

Year 12 students sit English, Maths, Society and Culture, Visual Arts or Philosophy, a course of their choice plus complete a major project, portfolio and presentation. Crucially, they do not sit the final exam usually valued at 50 per cent of the course mark, or any assessments under exam conditions....

[3/26/2018   http://www.theherald.com.au/story/5300637/linuwel-school-introduces-an-alternative-to-the-hsc/]

Waldorf Watch Response:

Many schools place too much emphasis on standardized tests and the pursuit of academic certificates. (The HSC is meant to certify that a student has successfully completed secondary education and is prepared for post-secondary education.) 

On the other hand, some schools shortchange their students by failing to prepare them for real life in the real world, including real higher education.

Waldorf schools have long been criticized for falling into the latter category. The problem goes back to the very first Waldorf school. Rudolf Steiner once said the following to teachers at the first Waldorf:

“The question of final examinations is purely a question of opportunity. It is a question of whether we dare tell those who come to us that we will not prepare them for the final examination at all, that it is a private decision of the student whether to take the final examination or not.” — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 712.

Steiner's statement contains two important elements. 1) The Waldorf School will not prepare its students for standard final examinations. 2) The Waldorf School may hide this fact from students and their parents ("those who come to us").

Waldorf schools have long been criticized both for having low academic standards and for being deceptive about their real objectives. [See "Academic Standards at Waldorf" and "Secrets".] Some Waldorf schools are doubtless better on both points than others; parents should investigate each Waldorf school, carefully, on its own merits.

The most important issue in all this is the actual nature and intention of Waldorf education. We recently considered this issue, quoting an Anthroposophist who wrote the following:

“The success of Waldorf Education...can be measured in the life force attained. Not acquisition of knowledge and qualifications, but the life force is the ultimate goal of this school.” — Anthroposophist Peter Selg, THE ESSENCE OF WALDORF EDUCATION (SteinerBooks, 2010)‚ p. 30.

Not knowledge. Not qualifications. [See the news item for March 23, below.]

Here are some other statements coming from within the Waldorf movement, suggesting where the Waldorf focus actually lies:

◊ "Waldorf education is based upon the recognition that the four bodies of the human being [the physical, etheric, astral, and ego bodies] develop and mature at different times.” — Waldorf teacher Roberto Trostli, RHYTHMS OF LEARNING: What Waldorf Education Offers Children, Parents & Teachers (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), pp. 4-5.

◊ “[T]he purpose of [Waldorf] education is to help the individual fulfill his karma.” — Waldorf teacher Roy Wilkinson, THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF STEINER EDUCATION (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996), p. 52.

◊ "Waldorf education is a form of practical anthroposophy...." — Waldorf teacher Keith Francis, THE EDUCATION OF A WALDORF TEACHER (iUniverse, 2004), p. xii.

◊ “Waldorf education strives to create a place in which the highest beings [i.e., the gods]...can find their home....” — Waldorf teacher Joan Almon, WHAT IS A WALDORF KINDERGARTEN? (SteinerBooks, 2007), p. 53.

◊ "[The] special contribution, the unique substance, mission, and intention of the independent Waldorf School, is the spiritual-scientific view of human nature [i.e., the promotion of Anthroposophy].” — Anthroposophist Peter Selg, THE ESSENCE OF WALDORF EDUCATION (SteinerBooks, 2010)‚ p. 4.

◊ "Waldorf teachers must be anthroposophists first and teachers second." — Waldorf teacher Gilbert Childs, STEINER EDUCATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE (Floris Books, 1991), p. 166.

Assessed from a rational perspective, these statements suggest that Waldorf education has little to do with real education or preparation for real life in the real world. Indeed, if these statements reflect nothing but mystical fantasies ("life force," "four bodies," "karma," etc.), then the objectives of Waldorf education must be judged delusional.

HSC may be flawed. Schools may be able to find adequate alternatives. But in the case of Waldorf schools, alternative approaches must be suspect. Parents considering Waldorf schools for their kids should think carefully about these matters before making a decision that could prove to be seriously detrimental. 

— R.R.

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March 25, 2018

PALM SUNDAY

AT WALDORF

Today is Palm Sunday. Here is an account of the Waldorf observance of Palm Sunday, written by a Waldorf teacher:

Palm Sunday — the Sunday preceding Easter ... This event in often celebrated in the lower classes of Waldorf schools in a festival that interweaves pagan and Christian elements. The children make a cross of two sticks and decorate it with garlands of boxwood, nuts and sweets. In the middle of the cross a circular twig is attached as a symbol of the sun. A hen, made of bread, is placed atop this as a symbol of vigilance. The children then walk through the school with their palm sticks, singing about springtime and Easter. The procession can be extended by visiting an old people's home...

[Henk van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Sophia Books, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), pp. 89-90.]

Waldorf Watch Response:

The presence of pagan elements in what is otherwise a Christian ritual must strike many readers as odd, if not wholly inappropriate. But pagan beliefs are woven throughout the Waldorf worldview. Indeed, because the teachings of Anthroposophy diverge so much from the doctrines of established religions, Anthroposophy itself might be termed pagan. [See "Pagan".]

The centrality of a Sun symbol in the cross made by the students reflects one of the key pagan beliefs of Anthroposophy: The Christ revered in Anthroposophy is the Sun God, the same god worshipped in various religions under such names as Hu, Baldr, Apollo, and so forth. [See "Sun God".]

Other pagan beliefs reflected in the Waldorf ceremony described above include the superstition than a watchful hen may foretell death, and the belief that use or misuse of bread will bring good or bad luck. [See, e.g., THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF SUPERSTITIONS (Oxford University Press, 2005).]

Overall, the Anthroposophical observance of Easter and the period leading to Easter has as much to do with ancient seasonal rites as with events in the Christian calendar. [See, e.g., the Waldorf Watch news item for March 10, 2018: "Spring, and the Sun God, at Waldorf".]

An aside: ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z is a useful reference work that sometimes reveals more than the author, perhaps, intended. On the other hand, it is short (140 pages) and cursory. It by no means fulfills the implicit promise of its title — it is not, by any means, a full account of all the main themes in Anthroposophy. Nonetheless, anyone interested in the thinking behind Waldorf schools would do well to consult it occasionally. 

— R.R.

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March 25, 2018

THE TASK OF 

ANTHROPOSOPHY

A statement by Rudolf Steiner, posted on The great [sic] Rudolf Steiner Quotes Site:

We are only separated from the so-called dead through the fact that we are not in a position to perceive with our ordinary consciousness how the forces of the dead, the life of the dead, the actions of the dead, play into our own life. These forces, these actions of the dead, continually permeate the life of our feeling and the life of our will. Therefore we can live with the dead. And it is indeed important to realize at the present time that the task of Anthroposophy is to develop this consciousness — that we are in touch with the souls of the dead.

The earth will not continue to evolve in the direction of the welfare of humanity unless humanity develops this living feeling of being together with the dead. For the life of the dead plays into the life of the so-called living in many ways.

Source: Rudolf Steiner – GA 179 – Historical Necessity and Freewill: Lecture 3: Our Life with the Dead – Dornach, December 10, 1917

[3/25/2018   https://rudolfsteinerquotes.wordpress.com/2018/03/24/the-life-of-the-dead-plays-into-the-life-of-the-so-called-living-in-many-ways/   This quotation was posted at The great Rudolf Steiner Quotes Site on March 24.]

Waldorf Watch Response:

Numerous Anthroposophical texts deal with the dead and the relationship between the living and the dead. See, e.g., 

◊ THE DEAD ARE WITH US (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2006), 

◊ OUR DEAD (SteinerBooks, 2011), 

and 

◊ STAYING CONNECTED: How to Continue Your Relationships with Those Who Have Died (Anthroposophic Press, 1999). 

For his own part, Steiner claimed to maintain contact with the military commander who launched the German offensives at the beginning of World War I. Steiner's "correspondence" with the dead warlord is recorded in LIGHT FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM: Rudolf Steiner's Association with Helmuth and Elizabeth von Moltke; Letters, Documents and After-Death Communications (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1997). [See "Steiner and the Warlord".]

Anyone interested in Waldorf education should particularly consult the following book put out by a Waldorf educational organization:

Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America, 2003

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In this volume, you will find Waldorf teachers encouraged to teach their young students to serve the dead. As part of this process, Waldorf teachers are encouraged to have their students celebrate "death days":

"Should we foster ways to serve the dead with small children? ... If death can live in adults' attitudes as a heavenly birthday, then the children will approach it as a fact of life ... Yes, celebrate the death day like an earthly birthday ... Children who become accustomed to celebrating from a very early age the birthdays and death days of people who are part of their social life, learn to accept the spiritual world of beings [i.e., gods] as real. Thus they gain a basis for religious experience...." — Helmut von Kügelgen, WORKING WITH THE DEAD, p. 2.

If you doubt that Waldorf schools are religious institutions that aim to inculcate Anthroposophical beliefs in their students, a book such as this should prove informative. [See "Waldorf Wisdom".]

— R.R.

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March 24, 2018

EXPANSION AND  

RETRENCHMENT

From SentinelSource.com, The Keene Sentinel [New Hampshire, USA]:

Final bell: Monadnock Waldorf School 

to end high school program, 

partner with Waldorf in Wilton

By Liora Engel-Smith

After eight years of operation, the Monadnock Waldorf School announced this week that it will close its high school program before the start of the 2018-19 academic year. Students from the high school will have the option to transfer to High Mowing School, another Waldorf school in Wilton.

The reasons behind the move are not financial, said Emily Schwerin-Whyte, Monadnock Waldorf School board member. She said that Karl Schurman, a staff member who leads the high school program, is retiring at the end of this academic year, and a couple of the high school’s eight part-time and full-time staff members have expressed a desire to retire or move on, prompting the decision to shutter the high school.

High Mowing was chosen for the partnership because it’s the closest Waldorf institution in the area and because it is a well-established school, Schwerin-Whyte said....

[3/24/2018   http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/final-bell-monadnock-waldorf-school-to-end-high-school-program/article_c0262f65-4eda-5b73-9aa0-0abe767e4d16.html]

Waldorf Watch Response:

Proponents often claim that Waldorf schools constitute the fastest-growing independent school movement in the world. But firm numbers are hard to find, and while Waldorf programs are frequently initiated here and there, Waldorf programs also tend to fold fairly often here and there. [See, e.g., "Failure".] Efforts are usually made to hush up or at least excuse these closures.

The total number of Waldorf schools in the world seems to hover somewhere in the vicinity of 1,100. This is evidently up, but only slightly up, from the total a decade ago. The Waldorf movement currently appears to be experiencing its greatest growth in China, which may surprise some onlookers, given Rudolf Steiner's pronouncements about the Chinese people. [See, e.g., the news account from October 12, 2017: "China's Yuppies Want Schools To Be More Laid-Back".]

The closure of a Waldorf program may be made less painful, of course, if another Waldorf school exists nearby. Whether High Mowing School, in Wilton, New Hampshire, is a comfortable distance from Monadnock Waldorf School, in Keene, New Hampshire, may be questionable. The distance by car is more than 30 miles. Commuting time is the better part of an hour each way — probably more in winter. [See, e.g., "Distance Between Cities".]

— R.R.

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March 23, 2018

HEARTS AND HANDS — 

AND HEADS?

From The South Whidbey Record [Washington State, USA]:

Beyond the classroom

Waldorf students match with mentors for life lessons

By Patricia Guthrie

Megan Fickel pats down the smooth ball of clay, adds a few drops of water, then throws it down on the potter’s wheel like an old pro.

Thunk.

“Centering the clay on the wheel. That was extremely hard to get,” she says. “I had to start over and over again, three to four times.”

If the clay’s not centered, Fickel explains, it starts to slip and slide, warble and run amok across the wheel’s surface.

“She’s being humble,” counters Joan Govedare, who’s observing Fickel from the corner of her studio. “She’s actually quite amazing at centering for what little experience she has.”

That’s high praise coming from Govedare, a well-known, longtime Whidbey potter and Fickel’s mentor for the past five months.

Fickel and Govedare are paired as mentor and apprentice through Whidbey Island Waldorf School’s 8th grade project program.

Learning new skills with a “hands-on” approach has been a tradition at Whidbey Island Waldorf School for more than a decade.

Some projects have led to career choices down the road, teacher Natasha Zimmerman said.

“One student became an engineer whose project was a septic system and whose mentor was an engineer,” she said. “One student went on to become a master diver after doing his 8th grade project on diving.”

Beginning in the fall of 8th grade, which is the last year for students at the private K-8 school, the soon-to-be graduates are given a challenge to pick a topic, find a mentor, arrange their own weekly meetings and give periodic updates to their peers and teachers....

[3/23/2018   https://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/news/beyond-the-classroom/   This story originally appeared on March 21.]

Waldorf Watch Response:

This sounds like a commendable program. It is related to other apprentice programs at other Waldorf schools. [See, e.g., the news item for February 20, 2018: "Waldorf Students Explore Options through Internships".]

Waldorf schools claim to educate the whole child; a basic Waldorf motto is "head, heart, and hands." There is much to be said in favor of holistic education. Sending kids out into the world to work with their hands — for instance, at pottery wheels — is one way Waldorf schools seek to implement their holistic educational vision. 

It is important to understand, for better or worse, what Waldorf schools mean by the whole child. Because Waldorf education derives from Anthroposophy, the "whole child" as conceived within the Waldorf belief system is a mystical construct, a fantasy. According to Waldorf belief, a whole human being has four bodies, three of which are invisible; s/he has both a soul and a spirit; s/he has a karma; s/he has an astrological identity related to karma; s/he has twelve senses, associated with the signs of the zodiac; s/he has a heart that is not a pump and a brain that does not produce thoughts; s/he has an evolutionary history, having been reincarnated many times; s/he has a racial identity that reflects her level of spiritual evolution; s/he exhibits one of four temperaments associated with bodily humors; s/he has a doppelgänger; and so forth. [See "Holistic Education" and "What We're Made Of".]

Let's break this down, a little, by examining — in modified sequence — the Waldorf view of the head, and the hands, and the heart.

Educating the head is, of course, standard in virtually all types of schools. The Waldorf view of the head is uncommon, however — Waldorf education tends to downplay the importance of the head and its interior organ, the brain. Rudolf Steiner taught that no real thinking occurs in the brain. Real thinking, he taught, is done for us by the gods; we gain knowledge of the gods' thoughts through clairvoyance. [See "Thinking" and "Clairvoyance".] Steiner's followers today still cling to these beliefs. Thus, for instance, we find the following in a reference book written recently by a Waldorf teacher:

"Brain — the brain acts as a mirroring ground upon which thinking [done by the gods] can manifest. By so doing it mediates between the the spiritual and the physical world just as a radio mediates between the broadcaster and the listener ... The brain does not produce thoughts." — Henk van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 16.

Because of this extraordinary conception of the brain (a passive receiver, a spiritual radio), Waldorf schools tend to give short shrift to brainwork. Waldorf education does not primarily aim to convey knowledge to students' brains, nor does it place much emphasis on exercising or developing the brain. So we find statements such as the following:

“The success of Waldorf Education...can be measured in the life force attained. Not acquisition of knowledge and qualifications, but the life force is the ultimate goal of this school.” — Anthroposophist Peter Selg, THE ESSENCE OF WALDORF EDUCATION (SteinerBooks, 2010)‚ p. 30.

Not acquisition of knowledge. 

[See, e.g., "Steiner's Specific - Thinking without Our Brains".] 

Time saved by skimping on ordinary, academic work ("acquisition of knowledge") can be used instead to educate the hands and heart.

Educating the hands is a perfectly valid goal for all sorts of schools, of course. Kids benefit from learning physical skills, and sometimes these skills can lead to career choices — as the news article, above, indicates. But if academic education is minimized too much, the results can be unfortunate. And we need to understand the otherworldly component in the Waldorf approach to educating the hands.

Rudolf Steiner made statements such as the following:

“As soon as we begin to think with our fingers — and one can think with one's fingers and toes much more brightly, once one makes the effort, than with the nerves of the head — as soon as we begin to think with that part of us which has not entirely become matter, when we think with the lower part of our being, then our thoughts are the thoughts of our karma." — Rudolf Steiner, BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS 1919-1924 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2003), p. 126.

There's much to be debated, in such a statement. But the essential thing to notice, for now, is that Steiner taught that we can think better with our fingers and toes than with our brains.

This view of our hands (and feet) as opposed to our brains can have strange corollaries. So, for instance, Steiner said the following:

“Go into our needlework classes and handicraft classes at the Waldorf School, and you will find the boys knit and crochet as well as the girls ... This is not the result of any fad or whim ... [T]o drive the soul into the fingers means to promote all the forces that go to build up sound teeth.” — Rudolf Steiner, SPIRITUAL SCIENCE AND MEDICINE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1948), lecture 17, GA 312.

The mysticism evident here — with its strange dental by-products — really should give us pause. 

Educating the heart is a lovely idea. But should you trust a Waldorf school to undertake this task? What is the Waldorf view of the heart?

Steiner taught that we learn about the spirit realm through our heartfelt emotions, not through our cold intellects.* Through our feelings, he said, we can forge connections to the gods.

"[T]hinking is oriented to the physical plane. Feeling really has a connection with all the spiritual beings [i.e., gods] who must be considered real." — Rudolf Steiner, PSYCHOANALYSIS AND SPIRITUAL PSYCHOLOGY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1990), p. 70.

Anthroposophy is polytheistic — it reveres a multitude of gods. [See "Polytheism".] Many parents may find this a troubling idea; many may consider it an offensive or even heretical idea. This is an extremely important point to ponder. But let's not get sidetracked; our focus now is on the Waldorf view of the heart.

We can turn again to Waldorf teacher Henk van Oort for a quick overview:

"Heart ... In contrast to the usual concept of the heart, anthroposophy tells us that it beats because blood flows through the body. The heart is thus not an organ that pumps the blood ... [T]he heart may be regraded as an extremely sensitive sense organ, mediating between contrary forces and responding dynamically to all levels of the organism including supersensible ones."  — ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z, p. 55.

The heart is sensitive to many things, including "supersensible" phenomena — phenomena that we cannot otherwise sense, spiritual phenomena. Through the heart, we can find spiritual beings, gods. And this is the key. Waldorf thinking is fundamentally religious, oriented to the gods. Waldorf teachers tend to think of themselves as priests. In "educating" the hearts of their students, they seek to lead children toward the Waldorf religion, Anthroposophy.

Let's consult the founder of Waldorf education, Rudolf Steiner, on these points:

◊ "[A] teacher’s calling becomes a priestly calling, since an educator becomes a steward who accomplishes the will of the gods in a human being." — Rudolf Steiner, HUMAN VALUES IN EDUCATION - Foundations of Waldorf Education XX (Anthroposophic Press, 2004), p. 9.

◊ "In our teaching and educating we should really become priests ... We have been placed next to children [by the gods] in order that spirit properly germinates, grows, and bears fruit. This attitude of reverence must underlie every [instructional] method." — Rudolf Steiner, WALDORF EDUCATION AND ANTHROPOSOPHY - Foundations of Waldorf Education XIV, Vol. 2 (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), pp. 225-226.

◊ "The unfolding of the child’s being must fill us as teachers with feelings of reverence — indeed, we could speak of priestly feelings; because, the way soul and spirit are unveiled in the child really does constitute a revelation of that soul and spirit within the physical and etheric realm." — Rudolf Steiner, THE ROOTS OF EDUCATION - Foundations of Waldorf Education XIX (Anthroposophic Press, 1997), p. 60.

As with other Anthroposophical quotations, we could spend considerable time delving into the elements of these statements. But suffice to say, for now: Waldorf teachers see themselves as priests, and they try to work as priests when they endeavor to educate students' hearts. [See, e.g. "Schools as Churches".] 

Heads, hearts, and hands.

Unless you agree with Waldorf beliefs about these three parts of the human organism, you cannot ultimately agree with the aims and methods of Waldorf education.

— R.R.

* Emotions are important to the development of clairvoyance, Steiner taught. [See "Knowing the Worlds".] In brief, we might say that we find the gods through our emotions, and we get to know the gods' thoughts through the use of trained clairvoyance. So Steiner indicated, anyway.

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March 23, 2018

BRAVING THE 

BRAVE NEW WORLD

Waldorf schools are often extremely wary of modern technology. Some, indeed, make a virtue of strictly limiting students' exposure to, and use of, high-tech devices such as computers. See, e.g., the news item from February 10, 2018: "Tech-Free Schools for Children of Silicon Valley".

But completely banning the 21st century from school usually proves impossible. So, bowing to near-inevitability, some Waldorf schools allow students in the highest grades to make use of computers. And sometimes computer/Internet access is more widely affirmed in at least a few Waldorf schools.

The following is from The Daily Telegraph [Sydney, Australia]:

Central Coast Rudolf Steiner celebrates

long awaited NBN connection

[by] Fiona Killman, Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate

CENTRAL Coast Rudolf Steiner School’s Arabella Zocher has learned “you can make change in this world”.

The Fountaindale school is now enjoying a fast, reliable NBN [new broadband network] service thanks to Arabella and her fellow classmates who were struggling with constant internet dropouts and decided to speak out.

“You don’t have to deal with something that is not right,” Arabella said. “You do have a voice and can use it positively to make change.”

Last year, Arabella and fellow students from her Year 9 class wrote to Dobell federal Labor MP Emma McBride about the lack of NBN which was stopping class activities as well as causing administration issues including staff being unable to mark the roll....

Last October, Ms McBride took the issue straight to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during Question Time, and less than 24 hours later a team of NBN technicians was at the school.

Last Wednesday, the students came to school, turned on their laptops and were shocked to have full, fast internet access....

[3/22/2018   https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/central-coast-rudolf-steiner-celebrates-long-awaited-nbn-connection/news-story/c3237fe572bd69081395a08343728fb1   This story originally appeared on March 21.]

For previous coverage of the situation at Central Coast Rudolf Steiner School, see the item from October 25, 2017: "Central Coast Rudolf Steiner School to receive NBN". 

— R.R.

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March 21, 2018

A RARE, BUSY 

WALDORF NEWS DAY -

A WRAP-UP 

From the Bellevue Reporter [Washington State, USA]:

As Bellevue’s Three Cedars Waldorf closes, 

a new school with a familiar approach 

prepares to take its place

News of the impending closure has caused significant backlash in the Waldorf community.

By Raechel Dawson

After 20-plus years of educating children, Bellevue-based Three Cedars Waldorf School will say goodbye for good to its last class of students as they head off for summer break this June.

In its place will emerge a new private school – the Eastside Community School. While its name and leadership will be different, the school will have similar attributes of the highly esteemed [1] Waldorf way of teaching....

So, why the reset?...

In August 2015, the Three Cedars Waldorf school board approached Seattle Waldorf and informed them of their “financial crisis”....

Three Cedars had lost a benefactor, a parent of a student who attended the school, who regularly “balanced the books,” while his children attended the school, “to the tune of half a million a year,” according to an anonymous statement from the benefactor that Seattle Waldorf School provided.

A yearly deficit of between $300,000 to $500,000 and poor institutional leadership [2] had caused the Three Cedars board to seek guidance and support from Seattle Waldorf so that the school wouldn’t close mid-way through....

The two [schools] merged under Seattle Waldorf’s leadership in the fall/winter of 2015. The Seattle school took on Three Cedars’ contracts, assets and liabilities.

...[Three Cedars] still struggled, however...

[Seattle Waldorf decided to close Three Cedars. But now a] phoenix is rising from the ashes....

...[P]arents...realized they could launch a new school themselves. [3]

Eventually, that group turned into a full-fledged planning committee with a board ... Then, teachers from Three Cedars realized they were serious and joined the team....

To fund the school, [the board has] launched an extensive fundraising campaign with the goal of securing $500,000....

[3/21/2018   http://www.bellevuereporter.com/news/eastside-community-school-to-emerge-as-bellevue-based-three-cedars-waldorf-closes-in-june/   This story originally appeared on March 20.]

From The Watford Observer [Watford, UK]:

Students at Rudolph Steiner School [4]

in Kings Langley raise £500 for Sport Relief

[by] Nathan Louis

... Pupils at Rudolf Steiner School in Kings Langley (RSSKL) took part in the marathon contest to raise money for Sport Relief.

Sport Relief supports more than 2,000 projects, such as mental health services for children in the UK and those that treat malaria and other health issues in Africa. Active fundraising events are being organised this week by schools, businesses and individuals across the UK....

Tim Byford, principal of RSSKL said: “I’m very proud to be leading a school that has such charitable pupils who demonstrate such moral and social purpose, something we prioritise at RSSKL....”

[3/21/2018 http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/16100036.students-at-rudolph-steiner-school-in-kings-langley-raise-500-for-sport-relief/ This story originally appeared on March 20.]

From MLive [Michigan, USA}:

Ann Arbor, South Lyon, Dexter teams

win in FIRST Robotics districts

By Lauren Slagter

AUGUSTA TOWNSHIP, MI - More than 1,000 students representing 39 FIRST Robotics teams spent this past weekend at a district competition held at Lincoln High School.

Steiner Steel Storm, from Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor, was one of three event winners [5], along with teams from South Lyon and Woodhaven High School.

...The Flying Toasters, from South Lyon East High School and South Lyon High School, won the district Chairman's Award - the top award in FIRST Robotics - which guarantees the team a spot at the state championship....

[3/21/2018   http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2018/03/first_robotics_district_lincol.html]

Waldorf Watch Footnotes

[1] Reports in local news media are often less than objective. In these outlets, stories about Waldorf schools are often heavily influenced by the schools themselves. When loaded terms such as "highly esteemed" appear in news reports, readers should certainly be wary — such reports are likely slanted to please local constituencies.

[2] Waldorf schools often suffer from financial problems and poor management. The Waldorf focus is directed elsewhere — largely at the spirit realm.

One former board member at a Waldorf school has written the following (about a situation that was doubtless extreme, even by Waldorf standards):

"There was deceit everywhere. In the books. The financial statements were literally made up and had nothing to do with the true financial picture of the school. The Administrator was sleeping with the bookkeeper. Unpaid payroll taxes, marked as paid, were seized from our bank account without warning. The board was told we were operating at a low tuition assistance but it turned out to be almost 72%. Contrary to the baloney the board was being fed, the school wasn't making enough money to pay rent, salary, and the electricity bill. One classroom was red-flagged for sewage backing up in the tub, yet the board was unaware this had been an ongoing problem for months." — Debra Snell. [See "Coming Undone".]

[3] Enthusiastic parents are often the life's blood of Waldorf schools. Their enthusiasm can be based on many things, including the sheer beauty of the schools. Sometimes, however, enthusiasm gives way to sharp disillusionment. {See, e.g., "Moms" and "Pops".] In evaluating a Waldorf school, you probably should weigh the testimony coming from both sides, pro and con.

[4] Steiner's first name, of course, was Rudolf (not Rudolph).

The Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley has been ordered closed by UK educational authorities, who charge the school with failing to adequately safeguard the students. The school is currently appealing the closure order.

For previous coverage of the situation at RSSKL, see, e.g., "Safeguarding Fears Mount Over Controversial Steiner Schools" [September 16, 2017], "Kings Langley Rudolf Steiner School On Reforming Path to Avoid Closure" [October 24, 2017], "A Waldorf Opening, A Waldorf Challenge" [February 2, 2018], and "Headteacher To Leave Crisis School Rudolf Steiner" [March 10, 2018].

[5] It is rare — and admirable — for a Waldorf school to permit students to construct robots. Generally, Waldorf schools are averse to modern technology. Anthroposophists fear the involvement of the arch-demon Ahriman in devices such as computers, televisions, and even steam engines. See, e.g., news items for March 8, 2018, February 10, 2018, and January 5, 2018.

— R.R.

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March 20, 2018

EQUINOX, NATURE SPIRITS, 

AND THE EARTH'S BREATHING

Today is the vernal equinox, at least in the Northern hemisphere. Spring begins today, here in the North. (For folks below the equator, fall is beginning now.)

At Waldorf schools, the coming of spring is marked by spring festivals. When these festivals have a distinctly religious tenor, as they often do, they center on the Sun God — as we have seen. [1] When religion is downplayed in these festivals, as often happens, then other conceptions move to the forefront. [2] But the underlying religious doctrines of Anthroposophy ultimately prevail.

Seen in their less sectarian form, the annual festivals at Waldorf schools are modern versions of ancient, pagan celebrations of the cycle of the seasons. The spring festival is, superficially at least, a particularly joyous observance, for it marks the return of warmth, and growth, and renewed life. Winter has passed; frigid death is receding; the Sun is climbing ever higher in the sky.

Steiner taught that the Earth is a living being. [3] It breathes in and out with the seasons. In effect, this is what the seasons are: They are the breathing process of the Earth. Here are excerpts from a Steiner lecture in which he discusses some of these matters:

Easter occurs at the time of the bursting and sprouting life of spring. At this time the Earth is breathing out her soul-forces, in order that these soul-forces may be permeated again by the astral element surrounding the Earth, the extra-earthly, cosmic element. [4] The Earth is breathing out her soul. What does this mean?

It means that certain elemental beings [5] which are just as much in the periphery of the Earth as the air is or as the forces of growth are — that these unite their own being with the out-breathed Earth soul in those regions in which it is spring. These beings float and merge with the out-breathed Earth soul. They become dis-individualized; they lose their individuality and rise in the general earthly soul element. We see countless elemental beings in spring just around Easter time in the final stage of the individual life which was theirs during the winter. [6] We see them merging into the general earth soul element and rising like a sort of cloud (red, yellow, with green). I might say that during the wintertime these elemental beings are within the soul element of the Earth, where they had become individualized; before this Easter time they had a certain individuality, flying and floating about as individual beings. During Easter time we see them come together in a general cloud (red), and form a common mass within the Earth soul (green). But by so doing these elemental beings lose their consciousness to a certain degree and enter into a sort of sleeping condition. Certain animals sleep in the winter; these elemental beings sleep in summer. This sleep is deepest during St. John's time [7], when they are completely asleep. Then they begin once more to individualize, and when the Earth breathes in again at Michaelmas, at the end of September [8], we can see them already as separate beings again. 

Steiner goes on to explain that spirituality becomes suppressed as earthly life burgeons in the spring and summer. In this sense, we become alienated from the spirit realm during these seasons. Autumn and winter — when earthly life withers and fades — enable us to become more sensitized once again to life beyond the Earth. (The following quotation is teasingly disjointed. For a brief summary, see footnote 10.)

It is true that spring is fair, and it is a fine capacity of the human soul to perceive the beauty of the spring, the growing, sprouting, burgeoning life. But to be able to perceive also when the leaves fade and take on their fall coloring, when the animals creep away — to be able to feel how in the sensible [9] which is dying away, the gleaming, shining, soul-spiritual element arises — to be able to perceive how with the yellowing of the leaves there is a descent of the springing and sprouting life, but how the sensible becomes yellow in order that the spiritual can live in the yellowing as such — to be able to perceive how in the falling of the leaves the ascent of the spirit takes place, how the spiritual is the counter-manifestation of the fading sense-perceptible; this should as a perceptive feeling for the spirit — ensoul the human being in autumn! [10] Then he would prepare himself in the right way precisely for Christmastide.

Man should become permeated, out of anthroposophical spiritual science [11], by the truth that it is precisely the spiritual life of man on Earth that depends on the declining physical life....

— Rudolf Steiner, THE CYCLE OF THE YEAR AS BREATHING PROCESS OF THE EARTH (Anthroposophic Press, 1984), lecture 3 [Easter], pp. 39-42. 

Ultimately, according to Steiner, the cycle of the year reaches its pinnacle not at the height of summer but in the depths of winter. The cycle leads to Christmastide — the birth of Jesus, the human being into whose body the Sun God will incarnate. [12] The spring festival, then, marks a period when we are moving away from the pinnacle of the year. But as the seasons roll around, we will again approach the celebration of the Sun God's impending arrival on Earth. [13]

— R.R.

Waldorf Watch Footnotes

[1] See the news item for March 10, 2018: "Spring, and the Sun God, at Waldorf".

[2] See, e.g., yesterday's news item: "Easter, Atlantis, and the Gods".

[3] In some ways, he anticipated the Gaia hypothesis, favored by many ecologically minded folks nowadays. Steiner's version was more occult, however — more mystical. And this is the vision that still prevails within Anthroposophy.

[4] I.e., the spiritualized cosmic environment that pervades the universe, according to Steiner. Here on the physical Earth, we tend to be insensible to that environment. But "the astral element surrounding the Earth, the extra-earthly, cosmic element" it is the truer reality, Steiner taught.

[5] I.e., invisible beings that are the essence of natural forces, Steiner taught — these beings are usually referred to as nature spirits. Steiner affirmed the ancient teaching that there are four elements: earth, air, water, and fire. The elemental beings within the earth are gnomes, those within the air are sylphs, those within water are undines, and those within fire are fire spirits or "salamanders". [See "Neutered Nature".]

[6] The winter festivals at Waldorf schools center on Christmas and/or the winter solstice. In Anthroposophy, Christmas marks the birth of the human being(s) in whom the Sun God would later incarnate. [See "Was He Christian?"]

[7] The summer festivals at Waldorf schools (somewhat rare, since school is often not in session) occur around June 24, St. John's Tide, or the summer solstice. St. John is John the Baptist.

[8] This is the time of autumn festivals in Waldorf schools, around the autumnal equinox. St. Michael, as revered in Anthroposophy, is the Archangel of the Sun; he is the militant champion of Christ, the Sun God. [See "Michael".]

[9] I.e., things we can sense — things that are perceptible with our ordinary senses. The spirit realm, by contrast, is "supersensible" — we cannot perceive it with our ordinary senses, clairvoyance is required.

[10] In brief: It is easy to find beauty in the spring, but we should find true beauty in autumn and winter, when earthly (physical) life subsides and super-earthly (spiritual) life becomes more manifest. Then, in the colder seasons, "the gleaming, shining, soul-spiritual element arises" and "the ascent of the spirit takes place."

[11] The phrase "anthroposophical spiritual science" is effectively redundant. Steiner taught that Anthroposophy is true spiritual science — that is, Anthroposophy is the true investigation of the spirit realm through the use of clairvoyance. In reality, however, Anthroposophy is a religion. [See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"]

[12] Steiner taught that there were actually two Jesus children. They merged to become the vessel for the Sun God. [See, again, "Was He Christian?"]

[13] Concerning Christ's identity, as conceived in Anthroposophy, see "Sun God".

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March 19, 2018

EASTER, ATLANTIS,

AND THE GODS

Atlantis as it is sometimes conceived.

This is not an Anthroposophical image, 

but it locates Atlantis where Steiner said it existed. 

(Europe and Africa are to the right; 

the Americas are to the left.)

[Public domain image.] 

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At this time of year, Waldorf schools typically sponsor spring festivals. These events are generally disguised Easter observances modified by the inclusion of numerous esoteric and pagan beliefs.

Esotericism is muted in many Anthroposophical texts dealing with Easter. But in other instances, the esoteric rises to the surface.

Here are excerpts from an Easter lecture given by Rudolf Steiner. Esotericism, in this instance, leaps out. Many readers, especially Christians, may be surprised — Steiner's lecture wanders far from anything found in the Bible. (I have added some footnotes to help readers who are not conversant with Anthroposophical beliefs.)

Today we shall go back [to] the middle of the Atlantean epoch [1], when the ancestors of present-day humanity were living in the West, between Europe and America, on the continent now lying beneath the waters of the Atlantic Ocean [2] ... When we look with spiritual perception [3] at the soul-life of these antediluvian [4], Atlantean peoples, it is seen to be quite different from the soul life of post-Atlantean humanity.... [5]

Let us look...at the middle of the Atlantean epoch. Man's consciousness in those times was essentially different. When in the morning he [6] entered into his physical and etheric bodies [7] he was not confronted with sharply outlined images of the outer, material world. [8] The images were much less distinct and definite, rather as street lamps in thick fog may appear to us [today]....

At night, when the Atlantean left his physical and etheric bodies, the world into which he passed [9] was not a world of darkness and silence; the image he then perceived were hardly fainter than by day ... [T]he whole space around him was filled with colour-forms and tones, with impressions of smell, taste and so forth. But these colours and tones, these impressions of warmth and cold of which he was conscious, were the garments and mantles of spiritual beings [10] who never descend to physical incarnation, beings whose names and images are preserved in the myths and sagas. Myths and sagas are not just 'folk-tales'; they are memories of visions which people perceived in olden times [11] ... At night they really were surrounded by that world of Nordic gods of which the legends tell. Odin, Freya, and all the other figures in Nordic mythology [12] were not inventions; they were experienced in the spiritual world with as much reality as we experience our fellow human beings around us today. The sagas are the memories of the experiences actually undergone by people of ancient times, in their shadowy, clairvoyant consciousness. [13]

— Rudolf Steiner, THE FESTIVALS AND THEIR MEANING (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996), part 2: Easter; lecture 6: "Easter: Mystery of the Future", pp. 196-198.  

Anthroposophical Easter observances are different from what you will find almost anywhere else. To what extent Waldorf spring festivals reflect Anthroposophical belief in Atlantis, clairvoyance, invisible human bodies, multiple gods, and so forth — this will vary from school to school and even from teacher to teacher. Generally, these beliefs are likely to be kept hidden from the prying eyes of outsiders. But as Steiner himself has revealed, these beliefs are involved in the true meaning of holy days such as Easter, from the Anthroposophical perspective. Some of these beliefs may be only tangentially important to a particular holy day, while others are far more central. But they are all involved. Remember that the book we have sampled is titled THE FESTIVALS AND THEIR MEANING — emphasis added.

In future postings, we will return to the question of the real meaning of Easter, as conceived within the Anthroposophical/Waldorf belief system.

— R.R. 

Waldorf Watch Footnotes

[1] I.e., the period when humans lives on Atlantis. Steiner taught that the Atlantean epoch was the fourth epoch of human life on the planet Earth. [See "Early Earth", "Lemuria" and "Atlantis".]

[2] i.e., Atlantis.

[3] I.e., clairvoyance. Virtually all of Steiner's teachings — which form the belief system underlying Waldorf education — result from his claimed use of clairvoyance. [See "Clairvoyance".]

[4] Atlantis was "antediluvian," according to Steiner, because we lived on that continent before it was destroyed by a mighty flood. Steiner taught that this was the same Flood described in the Hebrew Bible. Noah, Steiner said, was an occult initiate who led survivors from Atlantis to other, drier locations on the Earth. [See, e.g. "Old Testament".]

[5] According to Steiner, we now live in the fifth epoch of life on Earth — the "Post-Atlantean Epoch." [For an overview, see "Epochs".] Here he says that the soul life or spiritual life of people during the Atleantean epoch was different from our soul life today. In particular, he discusses the perceptions people had during Atlantean times as compared to the perceptions we have today.

[6] I.e., the resident of Atlantis.

[7] Anthroposophists believe human beings have four bodies: the physical, etheric, astral, and ego bodies. At night, the astral and ego bodies ascend to the spirit realm, while the physical and etheric bodies remain on Earth. In the morning, the astral and ego bodies descend from the spirit realm and rejoin the physical and etheric bodies. Steiner refers to this when he says "[I]n the morning he entered into [or re-entered] his physical and etheric bodies." [For more on our four bodies, see "Incarnation".]

[8] By contrast, Steiner taught, today we live during an epoch of harshly physical incarnation, and our present-day consciousness presents us with sharp images of the physical world.

[9] I.e., the spirit realm. Steiner taught that there are two "higher worlds" above the physical world: the soul world and the spirit world. [See "Higher Worlds".] Here, Steiner tells of the astral and ego bodies ascending from Earth into the spirit realm at night. Those bodies — representing our higher, truer selves — leave the physical and etheric bodies behind on Earth. 

[10] I.e., the residents of the higher worlds — gods. Anthroposophy is polytheistic. [See "Polytheism".] When we ascend into the spirit realm, what we experience there are the gods themselves, or at least their garments and mantles.

[11] I.e., myths and sagas preserve ancient humanity's visions of the gods and the higher worlds. Steiner said much the same about fairy tales. 

“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 schools immerse young students in many myths, sagas, and fairy tales because Steiner taught that these stories are spiritually true.

[12] Odin and Freya are Norse gods. Steiner taught that Norse myths — the myths of northern Europe — are particularly true. For this reason, Norse myths receive special emphasis in Waldorf schools. [See "The Gods".]

[13] Steiner taught that ancient humans had natural clairvoyant powers, which humans have largely lost today. But he promised his followers they could develop a new, better form of clairvoyance by following his instructions. [See "Knowing the Worlds".] Waldorf schools attempt to lead students toward clairvoyance through their emphasis on imagination, which is deemed a precursor or preliminary stage of clairvoyance. [See, e.g., "Thinking Cap".]

The clairvoyant consciousness of the Atlanteans was "shadowy," but its was true. The Atlanteans saw the gods "with as much reality as we experience our fellow human beings around us today."

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March 18, 2018

PEACE, WAR,

AND STEINER

From the Anthroposophical news service NNA:

Don’t leave world peace to the politicians 

By NNA staff

STUTTGART (NNA) – The conflict researcher Prof. Friedrich Glasl has spoken out in favour of a stronger engagement by civil society when it come to the issue of world peace. Glasl emphasised the fact that war and peace are too important an issue to simply be abandoned to the politicians.

“It is better to do everything that you can to take your fate into your own hands”. Politicians’ actions often betrayed the fact that they were simply following their own professional or career interests.... 

Activists played a much more important role than they themselves were aware of [Glasl said]. NGOs, grass roots movements, as well as neighbourhood assistance could make a significant contribution to the peace process....

Such groups were “a lot more important than they are often aware of”.  Glasl stressed that he was highlighting the issue because he had observed with concern that “many people have become discouraged and resigned in the light of the overpowering system because they fall prey to the suggestion that is often deliberately emphasised by this system: you can’t do anything about the way things are! You are powerless! This is very dangerous"....

Glasl also analysed these different approaches from perspective [sic] of the threefold structure of society as developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1919 as a consequence of the First World War. This meant that changes were made in all three subsystems of a society....

[3/18/2018   http://www.nna-news.org/news/article/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2691&cHash=8a34cce7dba8cffadea887467b75e76f   This story originally appeared on March 16.]

Waldorf Watch Response:

Anthroposophists often advocate admirable — indeed, unobjectionable — values. World peace is certainly a transcendently worthy objective. Who could possibly oppose it?

By affirming such values, Anthroposophists present themselves as moral exemplars. They show the world a beatific face. They indicate that Anthroposophy is one of the groups — perhaps the foremost group — working for the betterment of humankind. This self-presentation may be a form of canny PR, but it is also almost certainly sincere. This is how Anthroposophists truly see themselves, and it is how they want the rest of the world to see them.

Of course, human realities are rarely simple or wholly pure. Looking below the surface almost always reveals complications. This is perhaps no more true of Anthroposophy than of any other human enterprise. But it is also no less true of Anthroposophy than of any other human enterprise.

The original Anthroposophist, Rudolf Steiner, often advocated unobjectionable values such as love and peace. But his views were more complicated than that. A German nationalist, he wanted Germany to prevail in World War I. And after Germany's defeat in that war, he spent considerable effort trying to justify the actions of the Chief of the German General Staff who oversaw the German invasions of Belgium and France, General Helmuth von Moltke. Steiner claimed to receive communications from von Moltke from beyond the grave (von Moltke died before the war ended) — these messages made clear the purity of von Moltke's motives, Steiner reported. Von Moltke was innocent of war guilt, Steiner said: "[Von Moltke was] a man who was obliged to do his military duty [emphasis by Steiner]. And who did so with a bleeding heart.” If von Moltke was innocent, then so — in a broader, more intricate sense — was Germany itself. Steiner saw Germany as standing at the pinnacle of human spiritual evolution to date; he was determined to deflect accusations of guilt from the Fatherland. [See "Steiner and the Warlord".]

As for Steiner's postwar prescriptions for the reorganization of society ("the threefold structure of society as developed by Rudolf Steiner") — these may or may not have merit. But it is important for outsiders to understand that Anthroposophy, with its professed high ideals, is a revolutionary movement. It seeks to reform virtually all human institutions so that they will comply with Steiner's occult, mystical visions. [See "Threefolding".] If, as NNA suggests, Anthroposophy may potentially wield considerable world-shaping influence, the rest of us need to understand precisely what sort of new, improved world Anthroposophy seeks to create. [See, e.g., "Everything" and "Matters of Form".]

The chance that Anthroposophy will succeed in its aims is probably nil. Still, we need to understand where Anthroposophists would take us if they could.

— R.R.

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March 16, 2018

◊ READINGS ◊

STEINER, JUPITER, 

AND PATTERNS OF RESONANCE

Anthroposophical lingo: Here's a paragraph from a more or less typical Anthroposophical publication:

"Rudolf Steiner speaks of a pendulum motion in connection with the Jupiterian tone and tin-radiation. Just as the tone sets the wave of resonance vibrating, so that the soul element shines out like shimmering Sun-warmth on water — 'For beatific world-grasping' — just as the ego lives in light on waves of warmth, all the forms of organs are waves of resonance in the fluid element over the permanent light-wave of the sculpturing nerves. And all the organs are repetitions like vortices; they oscillate wavelike. All the sculpturing of form in Man proceeds from the sculpturing nerves in the head, 'so that the waves proceed continuously from the head-system, bringing form into being.' (Rudolf Steiner, Spiritual Relations in the Human Organism, GA 218) Spiritual formative power opposes itself as Jupiterian dynamics to matters, as this yields itself to patterns of resonance."

— Steiner follower Hedwig Erasmy, COSMIC AND HUMAN EVOLUTION - As Reflected in Rudolf Steiner’s Poem Twelve Moods (Mercury Press, 2003), p. 60.

Waldorf Watch Response:

Waldorf schools usually acknowledge that they base their work on Anthroposophy. But, they hasten to assure us, they don't teach Anthroposophy to the students.

How reassuring do you find this? Consider an analogy. Imagine a school that says it bases all its methods on voodoo — but, the school assures us, it does not teach voodoo to the students.

How reassured would you be? Would you send your child there? 

Believe it or not, the passage quoted above from an Anthroposophical book is more or less typical of Anthroposophical discourse. It may be a bit more bonkers than some Anthroposophical statements, but it is actually less bonkers than many others. If you doubt this, you can survey numerous passages from Anthroposophical texts at

"Waldorf Wisdom"

"Who Says"

"Waldorf Now"

"Today"

"Today 2"

"Today 3"

"Today 4"

"Today 5"

and

"Today 6"

Another productive approach is simply to open any Anthroposophical book, selected at random, and begin reading any random page. Believe it or not, that's how I chose the passage quoted above.* COSMIC AND HUMAN EVOLUTION actually contains many passages that are far denser with mystical jargon than the one I quoted. To check this, you get ahold of a copy and read away. (The book is available from its publisher: Mercury Press.)

The point, here, is not to criticize Hedwig Erasmy or her writing style. The point is to grasp, as fully as possible, what it means when Waldorf schools base their work on Anthroposophy. It means they base their work on the sort of thinking found in COSMIC AND HUMAN EVOLUTION and many other occult Anthroposophical tomes. 

By the way, do Waldorf schools teach Anthroposophy to the students? Actually, they do. They teach it indirectly, for the most part. They teach it covertly, for the most part. They spare the kids dense Anthroposophical cant, for the most part. But, despite their denials, they usually find ways to teach fundamental Anthroposophical beliefs to the kids.

See, e.g.,

"Sneaking It In"

"Spiritual Agenda"

"Soul School"

"Schools as Churches"

and

"Indoctrination". 

* Of course, whether or not you sample random excerpts from Anthroposophical texts, you should read the texts in full, start to finish. Only in this way will you get full exposure to Anthroposophical thinking. Terms and propositions that were utterly strange out of context ("tin-radiation," for instance) may then become clearer. But what will mainly become clearer is how utterly strange, mystical, and detached from ordinary reality Anthroposophical thinking really is. Only if you can affirm the Anthroposophical perspective, seen whole and undisguised, should you contemplate associating yourself with Anthroposophical institutions, such as Waldorf schools.

— R.R.

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