A-An  Ap-Av  B  C-Ch  Ci-Cu  D  E-El  Em-Ey  F  G  H  I  J-L  M-Me  Mi-My  N-O  P-Pi  Pl-Q  R  S-Sn  So-Sp  Sq-Sy  T-V  W-Z

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baby teeth - also see incarnation; teeth; thinking

Rudolf Steiner taught that children develop teeth in order to think. "[T]he child develops teeth not only for the sake of eating and speaking, but for quite a different purpose as well. Strange as it sounds to-day, the child develops teeth for the purpose of thinking ... The forces that press the teeth out from the jaw are the same forces that [in the young child] bring thought to the surface from the dim, sleeping and dreaming life of childhood. With the same degree of intensity as it teethes, the child learns to think." — R. Steiner, EDUCATION (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1943), lecture 4, GA 307. The loss of baby teeth, replaced by adult teeth — "second dentition" — is likewise highly significant, according to Steiner and his followers. In Waldorf belief, second dentition is an indication that the students' etheric bodies have incarnated. [1] The incarnation of invisible bodies is a central preoccupation in Waldorf schools. The physical body is a product of heredity; genes inherited from one's parents are paramount. But when the baby teeth go, a second, higher body is born (and the parents' importance diminishes) — after germinating during the first seven years of life, the etheric body incarnates. "[T]he child's development undergoes a radical change with the loss of his first teeth. For in truth, what we call heredity or inherited characteristics are only directly active during the first epoch of life. [2] It is however the case that during the first seven years a second life organism is gradually built up in the physical body, which is fashioned after the model of the inherited organism. [3] This second organism is, we may say, completed at the changing of the teeth ... [It is] the etheric body." — R. Steiner, THE KINGDOM OF CHILDHOOD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1982), lecture 2, GA 311.

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[1] The etheric body is the first of three invisible bodies that, according to Steiner, incarnate during a series of seven-year-long phases. [See "Incarnation".]

[2] I.e., the first seven years, before the incarnation of the etheric body.

[3] I.e., the etheric body develops within the physical body, conforming to but also shaping the physical body. The physical body is "the inherited organism"; the etheric body is not controlled by heredity to the extent the physical body is.

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bacilli - also see health; medicine

These are disease-causing bacteria. According to Steiner, they are an Ahrimanic source of illness. [1] “[B]attles [between good and evil spirits] have recurred over and over again, but always on different issues. In the distant past, the crowd of ahrimanic spirits [2] were...cast down from the spiritual worlds into the earthly realm when they had lost such a battle. [3] You see, they would return to the attack again and again. After one of these battles, for example, the crowd of ahrimanic spirits populated the earth with the earthly life-forms which the medical profession now calls bacilli. Everything which has the power to act as a bacillus, everything in which bacilli are involved, is the result of crowds of ahrimanic spirits being cast down from heaven to earth at a time when the dragon [4] had been overcome. In the same way the ahrimanic, mephistophelean [5] way of thinking has spread since the late 1870s as the result of such a victory. [6] Thus we are able to say that tubercular and bacillary diseases come from a similar source as the materialism which has taken hold of human minds. [7]” — R. Steiner, THE FALL OF THE SPIRITS OF DARKNESS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2008), p. 139. [8]

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[1] Ahriman is an arch-demon, Steiner taught. [See "Ahriman".]

[2] I.e., minions of Ahriman; Ahriman's companion demons.

[3] I.e., at various times, after losing battles with the good gods, Ahrimanic demons have been cast out of the spirit realm down to the physical realm. [See, e.g., the entry for "1879" in this encyclopedia.]

[4] I.e., Ahriman.

[5] Steiner identified Ahriman with the demon Mephistopheles. [See the entry for "Mephistopheles" in this encyclopedia.]

[6] I.e., a victory by the good gods; it was a loss for the Ahrimanic demons. (The victory of the good gods expelled Ahrimanic/Mephistophelean powers from the spirit realm and inflicted them on the physical world. The spread of materialistic thinking was one consequence for residents of the physical realm.)

[7] I.e., bacilli — as embodiments of Ahrimanic evil — cause illness (such as tuberculosis) in the human body as Ahrimanic spiritual influences cause illness (such as materialism) in the human mind.

[8] For more on Rudolf Steiner's medical teachings, see "Steiner's Quackery".

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backward races - also see backward souls; cf. advanced races; higher races

According to Steiner, some races are less advanced than others. "[T]here were some beings in...ancient times who were very low down in the scale of humanity; these became the backward races." — R. Steiner, UNIVERSE, EARTH AND MAN, lecture 7, GA 105. Steiner said the white race is currently the most advanced — white people are the most exemplary humans, coming closest to realizing the ideal human type. [1] Other races are evolutionarily retarded — they lag behind. Steiner taught that blacks are childish, Asians are adolescent, and American Indians are senescent; whites, by contrast, are adult. [2]

Fortunately, Steiner taught, individual humans born into backward races are not condemned to stay there; through the processes of karma and reincarnation [3], the individual may eventually rise above the race of his/her birth. "[N]o soul is condemned to remain in one particular race. The race may fall behind; the community of people may remain backward, but the souls progress beyond the several races. If we wish to form a true conception of this we must say that all the souls now living in bodies in civilized countries were formerly incarnated in Atlantean bodies. [4] A few developed there in the requisite manner, and did not remain in Atlantean bodies. [5] As they had developed further they could become the souls of the bodies which had also progressed further. [6] Only the souls which as souls had remained backward had to take bodies which as bodies had remained at a lower stage. If all the souls had progressed, the backward races would either have decreased very much in population, or the bodies would be occupied by newly incoming souls at a low stage of development. [7] For there are always souls which can inhabit backward bodies. [8] No soul is bound to a backward body if it does not bind itself to it. [9]" — R. Steiner, THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN, lecture 4, GA 104.

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[1] Steiner ranked races according to this standard: "A race or nation stands so much the higher, the more perfectly its members express the pure, ideal human type." — R. Steiner, KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT (Anthroposophic Press, 1944), p. 149. [See "Steiner's Racism" and "Races".]

[2] See, e.g., "Forbidden".

[3] See the entries for these topics in this encyclopedia.

[4] Steiner taught that before our present historical epoch, we lived on Atlantis. We had "Atlantean" bodies then and generally we still had such bodies when we first emigrated from Atlantis.

[5] I.e., the most advanced individuals developed new bodies that were no longer Atlantean.

[6] I.e., the advanced individuals developed more advanced souls along with their more advanced bodies.

[7] I.e., if all individuals had evolved upward, the backward races would have shrunk — the only people who would reincarnate in backward races would have been individuals who were evolving upward from still lower stages.

[8] I.e., there are always retarded individuals who incarnate in backward bodies.

[9] We create out own karma, Steiner taught. If we create good karmas for ourselves, we rise to higher racial forms in our future lives. Only people who "bind" themselves to lower racial forms (people who do not want to rise higher) will reincarnate in those lower forms.

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backward souls - also see backward races; bad souls; evil souls; substandard souls; useless human beings

According to Steiner: These are souls that lag behind in evolution. [1] Often, they are evil and destructive. “These backward souls will have burdened their Karma [2] with so much of error, ugliness and ill-doing as to constitute a special group on their own [3], subject to aberration and evil and bitterly opposed to the progressive community among mankind. [4]" — R. Steiner, OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1963), chapter 6, GA 13. Backward souls are not always irredeemable, Steiner said. Good, spiritual humans may endeavor to raise backward souls out of their lowly state, especially if these souls are relatively innocent. "If the spiritual human beings were to remain united with the sun forever [5], then the other human beings who, without guilt, had remained behind in animality [6] would never he saved. So, these spiritualized people come forth once more and unite with what has fallen out of evolution [7] in an attempt to save these backward souls." — R. Steiner, READING THE PICTURES OF THE APOCALYPSE, Part 2, lecture 11, GA 104a. 

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[1] See "Abnormal".

[2] See "Karma".

[3] I.e., backward souls will produce terrible karma for themselves; they will form a separate human society, divorced from virtuous humans.

[4] I.e., backward souls actively oppose proper human evolution or progress.

[5] Steiner is speaking, here, of a future period when good, highly evolved humans have attached themselves with the divine forces of the Sun (home of Christ, the Sun God). But, Steiner says, these good humans will detach themselves from the Sun, stooping down into lower levels of existence in order to offer aid to backward souls dwelling there.

[6] These souls have remained animalistic (low, brutish), but they have done so innocently (without evil intention) — they are "without guilt." (The fate of guilty animalistic humans may be different from the salvation offered to the innocent ones. See, e.g., the entry in this encyclopedia for "irreclaimable moon".)

[7] The backward souls had failed to evolve upward — they failed to accompany the good souls into spiritualized union with the Sun. Thus, they "fell out of evolution" — they remained behind while other proceeded upward.

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bacteria - see bacilli

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bad, badness - see evil

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bad race(s) - see evil races 

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bad souls - also see backward souls; evil souls; substandard souls; cf. good souls

In Anthroposophical belief: These are abnormal, ruthless, or otherwise errant souls that descend to, or remain stuck at, low developmental levels. Eventually they may drop out of evolution altogether. "[S]ouls are pouring in from other quarters for incarnation in races that are on the down-grade (i.e., bad souls). [1] But what is within must come out, and man will ascend when his Karma has been worked out. [2]” — R. Steiner, INVESTIGATIONS INTO OCCULTISM SHOWING ITS PRACTICAL VALUE IN DAILY LIFE (Kessinger Publishing, 1996), p. 138. The phrase "bad souls" was interpolated by Steiner's Anthroposophical editor, suggesting that at least some Anthroposophists consider this a valid category. The question becomes whether this represents Steiner's meaning. 

Steiner's point in this passage is that souls may descend to lower and lower forms, including lower racial forms. If an individual fulfills the needs of his/her karma, however, the descent will be reversed, so presumably there is always hope for recovery. But Steiner also taught that, as humanity as a whole progresses, the "lower" races [3] will die out, and indeed eventually the physical human body will pass away. A descending soul will then find that it cannot incarnate at all; there will no bodies available to incarnate in. [4] Therefore, that individual will cease to be a human being; s/he will become a subhuman, a nature spirit: "The earth does not wait for him [5], the earth goes forward [6] and he finally arrives at a point where he can no longer incorporate in a human body, for none are in existence ... Such souls lose the possibility of incarnation and find no other opportunity ... They appear in a later epoch as subordinate nature-spirits. [7]" — R. Steiner, THE INFLUENCE OF SPIRITUAL BEINGS UPON MAN (Anthroposophic Press, 1961), lecture 8, GA 102.

Bad souls exist, Steiner indicated, but sometimes apparently evil souls are actually just immature souls, possessed by people who have not yet received spiritual egos. [8] "They're not always bad souls; they can just be souls who...are lacking an ego." — R. Steiner, LECTURES TO PRIESTS: THE APOCALYPSE, lecture 13, GA 346. They're not always bad souls; but presumably sometimes they are. Hence, Steiner spoke of "materialistic", "evil", and "backward" souls. [9] “[M]aterialistic souls incarnate, drawn sympathetically by volcanic phenomena [10] ... And these births can in their turn bring about new cataclysms because reciprocally the evil souls exert an exciting influence on the terrestrial fire. [11]” — R. Steiner, AN ESOTERIC COSMOLOGY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1978), chapter 16, GA 94. Evil souls are, clearly, bad souls. So, also, are backward souls who are subject to "ill-doing" and "evil": “These backward souls will have burdened their Karma with so much of error, ugliness and ill-doing as to constitute a special group on their own [12], subject to aberration and evil and bitterly opposed to the progressive community among mankind. [13]" — R. Steiner, OCCULT SCIENCE - AN OUTLINE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1963), chapter 6, GA 13.

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[1] According to Steiner, races "on the down-grade" are deteriorating, moving against the upward evolutionary trajectory of virtuous humanity. Here Steiner says evildoers from various races are incarnating in races that are deteriorating. (A race may be good, Steiner said, while some of its members are wicked. The wicked ones reincarnate in lower races the next time they return to Earthly life.)

[2] I.e., what we have in our hearts ("what is within") manifests itself outwardly (it "must come out"). Evildoers create bad karma for themselves, but mankind as a whole will work out its karma and proceed to evolve upward ("man will ascend").

[3] See "Steiner's Racism".

[4] Good, upward-evolving humans will have risen to a state in which they no longer need physical bodies, but evildoers — still needing physical bodies — will be thwarted because no human physical bodies will exist.

[5] I.e., the whole Earth is evolving; it will not wait for the errant soul.

[6] I.e., it keeps evolving.

[7] Nature spirits are invisible beings who dwell inside the forces of nature. There are four major types of nature spirit as well as secondary of "subordinate" nature spirits.

[8] See "Ego".

[9] Bear in mind that we are dealing, here, with English translations of Steiner's words. Minor distinctions may tend to become exaggerated as a result.

[10[ I.e., materialistic souls are drawn to natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions. [See the entry for "volcanos" in this encyclopedia.]

[11] I.e., "materialistic souls" or "evil souls" actually cause cataclysms such as volcanic eruptions (physical events manifest spiritual causes, in this case evil spiritual causes).

[12] I.e., evildoers will produce terrible karma for themselves; they will form a special society of their own, divorced from virtuous humans.

[13] I.e., backward souls do not only separate themselves from the good, properly evolving humans, they actively oppose (fight against) the progressive humans (virtuous humans who are evolving properly).

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balance, sense of - also see Bothmer gymnastics; senses

According to Steiner, this is one of the twelve human senses. [See "What We're Made Of".] "Through this sense we create a personal space around our physical bodies in which we can be fully awake ... With the help of this sense we determine...our own standpoint, within which the 'I' [1] can perform its daily tasks." — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 13. Steiner taught that the sense of balance, a physical sense, exists under the influence of Capricorn. [2]

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[1] In Anthroposophy, the "I" is the spiritual ego, the divine spark of individual identity. [See "Ego" .] Possessing an "I" makes one human. No beings lower than humans possess "I's".

[2] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "Capricorn". 

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Baldur (Balder, Baldr) - also see Christ; Norse myths

a) In Norse myths: the son of Odin, brother of Thor; variously the god of patience, lust, or dying spring. He is also known as Balder and Baldr.

b) In Anthroposophy, Baldur is identified with Mithras, the Indo-Iranian god of light; the embodiment of the Sun's love. Hence, Baldur is a Christ figure. (Steiner taught that many peoples long ago recognized Christ, the Sun God, although their understanding of him was incomplete and thus, to varying degrees, faulty. They worshipped him under such names as Hu or Mithras or Baldur.) 

Like Christ, Baldur dies but is resurrected. Patient and pure, Baldur embodies the life-giving forces of the spring. He is killed, but his spirit is reborn with each new spring. ◊ “[H]e is the hope of the gods ... [H]e is killed by the god Loki with a branch of mistletoe. The God of Light is killed.” — R. Steiner, THE TEMPLE LEGEND AND THE GOLDEN LEGEND (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1997), p. 29. ◊ “Christ, the Sun God, who was known by earlier peoples under such names as Ahura Mazda, Hu, or Balder, has now united himself with the earth...." — M. Jonas, introduction, RUDOLF STEINER SPEAKS TO THE BRITISH (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998), pp. 4-5. [See "The Gods".]

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Baldur. [Etching by Elmer Boyd Smith, 1902.]

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Bamford, Christopher (1943-2022)

An Anthroposophist, longtime editor-in-chief of SteinerBooks, Lindisfarne Books, and Bell Pond Books, and a noted commentator on Rudolf Steiner's work.

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Baravalle, Herman von (1898-1973)

A Waldorf teacher and author, an associate of Rudolf Steiner at the first Waldorf school. He helped bring Anthroposophy and Waldorf education to America, striving to make these seem consistent with American values — an effort that entailed carefully obscuring much of the occultism in Anthroposophical doctrines.

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beauty - also see arts; maya

Waldorf schools are often attractive, displaying much beautiful art. Steiner stressed the need to teach all subject beautifully, in order to nourish the students' souls. The purpose of the beauty found in Waldorf schools is spiritual: Steiner taught that through the arts, and through beauty, we can enter the spiritual realm. Ultimately, Waldorf beauty is intended to have moral and religious effects. “We must, in our lessons, see to it that the children experience the beautiful, artistic, and aesthetic conception of the world; and their ideas and mental pictures should be permeated by a religious/moral feeling. Such feelings, when they are cultivated throughout the elementary school years, will make all the difference during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth years. For a child whose feelings for the beautiful, for the aesthetic conception of the world, have not been stimulated will during puberty easily become overly sensual, even perhaps erotic. There is no better way of counteracting the erotic feelings than through the healthy development of the aesthetic sense for the sublime and beautiful in nature.” — R. Steiner, EDUCATION FOR ADOLESCENTS (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), pp. 77-78.

Steiner acknowledged that physical appearances, including beautiful appearances, can be deceiving. We live in a world of maya or illusion, he taught. However, he also stressed the concept of correspondences ("as above, so below"), according to which physical appearances reflect spiritual realities — attractive forms reveal attractive spirits. Beauty has a moral dimension and it has moral effects, he said; the spirit realm is beautiful, and beings from that realm tend to incarnate in beautiful forms here in the physical realm. Steiner taught, for instance, that people who have a sanguine temperament — generally the most pleasing and "normal" of the temperaments — tend to be more physically attractive than people having other temperaments. [1] Unfortunately, such beliefs led Steiner to make some deplorable racial judgments. White people, he taught, are both more spiritually advanced and more attractive than darker peoples. [2] "Peach-blossom" — the color of Caucasian skin — is more lovely and more spiritually uplifting than darker hues, he taught. "[W]e can feel in the peach-blossom color of the healthy human being the living image of the soul ... [P]each-blossom color, human flesh-color, [is] the living image of the soul ... [B]lack [is] the spiritual image of death.” — R. Steiner, THE ARTS AND THEIR MISSION (Anthroposophic Press, 1964), pp. 93-94. Consequently, in Steiner's view, looking "like a negro" is the antithesis of attractiveness. “There is a biography of Schubert in which it is said that he looked rather like a negro. There is not a grain of truth in it. He actually had a pleasing, attractive face.” — R. Steiner, KARMIC RELATIONSHIPS, Vol. I (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1972), lecture 7, GA 235. [3] 

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[1] See "Humouresque" and "Temperaments".

[2] See "Steiner's Racism".

[3] See "'Negro'".

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Beelzebub - also see Ahriman; Mammon

a) In general usage: the Devil, who may be equated with Lucifer. 

b) In Anthroposophy, Beelzebub is the opponent of Michael, the Archangel of the Sun. [1] Beelzebub may be seen as Satan, i.e., Ahriman [2], or he may be seen as Sorat, the Demon of the Sun, the Antichrist. [3] (Ahriman and Sorat sometimes merge in Anthroposophical teachings.) In either case, Beelzebub works to thwart human evolution. ”It's up to archangel Michael to simulate men to use their newly acquired organ [4], that degenerates if a man doesn't use it. Such a man [5] comes under the influence of Michael's opponent, Mammon [6] or Beelzebub. This is the God of hindrances, who wants to prevent men from making progress. [7]" — R. Steiner, FROM THE CONTENTS OF ESOTERIC CLASSES (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), GA 266. 

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[1] See "Michael".

[2] See "Ahriman".

[3] See "Evil Ones".

[4] I.e., an immaterial organ of spiritual vision, clairvoyance. Steiner's followers believe they acquire such an organ by complying with Steiner's directives.

[5] I.e., the man who does not exercise this organ.

[6] See the entry for "Mammon" in this encyclopedia.

[7] I.e., spiritual progress — evolving to higher spiritual levels.

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bees - also see butterfly; fish; group soul; Future Venus; snake

Steiner expressed great admiration for bees, even indicating that beehives are more highly evolved than humans. Steiner "described the enormous importance of the task the bees perform and the wonderful wisdom that lies behind the bee colony...the cosmic tasks performed by bees...and the unique nature of honey, which is a food of such exceptional value...." — S. C. Easton, MAN AND WORLD IN THE LIGHT OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (Anthroposophic Press, 1989), p. 285. ◊ “The group soul [1] of a beehive is a very high level being, higher than [the group soul] of ants. It is of such a high development that you might almost say it is cosmically precocious. It has attained a level of evolutionary development that human beings will later reach in the Venus cycle [2], which follows the completion of the present Earth cycle [3] ... The group soul of corals, however, is on a still higher plane....” — R. Steiner, BEES (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 176. ◊ "If we describe the wasps and ants we can say they are creatures which, in a certain sense, withdraw from the influence of Venus [4], whereas the bees surrender themselves entirely to Venus, unfolding a life of love throughout the whole hive. This life will be filled with wisdom; you can well imagine how wise it must be!" — R. Steiner, NINE LECTURES ON BEES (St. George Publications, 1975), lecture 1, GA 351.

In discoursing upon bees, Steiner harkened back to long traditions of finding spiritual meaning or at least symbolism in bees and beehives. [See "Bees".]

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Rudolf Steiner, BEES (Anthroposophic Press, 1998).

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Taken as symbols, Steiner said, bees and behives reflect our life during the first incarnation of the solar system, called Old Saturn, and they limn our future existence during the sixth incarnation of the solar system, Future Venus. "[L]et us go back to the first Saturn condition [5] ... This condition...has been preserved for us in a peculiar being that, when considered as a whole group soul, stands in a certain way higher than man. This is the bee. When you study the whole hive, you have something totally different from the single bee. The whole beehive has a spiritual life that in some ways corresponds to life on Saturn on a lower stage, and that will be reached on Venus on a higher level [6]. The body of the bee, however, has stayed on the old Saturn level. We must indeed distinguish the soul of the whole beehive as no ordinary group soul but a being in itself, and the single bee as having preserved the form that the human body passed through on Saturn [7]. Because the bee is retarded as outer being, it could win a higher spiritual consciousness [8]. Hence the wonderful social composition of the beehive! The bee is the symbol of the spiritual man who does not know mortality [9]. When man was of such spirituality, our planet was in a fiery state [10]. When, as Venus, it will again be quite fiery, man will again be a spiritual being [11]. Thus, in the bee you have the being that is the fire being for the occultist [12]." — R. Steiner, OCCULT SIGNS AND SYMBOLS (Anthroposophic Press, 1972), pp. 27-28.

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[1] A group soul is shared by all members of a species, population, family, race, etc. [See the entry for "group soul" in this encyclopedia.]

[2] I.e., during the sixth incarnation of the solar system, called Future Venus.

[3] I.e., the fourth incarnation of the solar system, called Present Earth. (The fifth incarnation, coming between Present Earth and Future Venus, will be Future Jupiter.)

[4] I.e., the astrological/spiritual influences of the planet Venus. Traditionally, Venus is associated with love (in Roman mythology, Venus is the goddess of love), and Steiner echoes that here. Elsewhere, Steiner said the Archai — gods three levels above mankind — dwell in the Venus sphere, and he located Lucifer on Venus. (The name "Lucifer" means light bringer, and the name is sometimes applied to Venus as the morning star.)

[5] I.e., the first phase of evolution during Old Saturn.

[6] I.e., the spiritual life of a beehive reflects Old Saturn, on a lower level, and Future Venus, on a higher level.

[7] I.e., the bee's body today is similar to the human body during Old Saturn.

[8] The bee's body is backward or unevolved ("retarded"), but for this reason it is open to spiritual influences of a high order. (During Old Saturn, we were closer to the spirit realm than we are today; we were open to the cosmos then, but now we have evolved to a densely physical, almost impenetrable condition.)

[9] During Old Saturn, we did not yet know death — we were "spiritual" beings, innocent of mortality.

[10] Old Saturn may be conceived as an enormous sphere of heat or fire.

[11] Future Venus will also be a realm of fire, but at a much higher level, and thus we ourselves will be spiritual beings of a high level.

[12] Genuine occultism, Steiner said, conveys hidden truths. Steiner identified himself as an occultist. [See "Occultism".] The occultist knows that the bee is "the fire being." 

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belief - see faith

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Bellow, Saul (1915-2005) - also see admirers of Rudolf Steiner

American novelist; winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1976. Bellow expressed admiration for Rudolf Steiner and his work, a point that Waldorf schools sometimes advertise proudly. But although Bellow studied some Steiner texts intensively, he appears not to have been conversant with large swaths of Anthroposophical teachings, and he never became an Anthroposophist. “Bellow was no mystic. Like Citrine [a character in Bellow’s novel HUMBOLDT’S GIFT], he was skeptical of Steiner’s more outlandish notions...‘organs of spiritual perception’ [1] or the strange mingling of Abraham [2] with Zarathustra [3]  ... ‘It was all too much for me,' [Citrine/Bellow said].” — James Atlas, BELLOW: A Biography (Random House, 2000), p. 437. [See "Spiritual Science".] Bellow's eldest son reports that Bellow became disillusioned with Steiner and eventually rejected his teachings. [4]

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[1] I.e., so-called organs of clairvoyance.

[2] I.e., the Hebrew patriarch.

[3] I.e., the Persian prophet Zoroaster.

[4] See Greg Bellow, SAUL BELLOW'S HEART: A Son's Memoir (Bloomsbury, 2013), pp. 164 and 182.

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Besant, Annie (1847-1933) - also see Blavatsky; Helena; Esoteric Society for Germany and Austria; Leadbeater, Charles Webster; Theosophy

A leading Theosophist, a colleague and rival of Rudolf Steiner. [1] She appointed Steiner head of the Esoteric Society for Germany and Austria. [2] Some Anthroposophists attribute Steiner's break with Theosophy to disagreements with Besant. "[T]he Anthroposophical Society [3]...evolved out of the original German section of the Theosophical Society when Rudolf Steiner, who had been General Secretary of the latter[,] could no longer acquiesce in the policies of the Theosophical Society and its leader Annie Besant." — S. C. Easton, MAN AND WORLD IN THE LIGHT OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (Anthroposophic Press, 1989), p. 497.

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[1] See "Basics".

[2] See the entry "Esoteric Society for Germany and Austria" this term in this encyclopedia.

[3] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Anthroposophical Society" and "General Anthroposophical Society".

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BHAGAVAD GITA - also see Hinduism; VEDA(S)

A sacred Hindu text, a poem composed between the second century BCE and the second century CE. As he did with virtually everything else, Steiner claimed to understand the true, occult significance of this poem. In essence, he meant that he found (or imposed) affirmations of his own doctrines in the ancient text. One small example: “Remember what I have said in former lectures, that man is, in a sense, an inverted plant. [1] All that you have learnt must be recalled and put together, in order to understand such a thing as this wonderful passage in the Bhagavad Gita. [2] We are then astonished at the old wisdom which must today, by means of new methods [3], be called forth from the depths of occultism. [4] We then experience what this tree brings to light. We experience in its leaves that which grows upon it; the Veda knowledge [4], which streams in on us from without. [5]” — R. Steiner, THE BHAGAVAD GITA AND THE EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL (Anthroposophic Press, 1971), lecture 4, GA 142. [See "Veda".]

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[1] Steiner taught that the human physical constitution is like an upside-down-plant. "[M]an is a completely inverted plant since he turns all the organs that a plant turns towards the sun, away from it. Man's root, [his] head or brain, is turned towards the sun." — R. Steiner, FROM THE CONTENTS OF ESOTERIC CLASSES (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), Berlin, 4-18-1906, GA 266.

[2] I.e., a passage about the Avayata-tree, the fig-tree.

[3] I.e., the methods of Anthroposophy.

[4] Steiner was a professed occultist; he claimed to possess occult (hidden) spiritual knowledge.

[4] I.e., knowledge contained in Hindu scriptures.

[5] I.e., from the outside.

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BIBLE, THE (The Holy Bible) - also see Christ; fifth gospel; Jesus; Noah; Old Testament; Sermon on the Mount

The chief holy text of Judaism and Christianity. [1] In Anthroposophy, the Bible is seen as a flawed document. Steiner derived many of his doctrines from apocrypha — semi-biblical writings not included in the standard versions of the Bible — and gnostic beliefs. [2] Steiner rewrote various biblical passages, including The Lord's Prayer. He even wrote a "corrected" version of the New Testament's account of Christ's life and death: THE FIFTH GOSPEL (e.g., Rudolf Steiner Press, 1995). [3] His "authority" for such alterations was his claimed clairvoyant access to the Akashic Chronicle. [4] 

As an example of Steiner's reinterpretation of the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible), here is his account of Noah and the flood, conveyed by Waldorf teacher Roy Wilkinson: "Many people, and also giants, now lived on the earth but men had become wicked ... The story refers to the sinking of the continent of Atlantis ... Noah, or Manu, as he is known elsewhere [i.e., in other religions and/or mythologies], was the leader of the sun-oracle of Atlantis [i.e., a center of occult knowledge] ... He was the most advanced leader and he was obviously still in touch with the creators [sic] of the Earth, the Elohim or Spirits of Form ... Noah gathered together people sufficiently mature and, knowing that the catastrophe was coming, emigrated to the center of Asia ... Here he set up a cultural or mystery center from which the early Post-Atlantis civilizations were inspired." — R. Wilkinson, COMMENTARY ON THE OLD TESTAMENT STORIES (Henry Goulden), pp. 20-21.

As an example of Steiner's reinterpretation of the New Testament, here — in Steiner's own words — is his explanation of Christ's seventh beatitude (blessed are the peacemakers): "[This refers] to manas, buddhi and atman, or spirit self, life spirit and spirit man ... Man is not yet sufficiently evolved to take the spirit self completely into himself. In this respect he is still at the beginning of his development and is like a vessel that is gradually receiving it. This is indicated in the seventh sentence of the Beatitudes. At first, the spirit self can only weave into man and fill him with its warmth. Only through the deed of Christ is it brought down to earth as the power of love and harmony. Therefore, Christ says, ‘Blessed are those who draw the spirit self down into themselves, for they shall become the children of God.’ This points man upward to higher worlds." — R. Steiner, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT (Anthroposophic Press, 1978), lecture 2, "The Sermon on the Mount", GA 107.

For some of Steiner's "corrections" of the Bible, see "Commandments", "Genesis", "Old Testament", and "Sermon".

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[1] The Hebrew Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament, consists of the Law (Torah), the Prophets, and the Hagiographa or Writings. To this, Christians add the New Testament consisting of the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, twenty-one epistles by St. Paul and others, and the book of Revelation.

[2] See "Gnosis".

[3] See "Steiner's Fifth Gospel".

[4] See "Akasha". 

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big-headed children - see large-headed children

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biodynamic gardening and farming - also see animal kingdom; animals; astrology; biology; botany; magic; nature; nature spirits; occult; organic food; plant kingdom; plants; superstition

These are agricultural practices based on indications given by Rudolf Steiner. [1] Waldorf schools often have biodynamic gardens and compost piles, and participation in gardening is often required of the students. As with almost everything else in Waldorf schools, Waldorf beliefs about plants and gardening are laced with occultism. Thus, for instance, the gnomes that are often represented by dolls or statuettes in Waldorf classrooms are significant beneficiaries of healthful plant life, according to Steiner. (Steiner taught that gnomes really exist. [2]) “The plant gathers the secrets of the universe, sinks them into the ground, and the gnomes take these secrets into themselves from what seeps down spiritually to them through the plants. And because the gnomes, particularly from autumn on and through the winter, in their wanderings through ore and rock [3] bear with them what has filtered down to them through the plants, they become those beings within the earth which, as they wander, carry the ideas of the whole universe streaming throughout the earth ... The gnomes receive through the plants, which to them are the same as rays of light are to us, the ideas of the universe, and within the earth carry them in full consciousness from metal to metal, from rock to rock.” — R. Steiner, AGRICULTURE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2004), p. 154. 

Biodynamic agriculture is a specialized form of organic agriculture, and as such it generally produces healthful foods. Many of its specific practices are, however, highly questionable, entailing magic, astrology, and other forms of superstition. Plantings and other activities are keyed to the positions of the planets and the signs of the zodiac, for instance, and preparations of dubious value (which may entail questionable use of animal body parts) are applied to the soil. "Horn manure" is employed, for instance. “Horn Manure is cow manure that has been fermented in the soil over winter inside a cow horn ... Before being applied very small amounts...are dissolved in water and stirred rigorously for one whole hour. This is done by stirring (preferably by hand) in one direction in such a way that a deep crater is formed in the stirring vessel (bucket, barrel). Then the direction is changed, the water seethes and slowly a new crater is formed. Each time a well-formed crater is achieved the direction is changed until the full hour is completed. In this way the dynamic effects concentrated in the prepared manure...are released into the rhythmically moved water and become effective for soil and plant.” — “Biodynamic Frequently Asked Questions", www.biodynamic.org.uk . 

Another example: To rid a field of wild mice, a young mouse is caught, killed, and skinned. Powder made from the skin is then sprinkled on the soil. All of this is done in accordance with astrological signs. “You catch a fairly young mouse and skin it, so as to get the skin ... The animal carries the force of the full Moon [4] within it ... At the time when Venus is in Scorpio, you obtain the skin of a mouse and burn it. Carefully collect the ash and other constituents that remain from the burning ... Take the pepper you get in this way, and sprinkle it over your fields ... Provided it has been led through the fire at the high conjunction of Venus and Scorpio, you will find this an excellent remedy. Henceforth, your mice will avoid the field.” — R. Steiner, AGRICULTURE COURSE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1958), p. 113. 

Waldorf students who are taught the principles of biodynamic gardening receive indirect training in occultism, superstition, magic, and astrology.

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Numerous books about biodynamics, written by Steiner's followers, have been published over the years. They generally present Steiner's agricultural teachings as inspired spiritual revelations, leading to the production and consumption of foods that embody the best of nature and the beneficence of the spirits (gods) behind nature. One example is shown here. [David Klocek, SACRED AGRICULTURE - The Alchemy of Biodynamics (Lindisfarne Books, Anthroposophic Press, 2013).] 

The practice of biodynamic gardening at Waldorf schools is one extension of the religious — Anthroposophical — mission of the schools. [5]

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[1] The term "biodynamics" refers to the dynamic forces within living or biological creation. According to Anthroposophical belief, naturally grown foods (produced without the use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) contain natural forces or nutrients absent from factory-farmed or processed foods.

[2] See "Gnomes".

[3] Steiner taught that gnomes are nature spirits or elemental beings residing within the Earth. Invisible and immaterial, gnomes can pass through the constituents of the Earth, such as ore and rock.

[4] I.e., the astrological powers of the Moon. 

[5] For an overview of the religious or mystical nature of Waldorf schooling, see "Schools as Churches".

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biology - also see animals; biodynamics; blood; bodies; botany; evolution; human constitution; life force; life processes; medicine; nature

The Waldorf view of biology — the study of living organisms — is founded on Anthroposophical doctrine. For instance, animals are said to have evolved from humans, not vice versa; the physical body is considered the lowest of the four human bodies (physical, etheric, astral, and "I"); and humans are said to be born four times, as these bodies incarnate. [1] Other distinctive Anthroposophical doctrines include the idea that the heart does not pump blood and the brain does not think. How many of these concepts are explicitly revealed to Waldorf students varies from school to school and teacher to teacher. Even the most circumspect Waldorf biology instructors face difficulties, since Steiner's teachings on these matters — teachings that his followers embrace as truth — distinctly contravene the findings of science. Thus, for instance, ◊ “[Science] sees the heart as a pump that pumps blood through the body. Now there is nothing more absurd than believing this....” — R. Steiner, PSYCHOANALYSIS AND SPIRITUAL PSYCHOLOGY, (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1990), p. 126. ◊ "Within the brain there is absolutely no thought." — R. Steiner, WONDERS OF THE WORLD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1983), p. 119.

In Anthroposophical belief, biology extends to virtually everything. Very little in the universe is dead, Steiner taught; life suffuses almost everything, and thus virtually everything is biological in a heightened, spiritual sense. The four kingdoms of nature are the mineral, plant, animal, and human realms. [2] Even minerals are considered to be alive, although at a low, almost comatose level. The creation of life is deemed fundamentally spiritual, and because spirit is everywhere, so is life. 

Steiner specifically directed Waldorf teachers to adhere to Anthroposophy when discussing biology with their students. On the subject of human physiology, for instance, he said: "Concerning [knowledge about] the human being you will find nearly everything somewhere in my lecture cycles ... You need only modify it for school ... Hold to what you know from anthroposophy ... You will find starting points everywhere in my lectures." — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER  (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), pp. 49-50. Following this advice leads Waldorf biology instructors to orient their classes to such propositions as that animals reflect specific, limited qualities that human beings possess in integrated totality (because animals descend from humans, having been ejected from the human evolutionary line as various stages of development [3]). Thus, for instance, a Waldorf teacher gives this synopsis of a biology text published by a Waldorf printing press: "In the second chapter of this volume, 'The Human Organism as Threefold' [4], [author Wolfgang] Schad sets forth and elaborates...his concepts of the human form. He uses this concept as the basis for the new, threefold classification of mammals ... The rodents, for example, he finds related to man's upper pole, the 'nerve-sense system [5]; the ungulates, to the lower pole...the 'metabolic-limb system' [6]; the carnivores, to the middle, or 'respiratory-circulatory system.' [7]" — J. F. Gardner, foreword to W. Schad's MAN AND MAMMALS - Toward a Biology of Form (Waldorf Press, 1971), p. 3. Students taught biology in this way are receiving Anthroposophical doctrine.

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[1] See "Incarnation".

[2] See the entries for "mineral kingdom", etc., in this encyclopedia. 

[3] See the entry for "animals" in this encyclopedia.

[4] See "threefold nature of man" in this encyclopedia.

[4] See "nerve-senses system" in this encyclopedia. (Like the other systems Schad discusses, this system was postulated by Rudolf Steiner.)

[5] See "metabolic-limb system" in this encyclopedia.

[6] See "rhythmic-circulatory system" in this encyclopedia.

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birth, and activities before, knowledge gained before - also see bodies; death, gate of birth; life after death and before birth; incarnation; reincarnation; cf. death; excarnation

According to Steiner, we lead many successive lives, experienced through the process of reincarnation. [1] Before each birth or incarnation, we live in the spirit realm. We are born on Earth carrying the effects of actions taken in the spirit realm. “A living comprehension will lead you to see the pre-existence of the soul [2], to see what the human being experienced before birth, to see that human life in the physical world is a continuation of previous experiences. Traditional religions strongly oppose preexistence, which can make a human being selfless. They strongly oppose those things that do not strive toward a murky and numbing uncomprehending belief, but toward knowledge and the clear light of comprehension. [3]” — R. Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 119. 

Moreover, Steiner taught, we are "born" several times during each Earthly life, as various parts of our constitution are incarnated. The etheric body incarnates at about age seven — this is considered our second birth. The incarnation of the astral body comes at about age 14 is a third birth. The incarnation of the "I" at about age 21 is a fourth birth. Waldorf faculties continue to embrace doctrines of this sort, long after Steiner's death. The following is from a Waldorf teacher training program, describing a course called "Who Is Here? Educational Support for Adolescents": "In this course, we will deepen our anthroposophical understanding of the adolescent’s nature by exploring the challenges brought by the four births, by recognizing the relationship between the ego [4] and memory, and by helping the student be appropriately willful. [5]" — Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training, 2014.

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[1] See "Reincarnation".

[2] I.e., the belief that the soul existed before birth on Earth. — one had a life or lives prior Earthly incarnation.

[3] Here as elsewhere Steiner holds up his own teachings, Anthroposophy, as superior to "traditional religions."

[4] See "Ego".

[5] See "Will".

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black - also see black magic; black path; cf. peach-blossom; white

According to Steiner, black is the color of spiritual death. "If we contemplate white...we have the soul image of the spirit ... And if, as artists, we take hold of black, we have the spiritual image of death." — Rudolf Steiner, THE ARTS AND THEIR MISSION (Anthroposophic Press, 1964), lecture 8, GA 276. (The "artists" Steiner discussed are clairvoyants who penetrate to spiritual truths.)

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black magic, black magicians - also see magic; cf. white magic

Black magic is the use of magical powers for evil. According to Steiner, black magicians are active in the modern world. ◊ ”The black magician has the urge to kill, to create a void around him in the astral world [1] because this void affords him a field in which his egoistic desires may disport themselves. He needs the power which he acquires by taking the vital force [2] of everything that lives, that is to say, by killing it.” — R. Steiner, AN ESOTERIC COSMOLOGY (Wilder Publications, 2008), p. 41. ◊ “Today, those who know the secret of the use of these forces know full well that the use of such forces in our time means that powers of black magic are at work. Magic must never be made to serve when selfish purposes are involved. Hence, the employment of seed forces [3] is not permitted today even to serve white magic. [4]” — R. Steiner, READING THE PICTURES OF THE APOCALYPSE (SteinerBooks, 1993), p. 81.

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[1] See the entry for "astral world" in this encyclopedia.

[2] I.e., life force. [See the entry for "life force" in this encyclopedia.]

[3] I.e., vital or life forces embodied in seeds.

[4] I.e., the opposite of black magic: white magic is the use of magical powers for good.

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black path - also see path(s) of perdition; perdition; cf. freedom; white path

According to Steiner: the path of spiritual error. Steiner taught that, after death, we are confronted by Guardians of the Threshold [1], one of whom says this to us: "[I]f thou dost refuse to apply thy powers in this world, others will come who will not refuse; and a higher supersensible world will receive all the fruits of the sense-world [2], while thou wilt lose from under thy feet the very ground in which thou wert rooted. The purified world [3] will develop above and beyond thee, and thou shalt be excluded from it. Thus thou wouldst tread the black path, while the others from whom thou didst sever thyself tread the white path.” — R. Steiner, KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT (Anthroposophic Press, 1947), chapter 11, GA 10; emphases by Steiner.

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[1] See "Guardians".

[2] The "supersensible world" (beyond the reach of our ordinary senses) is essentially the spirit realm; the "sense-world" (accessible to our ordinary senses) is essentially the physical realm.

[3] I.e., the spiritual realm cleansed of any impurities brought from the physical realm.

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"black race" - see Africans; "Negro" race

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Blavatsky, Helena (1831-1891) - also see Besant; Annie; Leadbeater, Charles Webster; Theosophy

A Russian spiritualist, cofounder of Theosophy. Rudolf Steiner expressed great admiration for Blavatsky and much of her theology, at least initially, and he drew heavily from it. “One thing can be said of the writings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Only one who does not understand them can underestimate them. [1] Anyone who finds the key to what is great in these works will come to admire her more and more.” — R. Steiner, SPIRITUALISM, MADAME BLAVATSKY, AND THEOSOPHY: An Eyewitness View of Occult History (Anthroposophic Press, 2001), p. 107.

Blavatsky claimed to possess psychic powers, which she frequently demonstrated. Eventually she was attacked in the press for rigging these demonstrations. Following an investigation, in 1885 the London Society for Psychical Research pronounced her a fraud.

Early in his career as an occultist, Steiner was appointed head of the German wing of Theosophy [2]. Although he was greatly indebted to Blavatsky for the occult concepts he promulgated, Steiner later distanced himself from some of Blavatsky's teachings and practices, and ultimately he broke away to establish his own occult system, Anthroposophy. In the end, he became almost dismissive of Blavatsky, asserting the superiority of his own clairvoyant insight. “It is true that Blavatsky has in her books put forward important truths concerning spiritual worlds, but mixed with so much error that only one who has accurately investigated these matters can succeed in separating what is significant from what is erroneous. [3]” — R. Steiner, APPROACHES TO ANTHROPOSOPHY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1992), p. 7.

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Helena Blavatsky. [Public domain, color added.]

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[1] I.e., only those who do not comprehend Blavatsky's teachings criticize those teachings. (Anyone who truly understands Blavatsky will agree with Blavatsky.)

[2] Steiner owed his appointment to a different Theosophical leader, Annie Besant. [See the entries in this encyclopedia for "Besant, Annie" and "Esoteric Society for Germany and Austria"

[3] I.e., only those who have accurately investigated the spirit realm can distinguish what is true in Blatavsky's teachings from what is false. (Steiner claimed to make such an accurate investigate through his use of "exact clairvoyance.")

Steiner was also influenced by — and later critical of — a third Theosophist: Charles Webster Leadbeater.

For an overview of Steiner's debt to Theosophy, see "Basics".

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block - see block teaching

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block books - see lesson books

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block teaching - also see class teachers; main lesson; Waldorf curriculum

The Waldorf curriculum presents subjects in "blocks" — periods of a few weeks when particular subjects are studied. A three- or four-week block of history, for instance, will be followed by a block focusing on another subject, perhaps botany. "In Waldorf teaching the main subjects such as reading, writing, arithmetic, history or geography are taught during the first two hours of the day, usually for a period [i.e., a block] of three or four weeks." — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011). 

The block system is applied particularly to the first classes of the school day. These "main lessons" are almost always taught by the students' main teacher, the "class teacher" who stays with the class year after year as it progresses from one grade level to another. This teacher thus has primary responsibility for enacting the block system. Main lessons begin the day in most Waldorf schools, and they last from 90 to 120 minutes. Other classes, taught later in the day, may be keyed to the subject studied in a particular block. After a block ends, its subject may not be taken up again for many weeks or months. Much material may be forgotten in the interim, and thus advanced blocks often begin with a lengthy review of material covered previously.

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blood - also see exogamy; heart; rhythmic-circulatory system; racism

According to Steiner, blood has occult significance: it is the physical expression of the "I" and the consciousness soul. [1] The heart does not cause blood to circulate, Steiner taught; rather, blood circulates due to its own vital force. "[I]t is not the heart which pumps the blood through the body, but the blood moves because of its hunger for air, hunger for food, and this moves the heart." — R. Steiner, FROM MAMMOTHS TO MEDIUMS, lecture 3, GA 350. 

In accordance with Anthroposophical doctrine, Waldorf schools sometimes teach that different races have significantly different types of blood. According to Steiner, mixing the bloods of different peoples is almost always destructive. Humans lost their instinctive clairvoyance [2], and fell into the demonic clutches of intellectualism [3], due to blood-mixing. “Just as [the] mingling of the blood of different species of animals brings about actual death when the types are too remote [4], so, too, the ancient clairvoyance of undeveloped man [5] was killed when his blood was mixed with the blood of others who did not belong to the same stock. The entire intellectual life of today [6] is the outcome of the mingling of blood.” — R. Steiner, THE OCCULT SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOOD (Health Research Books, 1972), p. 42, GA 55. 

Your blood carries the imprint of your ancestors, Steiner taught. Moreover, it carries the imprint of your own experiences. Together, the forces carried in the blood help determine your path in life. "We are related to ancestors through the blood. We are born within a specific configuration, within a certain race, a certain family and from a certain line of ancestors. Everything inherited comes to expression in our blood. Likewise, all the results from an individual's physical past accumulates in the blood, just as within it there is prepared a prototype of that person's future." — R. Steiner, SUPERSENSIBLE KNOWLEDGE, lecture 2, "Blood Is a Very Special Fluid", GA 55.

[For more about this special fluid, see "Blood".]

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[1] See the entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.

[2] See the entry in this encyclopedia for "atavistic clairvoyance".

[3] For the Anthroposophical view of intellect, see "Thinking" and "Steiner's Specific".

[4] I.e., when the animals are very dissimilar.

[5] I.e., primitive or ancient humans. Steiner taught that early humans had instinctive powers of clairvoyance.

[6] Contemporary intellectual life is under the sway of the arch-demon Ahriman, Steiner taught.

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Bock, Emil (1895-1959) - also see Christian Community

A devout Anthroposophist, Bock became a founder of the Christian Community [1]. He was the Community's leader from 1938 until his death in 1959. His published works include THE LIFE AND TIMES OF RUDOLF STEINER, Vol. 1 & 2 (Floris Books). From the publisher: "A fascinating and thorough exploration of the life of Rudolf Steiner. Describes the people Steiner encountered during his life, from the Viennese social circles he mixed in as a student, to his meeting with Friedrich Nietszche [2]. Explores the themes and ideas in Steiner's work, including the early years of Jesus [3] and the split from the Theosophical Society."

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[1] See "Christian Community".

[2] Steiner began reading the philosopher Nietszche in 1889, and he met him in 1896. As Steiner wrote later, "Nietzsche's ideas of the 'eternal recurrence' and of 'Übermensch' remained long in my mind." Eternal recurrence is the proposition that events repeat themselves, in an infinite loop, for eternity. The Übermensch {the Overman or Superman} is, Nietzche postulated, the superior human who casts aside conventional morality to live in accordance with his own original, higher standards. Both ideas are reflected, with significant modification, in Steiner's own work. 

[3] Steiner taught that two children named Jesus grew up near one another. They later merged to become the human vessel into which the Sun God, Christ, incarnated. [See "Was He Christian?"]

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Bodhisattvas - also see Buddha; Buddhism; cf. avatars

a) In Manhayana Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is an individual who is able to attain nirvana [1] but who postpones doing so in order to continue relieving the suffering of others. 

b) In Theosophy and in Steiner's teachings, Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings, either buddhas or individuals who will become buddhas in the next few incarnations. "Bodhisattva — an initiate, or enlightened being, who acts as a teacher of mankind for a certain period. When that period has elapsed, the bodhisattva attains the rank of buddha and will not incarnate again..." — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 15. Some Bodhisattvas, Steiner taught, are human beings, but others are spirits higher than human beings: effectively gods. In Theosophy, these are sometimes referred to as "super-human Bodhisattvas" — august spirits who may send human Bodhisattvas to Earth as their emissaries. [See "Boddhisattva" in the Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary (Theosophical University Press, 1999).]

Steiner taught that Bodhisattvas incarnate in human bodies, much as Christ incarnated in a human body. But a distinction must be drawn, he said. "The succession of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas has no relation as such to the cosmic Being we call Christ [2]; it was a Bodhisattva — not the Christ — who incarnated in the body of Jeshu ben Pandira. [3] Christ incarnated in a physical body once, and once only, for a period of three years. The Bodhisattva appears in every century until his existence as Maitreya Buddha. [4]” — R. Steiner, “Buddha and Christ: The Sphere of the Bodhisattvas”, ANTHROPOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain, 1964), GA 130.

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[1] A transcendent state of of selflessness and self-actualization, the ultimate goal of the practice of Buddhism. Anyone who attains nirvana is identified as a buddha. [For one perspective on the the relationship of Anthroposophy to Buddhism, see "Buddhism".]

[2] In Anthroposophy, Christ is the Sun God.

[3] "Who was this Jeshu ben Pandira? He is a great individuality who, since the time of Buddha — that is, about 600 B.C. — has been incarnated once in nearly every century in order to bring humanity forward ... The successor to the Gautama-Buddha-Bodhisattva [i.e., Buddha] was that individuality who incarnated a hundred years before Christ as Jeshu ben Pandira, as a herald of the Christ in the physical body." — R. Steiner, JESHU BEN PANDIRA (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1942), lecture 1, GA 130.

[4] This is a future Buddha who, according to Buddhist tradition, will attain complete spiritual enlightenment.

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bodies - also see astral body; birth; ego body; etheric body; "I"; incarnation; nonphysical bodies; cf. bodily sheaths; excarnation

Steiner often said that fully incarnated, real human beings have three bodies: the physical body, the etheric body, and the astral body. [1] This concept creates a nice symmetry with Steiner's doctrine that we have three souls and three spirits. However, Steiner often treated the "I" or "ego" [2] as a fourth body, although it is significantly different from the other bodies. The "I" does not arise from within oneself but is bestowed from without, by Christ. Thus, although the "I" can be seen as a body (sometimes called the ego body [3]), more correctly it is considered a spark placed within us and/or it is the culmination/combination of our three spirits. Still, because the "I" can be considered a body, Anthroposophists frequently say that humans have four bodies that are born at four different times. [4] According to Anthroposophical belief, the four human births occur at age 0 (when the physical body is born), age 7 (when the etheric body is born), age 14 (when the astral body is born), and age 21 (when the "I" is born). The belief that childhood consists of several seven-year-long stages is sometimes called Steiner's most significant educational principle. [5] Likewise, belief in the incarnation of four bodies at different times is sometimes said to be fundamental to Waldorf education. "Waldorf education is based upon the recognition that the four bodies of the human being develop and mature at different times.” — R. Trostli, RHYTHMS OF LEARNING: What Waldorf Education Offers Children, Parents & Teachers (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 4.

Steiner taught that at night, during sleep, the physical and etheric bodies remain on Earth while the astral body and the "I" ascend to the spirit realm. During one of his lecture, he drew a schematic sketch and said: “Here (left) we have the physical body and the ether body (yellow). It fills the whole of the physical body. And here (right) we have the astral body, which is outside the human being at night (red). At the top it is very small and hugely bulging down below. Then we have the I (violet). This is how we are at night. We are two people in the night." — R. Steiner, BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS 1919-1924 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2003), p. 102.

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 The physical body is shown here as the outlined form; it is pervaded by the etheric body (yellow) which extends a slight distance beyond. The astral body is shown in red, the "I" in violet. The astral body and "I" leave at night and return in the morning (as shown by the arrows). [R.R. sketch, 2014, based on the one in BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS 1919-1924, p. 102.]

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[1] See "What We're Made Of" and "Our Parts".

[2] See "Ego".

[3] The ego body may be equated with the "I" or ego, or it may be seen as the carrier of the "I" or ego. Steiner spoke of the ego body when, for instance, he enumerated human bodies in these words: "[W]e have: 1. The physical body, which we can perceive with our ordinary senses. 2. The etheric body, which permeates the physical body with a delicate luminosity. 3. The astral body. 4. The Ego-body or consciousness body." — R. Steiner, AT THE GATES OF SPIRITUAL SCIENCE, lecture 3, GA 95.

[4] See "Incarnation" and the entry for "bodily sheaths", below.

[5] See "Most Significant".

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bodily sheaths - also see bodies; sheath

These are the nonphysical "wombs" within which the etheric, astral, and ego bodies gestate, Steiner taught. Human beings are born four times as the four bodies incarnate and the four sheaths fall away, one by one. The physical body incarnates during one's first birth, the etheric body at about age seven, the astral body at about age 14, and the ego body at about age 21. "At physical birth man is released from the physical integument of the maternal womb ... Now the fact is that for supersensible perception [1] other events of this kind are undergone in the further course of life — supersensible events [2], analogous to that of physical birth as seen by the outer senses [3]. For his etheric body man is enveloped by an ethereal sheath — an etheric integument — until about the change of teeth, the sixth or seventh year, when the etheric integument falls away. This event represents the 'birth' of the etheric body. After it man is still enveloped by an astral sheath, which falls away at the age of puberty — between the 12th and 16th year. The astral body in its turn is 'born.' Then at an even later point of time the I is born." — R. Steiner, OCCULT SCIENCE - An Outline (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2005), p. 319.

Note that sometimes the term "bodily sheath" is used interchangeably (if inaccurately) with "body," in which case, for instance, the astral sheath and astral body would be seen as the same. Here is Steiner speaking in this manner: "The ego is the most important spiritual factor in the development of the three sheaths of the child: astral body, etheric body, physical body." — R. Steiner, "The Son of God and the Son of Man", Rudolf Steiner Archive, GA 127.

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[1]  I.e., clairvoyance.

[2] I.e., occurring beyond the reach of our ordinary senses.

[3] I.e., physical senses.`

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body nature - also see bodies; etheric nature; ninefold nature of man; physical body; soul nature

According to Steiner, this is the lowest major division of the ninefold nature of man. [1] Steiner variously said human nature has nine, seven, four, or three major components. The threefold account is clearest: A human being consists of body [2], soul [3], and spirit [4]. The ninefold account of human nature may be seen as an elaboration of the threefold account. In the ninefold account, a human being has a "body nature", a "soul nature", and a "spirit nature" — these "natures" are the essences or characteristics of the three major human components (body, soul, spirit). In turn, each of these "natures" consists of three sub-components. The three sub-components of a human's "body nature" are "physical nature" (the essence of one's physical body [5]), "etheric nature" (the essence of one's etheric body [6]), and "soul nature" (the essence of one's astral body [7]).

In Steiner's ninefold description of the human constitution, body nature is the lowest of three major components. Like the other major components (soul nature and spirit nature), body nature consists of three sub-components. Our physical nature finds expression in the physical body, our etheric nature finds expression in the etheric body, and our soul nature (a) finds expression in the astral body. [8]

Above body nature, in the ninefold account of human nature, is soul nature (b), and above soul nature (b) is spirit nature. Like body nature, soul nature (b) and spirit nature each consist of three sub-components. [9]

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[1] See "What We're Made Of".

[2] I.e., the physical body.

[3] I.e., one's lesser, temporary incorporeal identity as it exists in a single incarnation.

[4] I.e., one's higher, eternal incorporeal identity as it is carried through all incarnations.

[5] See "physical body" in this encyclopedia.

[6] See "etheric body" in this encyclopedia.

[7] See "astral body" in this encyclopedia.

[8] Confusingly, Steiner spoke of "soul nature" as a part of body nature and also as a category above body nature. We can straighten this out if we distinguish between the two soul natures he mentioned; hence, we may speak of soul nature (a) — the soul nature that is a part of body nature — and soul nature (b) — the soul nature that is above body nature. Steiner himself did not use these designations.

The confusion arises because Steiner taught that the astral body houses the soul. However, he also taught that soul existence is higher than bodily existence. So, the soul exists within our "body nature" (it is housed by our astral body) but it is also superior to our "body nature" (soul is higher than body). We may resolve the confusion by saying that the astral body provides a transition to the higher stage of existence enabled by the soul. (The higher stage is soul nature (b).)`

The difficulties in the ninefold account may be at least partially remedied in Steiner's sevenfold account. [See "sevenfold nature of man" in this encyclopedia.]

[9] See "soul nature" and "spirit nature" in this encyclopedia.

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bones - also see skeleton; thinking

According to Anthroposophical belief, ancient peoples understood that some forms of thinking occur in the bones, but modern humans have lost much of this awareness. “The ancients...believed that people thought with their bones as well as with their nerves. This is also true. We can thank the capacity of our skeletal system for everything we have in abstract science ... Our skeleton has considerable knowledge, but because we cannot reach down into the skeleton with our consciousness, our awareness of that knowledge fades...." — R. Steiner, THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE: Foundations of Waldorf Education (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 75.

Blacks have excessively developed bones, Steiner said, whites have finer bones, and yellow people have bones intermediate on this spectrum. "[T]he black man is more developed in the bones than a member of the white race. In the white, the blood is more important than the bones. Therefore, his bones will be finer. So the Negro has developed rough bones while Europeans have developed fine bones. As for the insides of Asians, the yellow race, they stand in the middle." — R. Steiner, VOM LEBEN DES MENSCHEN UND DER ERDE - ÜBER DAS WESEN DES CHRISTENTUMS (Verlag Der Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, 1961), GA 349, p. 55; R.R. translation.

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BOOK OF THE DEAD, THE - see Egyptian Book of the Dead

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books by Rudolf Steiner - also see lectures by Rudolf Steiner; Steiner, Rudolf; Steiner, Marie; stenographers

More than 330 books are attributed to Rudolf Steiner, although he actually wrote far fewer. Most of the books attributed to Steiner consist of transcripts of his various lectures, discussions, faculty meetings, and so forth. "The complete edition of his published works numbers over 330 volumes (with surprisingly little repetition) making him among the most prolific authors of all time, though it was with the help of a number of stenographers." — Rudolf Steiner Web. Steiner did not generally intend all of this material to be published, nor did he review all of these transcripts. So some of the resulting books may not accurately reflect his views, at least in some details. But generally the stenographers who prepared the transcripts were devoted to Steiner and thus presumably strove to be as precise as possible. 

Steiner wrote and published more than two dozen books intended for a wide readership. These books presumably represent his carefully considered views, phrased as he wished. However, care must still be taken in interpreting the contents of these books — Steiner revised some of them multiple times, altering their content in ways both large and small. [See "What a Guy".]

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botany - also see biodynamic gardening and farming; biology; plant kingdom; plants

At Waldorf schools, the subject of botany is often informed by the Anthroposophical belief that plants are the expressions of thoughts, moods, or spirits. According to Anthroposophical belief, plants are, in a sense, the Earth’s hair. They are members of the second kingdom of nature, standing between minerals and animals. [1] Like animals and humans, they have etheric bodies. [2] How many of Anthroposophical concepts of this sort are explicitly revealed to Waldorf students varies from school to school and teacher to teacher. “[I]nsight into the cosmos must be the result of knowledge consciously developed [3] ... This cosmic insight will so live in us [4] that we shall be able to shape it artistically into the pictures we need [to convey to children] ... At about the tenth year the child is ripe for what the teacher can make out of this far-reaching vision. And if a teacher shows in living pictures how the whole earth is a living being, how it bears the plants as a man bears his hair...a kind of expansion takes place in the soul of the child ... It is not correct to say that the child is not mature enough for conceptions of this kind. A teacher in whom they live and who has this world conception at the back of him, knows how to express them in forms for which the child is ripe and in which it [5] can concur with its [6] whole being.” — R. Steiner, ESSENTIALS OF EDUCATION (Anthroposophical Publishing Company, 1926), pp. 63-64.

The Waldorf conception of botany is closely bound up with biodynamic agriculture, which in turn is closely bound up with astrology and magic. [7] Waldorf schools often have biodynamic gardens, and the students are often required to work in them. The botanical world is deemed to be a part of the cosmic tapestry that has mankind at its center. [8] Cosmic influences (essentially astrological) are manifested throughout this tapestry [9], so the study of natural phenomena such as plants becomes an extension of the study of cosmic spirit. "Botany is studied in connection with the soil and the whole cosmic influence [10] ... The pupil will realize that all realms of nature are a united whole and that man is the central theme ... Class 5: ... Plant study to show the plant [exists] between earth and cosmic forces." — R. Wilkinson, RUDOLF STEINER ON EDUCATION (Hawthorn Press, 1993),p. 112. Astrological influences help shape the plants. "[F]rom the stars they [i.e., plants] learn to give their flowers starlike shapes. Some are like six-pointed stars, some are like five-pointed stars, [etc.] ... You could say that the stars on high are the heavenly flowers ... And our flowers here on earth are like a 'mirror' that reflects the light of the heavenly flowers." — C. Kovacs, BOTANY (Floris Books, Waldorf Educational Resources, 2009), p. 42.

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Teachers in Waldorf schools, even those who are not fully committed Anthroposophists, often rely on teachers' guides prepared by Anthroposophists such as Charles Kovacs. [The guide shown here is Kovacs' BOTANY (Floris Books, Waldorf Educational Resources, 2009).]

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[1] See the entries in this encyclopedia for "animal kingdom", "mineral kingdom", and "plant kingdom".

[2] These are constellations of life forces that help shape the physical body, Steiner taught.

[3] This is a concise summary of Anthroposophy, as conceived by Steiner: conscious development of clairvoyant powers that lead to "insight into the cosmos." As Steiner often indicated, Anthroposophy is the basis of Waldorf education.

[4] I.e., Waldorf teachers.

[5] Sic: meaning s/he, the child.

[6] Sic.

[7] See “Biodynamics”.

[8] See "The Center".

[9] See "Star Power".

[10] In Anthroposophy, cosmic influences or powers are essentially the influences of the gods dwelling in various celestial spheres: astrological influences.

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Bothmer gymnastics - also see balance; eurythmy

Named for originator Graf von Bothmer, an Anthroposophist, Bothmer gymnastics is a non-athletic form of movement in which the practitioners "experience" the space around them. [1] "Bothmer Gymnastics is intended to foster balance, not just physical balance but mental and spiritual balance too. It's sometimes associated with the phrase 'spatial dynamics' as it aims to help older children (and adults) explore the relationship between their body and its position in space." [2] As employed in Waldorf schools, such gymnastics are related to the practice of eurythmy. [3] The distinction between these two disciplines is sometimes indistinct, but in general Bothmer gymnastics is a form of physical education (PE) whereas eurythmy is a form of art: dance.

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[1] Physical space, as conceived in Anthroposophy, is position within the cosmos, which is essentially spiritual. Such gymnastics, then, become a physical form of spiritual meditation and centering,

[2] Proper physical performance, in Anthroposophical belief, is the enactment of spirit. Waldorf students led in such performances are essentially taught Anthroposophy in its physical extension, usually without explicit instruction in Anthroposophical doctrine.

[3] See "Eurythmy".

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Brahma - also see Brahman; Godhead; Hinduism; trinity

a) A member of the Hindu trinity. "Brahma, one of the major gods of Hinduism from about 500 BCE to 500 CE, who was gradually eclipsed by Vishnu, Shiva, and the great Goddess (in her multiple aspects). Associated with the Vedic creator god Prajapati, whose identity he assumed, Brahma was born from a golden egg and created the earth and all things on it. Later myths describe him as having come forth from a lotus that issued from Vishnu’s navel.” — "Brahma." ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, Online, 18 May. 2011.

b) According to Steiner, one of the three Logoi: the three gods comprising the Godhead. Specifically, Brahma is the first and highest member, equivalent to God the Father in Christian teachings. [See "All".] ◊ "The Godhead of the [Hindu priest] is divided into three aspects — Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is rightly called the Great Architect of the universe bringing thereinto order and harmony. Vishnu is described as a kind of redeemer, awakener of slumbering life, rescuer, and Shiva is he who sanctifies and elevates the life awakened by Vishnu to the highest possible perfection." — R. Steiner, "Easter", Rudolf Steiner Archive, GA 54. ◊ “Beyond [i.e., higher than] the Seraphim we have to see that highest Divinity of which we find mention by almost all nations as the threefold Divinity — as Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, as Father, Word, and Holy Ghost. “ — R. Steiner, THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES AND THE PHYSICAL WORLD (Anthroposophical Publishing Co., 1928), lecture 5, GA 110.

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Brahman - also see Brahma; Hinduism; Vedas

a) In Hinduism, a general term for the ground of being or ultimate divinity, the supreme being.

b) The highest caste in Hindu society, and/or a priest in this caste.

c) According to Steiner, ancient divine Unity. ”The highest cosmic being expressing this primeval unity was indicated by the sacred name, Brahman. All manifoldness proceeded from Brahman, the Divine Unity. This unity was present for men on earth only as long as the male and female sexes did not exist. Thus, in the spirit of the great Indian Rishis [1] there appears, like a mirrored image, the divine primeval unity of man, the pre-human Adam Kadmon [2], in whom lived peace, spirit, clarity and harmony. He it is who speaks in the Vedas [3] that poured from the lips of the Indian Rishis. This occurred in the first period of human civilization after the great flood. [4] At that time one did not yet speak of a trinity, of a threefold Divine Person, but solely of a primeval Unity, of Brahman, in whom everything was contained and in whom everything originated.” — R. Steiner, SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL (Anthroposophic Press, 1967), lecture 1, GA 90f.

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[1] I.e., Hindu saints.

[2] "Adam Kadmon ... '[The] first man,' the archetypal man, who became in the ancient mystical writings of the Israelites the paradigm of divine power emanating from God." — G. Riland, THE NEW STEINERBOOKS DICTIONARY OF THE PARANORMAL (Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1980), p. 2.

[3] I.e., Hindu scripture.

[4] In Anthroposophical belief, the great floods described in the Bible and other religious texts are the watery cataclysm that destroyed Atlantis. 

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brain - also see intellect; knowledge; living thoughts, thinking; cf. clairvoyance; organs of clairvoyance

According to Anthroposophy, the brain is not the center or source of real cognition — it reflects thoughts occurring elsewhere, but it does not itself produce thoughts. ◊ "Within the brain there is absolutely no thought." — R. Steiner, WONDERS OF THE WORLD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1983), p. 119. ◊ "The brain does not produce thoughts." — H. van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 16. ◊ ”[T]he brain and nerve system have nothing at all to do with actual cognition; they are only the expression of cognition in the physical system. [1]” — R. Steiner, THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE  (SteinerBooks, 1996), p. 60. [See "Steiner's Specific".]

Real cognition, in Anthroposophical belief, is clairvoyance, which is seated in nonphysical organs of clairvoyance. [2] Of course, some "thinking" is associated with the brain, but this is only low, material thinking of the sort found, for instance, in physical sciences. [3] Genuine wisdom comes more through emotion and the heart than through thinking and the brain, Steiner indicated. In a sense, the brain is a receiver: It reflects "living thoughts" that arise in the spirit realm and that are, in themselves, spirits. Living thoughts — which may be deemed the thoughts of the gods — are implanted in us before birth and/or they may be received from the spirit realm through the disciplined use of clairvoyance. [4] 

Such doctrines can have significant, and deeply damaging, impact in Waldorf schools, where use of the brain and mastery of typical academic subjects are de-emphasized. An educational system that minimizes brainwork inevitably shortchanges children, and it may lead them into mental darkness. Waldorf schools aim to promote imagination which, in Anthroposophical belief, is a precursor to, or first stage of, clairvoyance. But clairvoyance is a delusion — it does not exist — and thus the Waldorf enterprise is fundamentally misdirected. [5]

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[1] I.e., the brain and nervous system express thoughts that occur elsewhere, Steiner taught. The brain and nerves are the physical "expression" of thoughts coming from the spirit realm; they do not produce their own thoughts. "Actual cognition" is clairvoyance and/or the reception of "living thoughts." To the extent that we can think for ourselves, Steiner said, this thinking is not done by the brain but by the "physical system" (i.e., the physical body) as a whole. The nerves participate, but they are outdone by other parts of the body. ◊ "[O]ne can think with one's fingers and toes much more brightly...than with the nerves of the head." — R. Steiner, BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS 1919-1924 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2003), p. 126. ◊ "[T]he child develops teeth for the purpose of thinking" — R. Steiner, EDUCATION (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1943), lecture 4, GA 307. ◊ “The ancients...believed that people thought with their bones as well as with their nerves. This is also true. We can thank the capacity of our skeletal system for everything we have in abstract science — R. Steiner, THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE: Foundations of Waldorf Education (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 75. 

[2] See "Knowing the Worlds".

[3] Although Steiner sometimes categorically denied that the brain thinks, on other occasions he acknowledged that some thinking (of a low, physical, materialistic nature) does occur in the brain.

[4] See "Thinking" and "Exactly".

[5] See "Thinking Cap", "Clairvoyance", and "Academic Standards at Waldorf".

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brainwashing - also indoctrination

Brainwashing is systematic, involuntary mental conditioning. It can be overt or covert; it can be implemented through peaceful or violent means. A form of brainwashing may occur at Waldorf schools when teachers covertly (without the permission of the students' parents) lead students to feel and/or think about things as Anthroposophists feel and think. [See, e.g., "Sneaking It In", "Indoctrination", and "Beat".]

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brainwork - see brain; thinking

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Bronze Age - see Dvapara Yuga

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brotherhoods, secret - see secret brotherhoods

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Buddha, buddha - also see Buddhism; Buddhi plane; Mars; Odin; Rosenkrutz, Christian

a) "The Buddha" is the title accorded to Siddartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. "A buddha" is one who has attained full spiritual enlightenment.

b) According to Steiner, Buddha is the god also known in Norse myths as Odin or Wotan. [1] Steiner taught that Buddha was a student of Christian Rosenkreutz, the putative founder of Rosicrucianism [2], and Buddha was crucified (as it were) on Mars. [3] ◊ “The same being who was called Wotan in the Germanic myths, appeared again as Buddha.” — R. Steiner, EGYPTIAN MYTHS AND MYSTERIES (Anthroposophic Press, 1971), p. 141. ◊ “A Conference of the greatest and most advanced [spiritual sages] was called together by Christian Rosenkreutz ... At that spiritual Conference it was resolved that henceforward Buddha would dwell on Mars.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE MISSION OF CHRISTIAN ROSENKREUTZ (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1950), lecture 7, “The Mission of Gautama Buddha on Mars”, GA 130. ◊ "Gautama Buddha left his [Earthly] activity and went to Mars. In 1604 [AD] Gautama Buddha accomplished for Mars what the Mystery of Golgotha [4] did for Earth.” — R. Steiner, THE SECRET STREAM (SteinerBooks, 2000), p. 150.

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Steiner's teachings about Buddha and Buddhism, most of which are surprising to Buddhists, have been presented in various Anthroposophical publications. [The book shown here, attributed to Rudolf Steiner, was published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 1987.]

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[1] Norse myth are accorded great significance in Waldorf schools.

[2] There is little or no evidence that Rosenkreutz ever existed, but he is accepted as a real historical figure by Anthroposophists.

[3] See "Mars".

[4] I.e., the occult significance and effects of Christ's Crucifixion. Golgotha is Calvary.

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Buddhi, Budhi - see life spirit

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Buddhi plane - also see Hinduism; Theosophy

The Sanskrit term "Buddhi" (to enlighten) was adopted by Theosophy to refer to the enlightened mind or intuition. According to Steiner, Buddhi is the realm of living warmth; the level of "fore-seeing." In Theosophy, and in some of Steiner's own teachings, there are seven "planes" of existence/consciousness. The lowest is the physical plane. The Buddhi plane is the fourth, midway along the ascent to godly consciousness. [1] Below the Buddhi plane, logic or the use of the physical brain has some value; but above it, only supernal forms of thought — in essence, clairvoyance — lead to truth. “If we have learned to think with consistency through our study, we can help ourselves on the astral and devachanic planes. [2] However, the logic of the physical plane no longer applies to the Buddhi plane. [3]” — R. Steiner, THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 141.

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[1] See “Higher Worlds".

[2] The astral plane, equivalent to the Soul World, is the first plane above the physical plane. The devachanic plane, equivalent to Spirit Land, is the second plane above the physical plane — it stands one level lower than the Buddhi plane.

[3] I.e., use of the brain — having significant value on the physical plane — still has some value on the first and second planes above the physical plane, but it ceases to have value on the planes above them. 

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Buddhism - also see Buddha; Buddhi plane; Nirvana

This is the religion stemming from the teachings of Siddartha Gautama, who lived in fifth-century BCE, in India. When he attained spiritual enlightenment, he became "Buddha" (one who has become enlightened). 

Buddhism focuses on the alleviation of human suffering. It is largely silent on some issues deemed central in other religions, such as whether God exists and why/how the universe was created.

Rudolf Steiner incorporated some Buddhist beliefs in his own belief system, Anthroposophy, although he drew much more heavily from Hinduism and gnostic Christianity. Steiner taught that Buddhism, like other religions, represented early, partial comprehension of divine realities. He said humanity's comprehension of the spirit realm was later sharpened and fulfilled in the ministry of Christ, the Sun God. [1]

By Steiner's account, one of the central goals of Anthroposophy is akin to the goal of Buddhism. Steiner spoke of “[T]he longing human soul in its yearning, tormented emptiness.” — R. Steiner, THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES AND THE PHYSICAL WORLD (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 224. Like Buddha, Steiner offered his system as an antidote to human suffering: “[W]e may point to spiritual science [2] as a bearer of the redemption of human longing ... [S]piritual science now provides what tempestuous but also woeful human beings have sought for a long time.” — Ibid., p. 231.

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[1] See "Sun God".

[2] I.e., Steiner's doctrines, Anthroposophy.

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bull - also see eagle; group soul; lion; man

One of the four group souls [1] shared by humans at an early stage of evolution, according to Steiner. Modern humans of varying kinds still reflect the influences of these souls. "One calls these four group souls by the names of the apocalyptic beasts [2]: Bull, Eagle, Lion, Man. The Man, however, was at another stage of evolution than the man of today. [3] The names are taken from the organization of the group souls [4] ... There were forms [5] existing which were especially adapted to receive the Lion egos, others the Bull egos, etc. That was in a very early age of earth evolution. [6] Now consider that the group soul we have called the Bull soul enters quite definite forms which are there below. [6] These have a quite definite appearance ... [T]here was a group of bull-like people, [having] everything adapted to the physical plane ... The bull race, however, had a special attractive force for the female etheric body. [8] Thus the bull body had the special force to attract the female etheric body and unite with it ... [But] the bull humanity became more and more unfruitful ... The physical body of the woman has proceeded from the lion nature, whereas the physical bull-body is the ancestor of the male body.” — R. Steiner, "The Four Human Group Souls (Lion, Bull, Eagle, Man)" (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), GA 107. [See "Four Group Souls".]

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[1] A "group soul" is a soul shared by all members of a species, nation, race, etc. Animals have groups souls but not individual souls, Steiner said. Human have individual souls and also, to some degree, group souls.

[2] I.e., beasts named in the Book of Revelation, the concluding book of the New Testament. The bull is often interpreted as representing sacrifice.

[3] Steiner taught that to be "human" is to reach a certain evolutionary level. We human beings are human today; the gods we call Angels were human before us, and the gods we call Archangels were human before the Angels. Before we became human, we were "men" only in a vague sense; a better term, perhaps, is "proto-human" — we were on our way to become human beings.

[4] I.e., from the inner structure of the group souls.

[5] I.e., bodies.

[6] See "Early Earth".

[7] I.e., the Bull souls descend from the spirit realm to enter certain bodies on the physical plane.

[8] The etheric body, according to Steiner, is the lowest of our three invisible bodies. In human beings today it incarnates around age seven.

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bullying at Waldorf schools - also see discipline; karma

While Waldorf schools can be peaceful havens, they can also be dangerous — problems such as bullying can sometimes be endemic. Evidently Waldorf teachers sometimes think some students have the karma to be bullies and other students have the karma to be victims of bullies, and individuals should be allowed to enact their karmas. When such beliefs prevail, the teachers may not intervene to protect bullied children. E.g., a teacher trainee observed the following at a Waldorf school: "I couldn’t fathom why [children] could be left completely unsupervised on the playground. Once, when a child was in tears because the other children kept on pushing her off of a stump...I was told that all of the children were 'working through' things [i.e., karma] and needed to be left alone ... [Later, after I moved to a different state,] not being certified yet to work in the public schools in my new state of residence, I applied to work as an aide in a Waldorf School. Yet what I experienced at this new school was exactly the same as what I experienced in the school [where I had trained]. Beautiful surroundings, yet...letting children bully each other." — Lysa De Thomas, "My Experiences with Waldorf" ["Ex-Teacher 5"].

Bullying by Waldorf teachers themselves may tolerated for similar reasons. The following is from the British Broadcasting System (BBC): "Department for Education memos...reveal some important concerns about bullying. For example, it said that in eight of the twenty-five private Steiner schools there had been serious complaints about staff bullying pupils. There were also concerns about policies on stamping out bullying, and worries that this might be related to Rudolf Steiner’s teachings.  The memos report the complaint that one parent witnessed a physical attack on their son where a teacher failed to intervene, and the teacher subsequently justified this approach by claiming that the children were 'working out their karma.'" [See "BBC & SWSF"].

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Burning Desire, Region of - see soul world

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butterfly - also see bee; fish; snake

"What were things like on the earth when it had just developed from the Saturn to the Sun stage? [1] Man was then a kind of air being [2]. Death and dying, as understood at present, he did not know because he could transform himself [3] ... This transformation has been preserved for us in the butterfly that develops itself through four forms: egg, larva, pupa, and butterfly. This is the hieroglyph [4], the sign for the airy condition of the human being on the Sun. In the butterfly today, under our completely changed conditions, this state is, of course, a kind of decadence [5]. The human being evolved beyond this state, but for the occultist the butterfly is the symbol for it. He designates it as the air being, just as he designates the snake as earth being, and the fish as water being [6]." — R. Steiner, OCCULT SIGNS AND SYMBOLS (Anthroposophic Press, 1972), pp. 26-27.

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[1] In Anthroposophical doctrine, the first incarnation of the solar system (including Earth) was Old Saturn. The second incarnation was Old Sun. [See entries for these terms in this encyclopedia.]

[2] On Old Sun, Steiner taught, man become a sort of butterfly, flying through the airy substance that constituted the solar system at that stage of its development.

[3] I.e., man could change his physical constitution and form.

[4] I.e., the pictorial symbol. 

[5] The physical butterfly of the present is only a degraded successor to the butterfly of the Old Sun.

[6] See "snake" and "fish" in this encyclopedia.