TODAY 7
More, and More, and...
(1995 - 2020)
This page presents additional items that illustrate the thinking
— here and now, in the 21st century —
within Waldorf/Anthroposophical circles.
[Waldorf Publications, 2019]
Here are a few representative excerpts from this book, supplemented by Waldorf Watch commentary and footnotes. As you read the quotations from the book, keep reminding yourself: These statements were written by a Waldorf school doctor and published by a Waldorf printing house in 2019:
EXCERPT 1: "The present generation of children are already the third 'screen generation.' The first screen generation came from the public availability of television [1]. The second generation were exposed to all channels being open for twenty-four hours a day, so the effect was greatly intensified. Nowadays, with the third generation, everything is available instantly on mobiles [2] ... The media become a huge 'sensory disintegration machine,' which suppresses our will to observe for ourselves [3] ... If we want to do something for truth in education, we really need to make our kindergartens and schools strictly media- and screen-free [4]." — Waldorf school doctor Michaela Glöckler, TRUTH, BEAUTY AND GOODNESS (Waldorf Publications, 2019), pp. 11-12.
[1] Anthroposophists and Waldorf educators have long been averse to electronic media. Their worries about television and television screens began as soon as TV was invented. (In addition, they have often expressed an aversion to movies — which, as you know, are projected onto a different sort of screen.)
[2] Glöckler's concern here has shifted primarily to computers and computer screens (including the tiny computers known a smart phones or "mobiles").
[3] To paraphrase and explain: Electronic media present only artificial images of reality, not reality itself. Our senses "disintegrate" as we are sucked into virtual realities rather than actual reality; we become passive viewers of false images, not active observers of the real phenomena of the world and cosmos. Our senses, our minds, and our agency (our ability to act on our own) are damaged. So Glöckler and her colleagues say, anyway.
[4] The Waldorf attitude toward electronic media is uncompromising. As Glöckler recommends, many Waldorf schools have "media policies" under which use of electronic gadgets (TVs, computers, smart phones) is all but banned.
◊
Waldorf worries about electronics stem from a more fundamental Waldorf/Anthroposophical fear of modern technology in general. Rudolf Steiner taught that technological devices such as steam engines promote the incarnation of demons. His followers see the same terrible effects arising — perhaps in more acute form — from the more advanced technologies that have developed since Steiner's death in 1925.
"[W]hat has been said here [against] the steam engine applies in a much greater degree to the technology of our time... The result is that the demon magic spoken of by Rudolf Steiner is spreading more and more intensively on all sides ... It is very necessary that anyone who aspires towards the spiritual should realise clearly how the most varied opportunities for a virtual incarnation of elemental beings and demons are constantly on the increase." — Anthroposophist Georg Unger, "On 'Mechanical Occultism'" (MITTEILUNGEN AUS DER ANTHROPOSOPHISCHEN ARBEIT IN DEUTSCHLAND, nos. 68–69, 1964).
These days, for Anthroposophists, computers have replaced televisions as the primary carriers of demonic evil:
◊ "[I]nformation and computing technologies [spread] evil over the Earth in an immense spider's web. And fallen spirits of darkness [i.e., fallen angels, demons]...are active in this web.” — Anthroposophist Richard Seddon, THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM AND BEYOND (Temple Lodge Publishing, 1996), p. 24.
◊ "When we consider computer technology, it is apparent...that we are dealing with an externalized ahrimanic doppelgänger [i.e., an incarnated doppelgänger associated with the arch-demon Ahriman] ... The computer is a cold machine with a very high level of intelligence and an uncompromising will ... [A] large proportion of humanity's powers of attention are now bound to machines with the help of the consciousness technologies of the internet and computers ... Those who will seek to introduce the Antichrist as the Christ are...seeking to exploit electricity and the Earth's magnetism in order to generate [evil] effects throughout the world ... [T]he spirits of darkness had to leave the etheric realm and therefore have an ever greater interest in keeping human consciousness away from this sphere. At present, they achieve this primarily through those machines that imitate consciousness processes within the human organism, processes that are bound to the senses and based on electrical currents, and ultimately, therefore, based on the ahrimanic doppelgänger." — Waldorf lecturer Andreas Neider in the Introduction to a collection of Steiner lectures, THE ELECTRONIC DOPPELGÄNGER (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2016), pp. 8-18.
There are, of course, rational reasons to limit the amount of time kids spend staring into electronic screens. But these reasons do not include fear of demons or Ahrimanic doppelgängers. And, in fact, even rational worries about electronic gizmos are often overblown. See, e.g., "The Kids Are All Right", SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN (November, 2019, Vol. 321, No. 5): "New findings suggest that the angst over social media is misplaced...." The kids are all right.
◊
EXCERPT 2: "Etheric forces [1] first have to make the body [2] develop. But when this is done [3], these forces begin gradually to be liberated [4], and then they become the carrier of our thinking development [5] ... Our spiritual awareness is the result of an 'out of body' activity of our etheric constitution [6]. In sleep we do not think, because the entire etheric forces are engaged to regenerate brain and sense organs [7]." — Waldorf school doctor Michaela Glöckler, TRUTH, BEAUTY AND GOODNESS (Waldorf Publications, 2019), pp. 14-15.
[1] In Anthroposophic belief, these are forces that originate in the etheric realm. [See "etheric forces" and "etheric realm" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).]
[2] I.e., the physical body. Steiner taught that the first 21 years of life see the gradual incarnation of three invisible bodies that supplement the physical body. [See "Incarnation".] The first invisible body, the etheric body, works to shape and develop the physical body. [See "etheric body" in the BWSE.]
[3] The work of the etheric body on the physical body becomes particularly pronounced around age seven, Steiner taught. At that time, the etheric body becomes fully incarnated.
[4] I.e., the etheric forces are no longer fully engaged in developing the physical body, so they become free for other work.
[5] True thinking, Steiner taught, does not occur in the brain. It occurs outside the physical body with its physical organ called the brain — the brain acts essentially like a radio receiver, receiving thoughts that come from the great beyond, from the gods. [See "Thinking".]
[6] According to Anthroposophical teachings the etheric body with its etheric forces is always outside the physical body, although it is engaged with that body. We become aware of the spirit realm due to the "out of body" experiences we have through our etheric body and other, higher invisible bodies — the astral body and the "I". [See "astral body" and "I" in the BWSE.]
[7] During sleep, Steiner taught, the astral body and the "I" leave the physical body and ascend to the spirit realm. [See "sleep" in the BWSE.] The etheric body, on the other hand, remains attached to the physical body — it spends the hours of sleep refreshing the brain and sense organs, which become exhausted by their exertions during the waking hours.
◊
EXCERPT 3: "Under the aspect of truth [1], we need to understand that on the astral level [2], truth is a goal. Truth is something we are longing for, a real self-understanding [3] ... Our consciousness is changing [4]. That is the astral quality of truth." — Waldorf school doctor Michaela Glöckler, TRUTH, BEAUTY AND GOODNESS (Waldorf Publications, 2019), pp. 20-21.
[1] I.e., on the question of truth. Appearances or "aspects" can be deceiving, of course. Steiner said that maya or illusion rules on the physical plane of existence. [See "maya" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).] But, Steiner said, there are higher planes and/or higher worlds. [See "Higher Worlds".]
[2] The "astral level" of existence, according to Steiner, is the level of the soul. The "astral world" is the soul world, according to Steiner's teachings. [See "astral world" in the BWSE.]
[3] In Anthroposophical belief, understanding the cosmos means understanding oneself, and vice versa. Steiner taught that the human being stands at the center of the created cosmos. The cosmos, he said, is a macrocosm that reflects the human being, the microcosm. [See "The Center".]
[4] The central narrative of the universe, according to Anthroposophy, is the evolution of human consciousness. [See "evolution of consciousness" in the BWSE.] Steiner taught that we began our evolution "on" Saturn (or "during" Old Saturn), when we were essentially comatose. We evolved to life "on" the Sun (Old Sun), when we were essentially immersed in deep, dreamless sleep. We then evolved to life "on" the Moon (Old Moon), when our consciousness rose to the level of dreaming sleep. Now, on the Earth (Present Earth), we have ordinary, waking consciousness. In the future, Steiner said, we will evolve to life "on" Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan; our consciousness will rise to higher and higher levels (essentially, levels of clairvoyance) as this evolution occurs. [See "historical narrative of Anthroposophy" in the BWSE.]
— R.R.
From the Waldorf Watch News:
October 14, 2019
KEEPING UP WITH
WHAT THEY READ
The Anthroposophic Press provides reading matter of great interest to Rudolf Steiner's followers, including Waldorf teachers who are devoted to Steiner's preachments. The Press publishes books of its own, and it promotes books published by allied publishing houses. By taking note of the volumes promoted on the Anthroposophic Press website, we can gain valuable insights into the beliefs embraced by Anthroposophists and kindred spirits today.
Here are two books that will soon be available through the Anthroposophic Press, as described on the Press's website:
Saturn - Mary - Sophia
Star Wisdom, Volume 2
[By] Robert A. Powell , Julie Humphreys, Yvan Rioux, Kevin Dann, Phillip Malone, David Bowden, Richard Tarnas, Lucian Schloss and Claudia McLaren Lainson
Edited by Joel Park...
Lindisfarne Books [an imprint of the Anthroposophic Press]...
Available: November 2019
SATURN-MARY-SOPHIA (2020) includes articles of interest on star wisdom (Astrosophy) [1], as well as a guide to the correspondences between stellar configurations during the life of Christ and those of today [2]. This guide comprises a complete sidereal ephemeris and aspectarian, geocentric and heliocentric, for each day throughout the year [3]...
The STAR WISDOM series is concerned with these heavenly correspondences during the life of Christ and is intended to help provide a foundation for cosmic Christianity, the cosmic dimension of Christianity [4]...
Readers can begin on this path by contemplating the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets against the background of the zodiacal constellations (sidereal signs) [5] today in relation to corresponding stellar events during the life of Christ. In this way, the possibility is opened for attuning in a living way to the life of Christ, who is now — since the onset of his Second Coming in 1933 [6] — spiritually present in the etheric aura of the Earth...
According to the anonymous author of MEDITATIONS ON THE TAROT [7] the guiding being of the Saturn Sphere is none other than the Virgin Mary, who has manifested in history as both Isis and Sophia [8]. The year 2020 is very special for the planet Saturn.
The year begins with a conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in January and ends with a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter (a “Great Conjunction) in December. This year’s contributions will highlight, from a variety of perspectives, the influence and guidance we can receive in a particularly potent way during 2020 — the year of Saturn and Isis–Mary–Sophia.
Finally, the monthly commentaries for the year are provided by Joel Matthew Park, supported by Julie Humphrey’s astronomical previews for each month. They offer us an opportunity to connect the spiritual with stellar configurations during 2020. This direct interaction of human beings on Earth with angels [9] — as well as other heavenly beings connected with the stars [10] — is intended to help the reader develop the capacity to receive the wisdom-filled teachings of the angelic hierarchies [11].
[https://steiner.presswarehouse.com/Books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=721941]
October 14, 2019
Nature Spirits and What They Say
Messages from Elemental and Nature Beings
[By] Verena Staël von Holstein
Translated by Brian Strevens and Wolfgang Weirauch ...
(Clairview Books [an independent publisher])...
Available: January 2020
“I can perceive spiritual beings in my surroundings.... I can communicate with higher spirit beings of either an elemental or non-elemental kind [12], when they are willing. I can perceive the human aura [13], as well as certain areas of the astral plane [14].... I can see the aura of plants and animals. I can speak with the guardian beings of plants and animals, inasmuch as they’re interested.” —Verena Staël von Holstein
Verena has learned to see and speak to elemental and nature beings [15]. What’s more, she is able to translate their language into human terminology and thought [16]. In this remarkable book, seventeen nature spirits are interviewed through her, almost as if these beings were sitting in front of us. Through the conversations we learn what spirits of fire, air, water and stone have to say — as well as hearing from beings of glass, silver, salt, paper, and even spirits of our dwellings and homes! They speak about their work with nature and their regrettable lack of contact with human beings [17]. They describe the secrets of the cosmos, and tell of humankind’s past and future. The nature beings have surprising views on the environment, on natural disasters, good and evil, love, and redemption. The interviews throw up [18] beautiful, but sometimes disturbing insights into our world.
Nature Spirits and What They Say offers an enchanting view of the world of elemental beings — but it also calls on us to recognize the seriousness of the situations they describe. As Verena explains, humans owe a huge amount to nature spirits, and we need to discover new ways of approaching them with full consciousness [19]. This valuable book gives us the means to do just that.
[https://steiner.presswarehouse.com/Books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=747024]
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Astrosophy (the word means "star wisdom") is essentially a refined form of astrology (this word mean "star study"). [See "Astrology" and "Astrosophy".]
[2] The "Star Wisdom" books are, in effect, astrological/astrosophical guides written for use by Rudolf Steiner's followers. The books compare the star formations present in the sky during Christ's life on Earth to the star formations visible in our sky today. This becomes the basis for the astrological/astrosophical guidance provided in the books. (The "Star Wisdom" books succeed the "Journals for Star Wisdom" published previously by Lindisfarne. Those books served the same purpose.)
[3] A "sidereal ephemeris" is a table specifying the position of a star in the sky at various regular intervals. An "aspectarian" is a chronological list of planetary positions relative to one another. A "geocentric" astrological chart, table, or list deals with celestial objects as seen from the Earth (as if the Earth were central); a "heliocentric" chart, table, or list deals with such objects as the would be seen from the Sun (recognizing the Sun as central).
[4] I.e., a form of Christianity melded to the study of the stars or cosmos. Anthroposophy bears some resemblance to Christianity, but it also diverges from it widely. Thus, for instance, the "Christ" of Anthroposophy is the Sun God. [See "Sun God" and "Was He Christian?".]
[5] I.e., the constellations in the zodiac, especially as identified by astrological "signs": Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.
[6] Steiner taught that the Second Coming of Christ (which Christians still anticipate as a future event) has already occurred. [See "Second Coming" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[7] The Tarot is a pack of 78 cards used in fortune-telling. At least some Anthroposophists place faith in the Tarot and in the guide MEDITATIONS ON THE TAROT: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. Apparently written in 1967 by an unknown author, this book was first published in 1980.
[8] Isis was the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility. Sophia, as understood in Anthroposophy, is the goddess of wisdom — she is the divine aspect of divinity. In a sense, she is Anthroposophy itself — Anthropo-Sophia. [See "Goddess".]
[9] According to Anthroposophy, angels are gods one spiritual rank higher than human beings. Steiner said there are nine ranks of gods, with angels standing at the lowest divine level.
[10] These are gods standing at higher levels than angels; they generally dwell upon or around stars and constellations, Steiner indicated.
[11] The "angelic hierarchies" should more properly be called "divine hierarchies" — they are the nine ranks of gods, as described by Steiner. Anthroposophy is polytheistic. [See "Polytheism".]
[12] "Elemental beings" or "nature spirits" are, according to Rudolf Steiner, primarily the spirits that dwell within (and are the essence of) the four "elements" of the natural world: gnomes (the essence of earth), sylphs (the essence of air), fire spirits or "salamanders" (the essence of fire), and undines (the essence of water). There are also other, secondary types of elemental beings, Steiner taught. [See "Neutered Nature".]
Von Holstein diverges from Anthroposophical teachings when she indicates that elemental beings are "higher spirit beings." Elemental beings are actually lower than humans on the great chain of being, according to Anthroposophical belief. As described by Steiner, "higher spirit beings" are, generally speaking, gods (all of whom stand higher than humans).
[13] See "Auras".
[14] The "astral plane" is one potion of the spirit realm, according to Steiner: It is the "soul world," which is lower than the "spirit world." [See "Higher Worlds".]
[15] You should ask yourself whether you believe Ms. von Holstein. Why? Or why not? (If I walked up to you and said that I can see and speak with invisible beings, would you believe me? Why not?)
[16] This, at any rate, is her claim in this remarkable book.
[17] According to Steiner, humans used to have knowledge of, and contact with, elemental beings. The ancients, he said, were naturally clairvoyant. [See "atavistic clairvoyance" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.] But, Steiner said, humans have generally lost the ability to see beyond mere physical reality, as we have become more and more densely (and blindly) materialistic.
[18] Sic.
[19] Although most people today have lost their clairvoyant powers, Steiner said, a few have retained them. And some — such as himself — have learned how to develop and deploy a higher, more precise form of clairvoyance. Steiner claimed he could teach his followers how to develop such "exact" clairvoyance, which enables users to accurately perceive elemental beings, gods, and the spirit realm generally. [See "Exactly" and "Knowing the Worlds".]
— R.R.
October 6, 2019
KEEPING UP WITH
WHAT THEY READ
The beliefs of Rudolf Steiner's followers today are fully as mystical and otherworldly as the beliefs of Steiner's followers have ever been. Anthroposophists today believe essentially what Anthroposophists have always believed. They believe essentially what Steiner told them to believe. Hence, there is little if any forward movement within the Anthroposophical world. There is stasis — Steiner's followers today remain mired in antique fallacies and falsehoods. We should sympathize. But we should also be alarmed. Waldorf education is founded on Anthroposophical untruths.
One technique for investigating the Anthroposophical mindset is to examine what Anthroposophists today are writing and reading. Here are two new books due to be released in the next few weeks by the Rudolf Steiner Press. I will quote the descriptions given by the publisher, and I will append some footnotes:
COLOUR, HEALING AND THE HUMAN SOUL
Understanding colours and using them for health and therapy
[By] Gladys Mayer
In a delightful study — originally comprising two separate booklets — the accomplished artist and teacher Gladys Mayer explains that colour is nothing other than the very substance of the soul [1]. Just as the body is made up of mineral, water, air and warmth [2], so the soul is made up of colour. This is revealed in the emotions of sadness and joy and the many shades in between, as expressed in human language — for example: ‘seeing red’, ‘rose-coloured spectacles’ and ‘jaundiced view’.
Mayer discusses the basis of colour theory and its methodology, and the importance of colour for everyday life and health [3]. It is as fundamental to the soul as air is to the body. By increasing our awareness of the spiritual laws of colour, we can acquire a balanced and enriched life of soul. Thus, colour can become a healing force in life [4], enabling us to tackle the deadening, grey aspects of our mechanised civilisation [5]. Based on the work of Rudolf Steiner, which she studied intensively for many years, Mayer offers an approach to colour that is of value to painters and artists, as well as to those interested in psychology, health and healing, spirituality and personal development.
GLADYS MAYER (1888–1980) attended Rudolf Steiner’s series of lectures on education at Stratford-on-Avon in 1922. The following year she visited Steiner in Switzerland and decided to become a painter and art teacher at the Goetheanum, Dornach [6]. She is the author of a number of titles including The Mystery Wisdom of Colour and Colours: A New Approach to Painting (1983).
6 November 2019; RSP; 68pp; 21.5 x 13.5 cm; pb;
£9.99 ISBN 9781855845657
[https://rudolfsteinerpress.com/viewbook.php?isbn_in=9781855845657]
October 6, 2019
INITIATIVE
The karmic spiritual impulse of the followers of Michael
How Ahriman works into personal intelligence
[By] Rudolf Steiner
'Be a person of initiative, and take care that the hindrances of your own body, or hindrances that otherwise confront you, do not prevent you from finding the centre of your being, where the source of your initiative lies. Likewise, you will find that all joy and sorrow, all happiness and pain, depend on finding or not finding your own individual initiative.' – Rudolf Steiner, Dornach, 4 August 1924
Rudolf Steiner urges those who feel the calling of the Archangel Michael [7] to become people of initiative. The anthroposophist should be aware that, ‘...initiative lies in his karma [8], and much of what meets him in this life will depend on the extent to which he can become willingly, actively conscious of it.’ In the second half of this inspiring lecture, Steiner describes how the being of Ahriman [9] is able to work through the personal intellect [10] of human beings today. As a consequence, we are called upon to be inwardly awake and vigilant at all times.
6 November 2019; Trans. rvd M. Barton (single lecture 4 Aug. 1924 from GA 237); RSP; 40pp; 13.5 x 10 cm; pb;
£3.99 ISBN 9781855845640
[https://rudolfsteinerpress.com/viewbook.php?isbn_in=9781855845640]
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Spiritual colors, Steiner taught, should not be confused with merely physical colors. Nonetheless, physical colors have great spiritual power and meaning, Steiner taught. A clairvoyant situated in a blue room will see different spirits than s/he would see in a red room, for instance.
"What spiritual beings become visible in any particular instance depends on the colour to which we devote ourselves. In a red room, other beings become visible than in a blue room....” — Rudolf Steiner, quoted in John Fletcher's ART INSPIRED BY RUDOLF STEINER (Mercury Arts Publications, 1987), p. 95.
Because color has such spiritual impact, the walls of Waldorf classrooms are painted in colors that are meant to be spiritually appropriate for the age of the students who meet there. [See "color" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).]
Moreover, the color of a person's skin reflects that person's level of spiritual advancement.
“One can only understand history...if one pays attention to people's racial characteristics. And one can only understand all that is spiritual...if one first examines how this spiritual element operates within people precisely through the color of their skin.” — Rudolf Steiner , VOM LEBEN DES MENSCHEN UND DER ERDE - ÜBER DAS WESEN DES CHRISTENTUMS (Verlag Der Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, 1961), GA 349, p. 52.
The racism embedded in Anthroposophy is connected to Steiner's doctrines concerning color. [See "Steiner's Racism" and "Embedded Racism".]
[2] Here we find, in Anthroposophical teachings, the ancient belief that there are actually just four basic elements in nature (earth air, fire, and water). [See "elements" in The BWSE.]
[3] For an overview of Anthroposophical teachings about the color palette, see "Mystical Colors".
[4] Anthroposophists often practice "color therapy" in the belief that exposure to, or use of, specific colors can have specific healing effects. So, for instance, when a young Waldorf student became ill, an Athroposophical doctor told her parents that she should create pictures using crayons in a specific range of hues.
“The Anthroposophic doctor made a diagnosis: my child had lost the will to live. He announced one of the potential cures ... [W]e were to give our daughter red, yellow, and orange crayons to color with! I looked at my husband in disbelief." — Sharon Lombard, “Spotlight on Anthroposophy,” http://www.waldorfcritics.org/articles/lombard_sharon_csr0202j.htm.
[5] Anthroposophists generally oppose or resist many parts of modern life, especially those parts connected to "mechanistic" science and technology. [See "science" and "technology" in The BWSE.] Anthroposophists generally prefer the "wisdom" of ancient peoples. [See "The Ancients".]
[6] This is the Anthroposophical headquarters, named for the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. [See the section "The Goetheanum" in "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"; also see "Goethe".]
[7] In Anthroposophical teachings, Michael is the Archangel of the Sun — a warrior god who fights on behalf of the Sun God, Christ. [See "Michael" and "Sun God".] , Anthroposophists assert that the people "who feel the calling of the Archangel Michael" are none other than Anthroposophists themselves.
"St Michael and anthroposophy are connected in a special way ... Michael inspires all human beings who wish to connect the human spirit with the spirit of the cosmos. Anthroposophy is also called the School of Michael." — Waldorf teacher Henk van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 78.
[8] Here we find yet another ancient falsehood embedded in Anthroposophical teachings: belief in karma. [See "Karma".]
[9] In Zoroastrianism, Ahriman is the devil, the opponent of the Sun God, Ahura Mazda. Anthroposophy has adopted the ancient belief in Ahriman, recasting Ahriman slightly as one of two arch-demons who oppose human evolution. [See "Ahriman".] The other arch-demon often discussed in Anthroposophy is Lucifer. [See "Lucifer".]
[10] Despite occasional statements to the contrary, Steiner rejected most of the knowledge acquired by humanity in the modern era. [See "Materialism U."] He deplored the use and products of intellect or, more generally, the brain. [See "Steiner's Specific".] He associated intellection, especially as it is employed today, with Ahriman.
"Intellectuality flows forth from Ahriman as a cold and frosty, soulless cosmic impulse.” — Rudolf Steiner, ANTHROPOSOPHICAL LEADING THOUGHTS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998), p. 98.
As for the brain, Steiner said it does not produce thoughts or truth.
◊ "Within the brain there is absolutely no thought." — Rudolf Steiner, WONDERS OF THE WORLD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1983), p. 119.
◊ ”[T]he brain and nerve system have nothing at all to do with actual cognition.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE - Foundations of Waldorf Education I (SteinerBooks, 1996), p. 60.
The implications for Waldorf education are potentially severe. Waldorf is, at least potentially, a form of education that devalues brainwork. [See "Thinking Cap".] Parents considering Waldorf schools for their children should consider this carefully. Can genuine education occur in an environment oriented toward ancient falsehoods and away from modern rationality?
— R.R.
July 18, 2019
SOULS, SEALS,
AND STEINER
Astrology looms large in Rudolf Steiner's teachings — and, thus, in the doctrines on which Waldorf education is based.
Here is a new book currently featured on the SteinerBooks website (the description was provided by the publisher, Temple Lodge Publishing):
[Temple Lodge Publishing, 2019]
The Seat of the Soul
Rudolf Steiner’s Seven Planetary Seals
by Yvan Rioux
How are the internal and external forms of the human organism shaped? How does human consciousness emerge? These are questions that conventional science cannot answers [sic].
In The Seat of the Soul, Yvan Rioux invites us to consider new concepts that explain these phenomena. His exposition is based on the existence of external “formative forces” — morphic fields — that, he asserts, create the human body or organism in conjunction with forces that resonate within us from the living solar system...
In his previous book The Mystery of Emerging Form, Rioux explored the formative forces of the twelve zodiacal constellations. In this absorbing sequel, he investigates how such activity from the planetary spheres works within us ... In seven chapters, he explores the impact of each of these planetary spheres ... Rioux also describes, from a biological perspective, Rudolf Steiner’s seven “planetary seals.” According to Steiner, these seals are “...occult scripts, meaning that, as hidden signatures, they show their ongoing etheric impacts on the seven stages of our metabolism”....
[https://steiner.presswarehouse.com/Books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=672515]
Like Rudolf Steiner, Yvan Rioux clings to the ancient belief that there are seven planets in our solar system (among which he, like Steiner, counts the Sun and the Moon). Modern science tells us there are actually eight planets in the solar system (or nine if you count Pluto) — and neither the Sun nor the Moon qualifies as a planet.
The "sphere" of a planet, Steiner and Rioux affirm, is the region of space dominated by that particular planet. Each of the planets, or its "sphere," has astrological impact on us, Steiner and Rioux indicate: Each has powers that it sends down, affecting our development and the pattern of our lives.
In a word, this is astrology. Astrology runs like a refrain throughout Anthroposophical discourse. [1] Steiner sought to distance himself from ordinary astrology; he rejected the notion that the stars and planets absolutely control us, depriving us of free will. But he affirmed what he called "genuine" astrology, which is essentially astrology as conceived by himself, and this form of astrology reverberates in Waldorf thinking. [2] The stars and planets do not control us, Steiner said, but they affect us deeply. So, for instance, when Steiner informed Waldorf teachers that there are basically four types of students (choleric, sanguine, melancholic, and phlegmatic) [3], he indicated that each of these types is influenced by a specific zodiacal constellation (Libra, Virgo, Leo, and Cancer, respectively). [4]
Steiner's seven planetary seals are insignia meant to represent the mystical powers of the planets or planetary spheres. They are reproduced, somewhat vaguely, on the cover of THE SEAT OF THE SOUL: Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus. [5]
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Steiner had many marvelous things to say about the "planets." He spoke of the planets as living entities, he specified the gifts the planets potentially hold for us, and he told about the beings who live on the planets. Here are some samples:
The Moon
“When we speak of the Moon as a physical body in the heavens, its physical nature is only the external, the most external, revelation of the Spiritual [i.e., spiritual reality] behind it ... [T]he Moon in our universe presents itself to begin with as a gathering of spiritual Beings living in great seclusion ... They live in their Moon 'fortress' ... [T]hese Beings who have now entrenched themselves in the Moon fortress were once the great Teachers of earthly humanity ... [T]he highest wisdom once possessed by the Earth lies concealed within the Moon fortress.” — Rudolf Steiner, “The Spiritual Individualities of the Planets” (THE GOLDEN BLADE, 1988), a lecture, GA 228.
Saturn
"[Saturn is] a kind of antithesis to the Moon ... Saturn is an entirely self-engrossed heavenly body in our planetary system, raying [i.e., projecting] his own being into the universe ... He speaks only of himself, tells us only what he himself is ... [T]he hosts of Beings indwelling Saturn [i.e., living there] lend their attention to the outer universe, but...they speak only of past cosmic events. That is why Saturn is like a kaleidoscopic memory of our planetary system ... Saturn is the constant tempter of those who listen to his secrets ... Those who have a particular inclination towards Saturn in earthly existence are people who like to be gazing always into the past, who are opposed to progress, who ever and again want to bring back the past." — Rudolf Steiner, “The Spiritual Individualities of the Planets”.
Jupiter
“Jupiter is the Thinker in our planetary system, and thinking is the activity cultivated by all the Beings in his cosmic domain. Creative thoughts received from the universe radiate to us from Jupiter ... Whereas Saturn tells of the past, Jupiter gives a living portrayal of what is connected with him in the cosmic present ... A man who has tried hard to apply clear thinking to some problem but cannot get to the root of it, will find, if he is patient and works inwardly at it, that the Jupiter powers will actually help him during the night.” — Rudolf Steiner, “The Spiritual Individualities of the Planets”.
Mars
“Mars may be called the great 'Talker' in the planetary system ... Mars is constantly blurting out to the souls in his sphere whatever in the cosmos is accessible to him — which is not everything. Mars...is particularly active when human beings talk in sleep or in dream ... Mars does little thinking. He has few thinkers, but many talkers, in his sphere. The Mars Spirits are always on the watch for what arises here or there in the universe and then they talk about it with great zest and fervour ... In a certain sense Mars may be called the Agitator in our universe. He is always out to persuade, whereas Jupiter wants only to convince.” — Rudolf Steiner, “The Spiritual Individualities of the Planets”.
And so on. Steiner offered up similar statements about Venus, and Mercury, and the Sun. And all of these offerings made as much sense — or as little — as what you've just read. [6]
Anthroposophists do not live in the universe revealed by modern astronomy and other genuine sciences. They live in an imaginary universe, the astrological universe described by Rudolf Steiner.
◊
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See "Astrology" and "Star Power".
[2] See "Waldorf Astrology".
[3] See "Humouresque" and "Temperaments".
[4] See, e.g., FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 91.
[5] For clearer reproductions, see, e.g., a web page posted by The Sophia Institute: https://www.sophiainstitute.us/ic17.html.
[6] See, e.g., "The Planets".
— R.R.
The following item returns us to a book
we first saw on the page "Today 6".
June 1, 2019
DUE THIS MONTH
FROM STEINERBOOKS
The Anthroposophical publisher SteinerBooks plans to release the following book this month:
Rudolf Steiner's Esoteric Teaching Activity
Truthfulness, Continuity, New Form
[SteinerBooks, 2019]
Paperback
$25.00Available: June 2019
978-1-62148-241-3
[From the publisher:]
These accounts by Hella Wiesberger (1920–2014) offer an overview of the nature, background, and history of Rudolf Steiner's esoteric teaching activity. This book is the result of her lifelong study of this aspect of Steiner’s work, including documents she oversaw as an editor of Rudolf Steiner’s Collected Works. Wiesberger’s collegial relationships with certain esoteric students also helped her illumine some of Steiner’s less accessible documents...
We are fortunate to have these records from a devoted and diligent student of Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy. They provide valuable insights into the story and substance of Spiritual Science and its esoteric school and teaching.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
Rudolf Steiner in the History of the Esoteric Movement
Rudolf Steiner as a Teacher of Esotericism
Research into Occult History
Rudolf Steiner on the First Section of the Esoteric School, 1904–1914
The Structure of the Esoteric School
[etc.]
◊
Waldorf Watch Response:
Rudolf Steiner began his spiritualistic career as a Theosophist. In 1904, working as a Theosophist, Steiner established the Esoteric School, which purported to convey secret or hidden (esoteric or occult) spiritual knowledge.
Steiner formally broke from Theosophy in 1913 in order to establish Anthroposophy as a separate spiritual movement. The Esoteric School disbanded after World War I, but remnants of it were incorporated into the School of Spiritual Science, an Anthroposophical institution that Steiner founded in 1923.
Steiner's teachings changed little after he formally left Theosophy (he had called his own teachings "Anthroposophy" even while still nominally a Theosophist). The School of Spiritual Science still functions today at the worldwide Anthroposophical headquarters in Switzerland. Meanwhile, Steiner's followers today continue to consult the teachings he authored during his Theosophical years.
"Spiritual science" is a term used by both Theosophists and Anthroposophists. For both groups, the term applies mainly to their own belief system, and it is meant to denote the objective study of the spirit realm made possible (they believe) through the disciplined use of clairvoyance.
For background on all this, see, e.g., "What a Guy" and "Basics". To explore the essence of Steiner's teachings, see "Everything", which examines Steiner's most important book, AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE. Steiner released the first edition of that book in 1909, while still a Theosophist, but he revised it many times — producing Anthroposophical editions — before his death in 1925.
— R.R.
April 2, 2019
SECRETS REVEALED —
ORDER YOUR COPY
One of the books due out later this month from Rudolf Steiner Press:
FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM
(Rudolf Steiner Press, 2019)
From the publisher (footnotes added):
This course of lectures [by Rudolf Steiner] was originally offered as private, strictly verbal instruction to a select group of esoteric pupils. In an atmosphere of earnest study, Rudolf Steiner ‘translated’ from the Akashic Script [1] valuable concepts of human and cosmic knowledge into words of earthly language – content that is often not to be found in his later lectures. Although working within the Theosophical Society [2], Steiner was an independent spiritual teacher: ‘… I would only bring forward the results of what I beheld in my own spiritual research [3].’
The manifold, exact and detailed descriptions of the events of evolution in these lectures form a background to the evolving figure of the human being. The mighty event of the moon leaving the Earth [4], vividly described, took place – according to Rudolf Steiner – in order to provide an environment suited to human progress. The wonderful moment when the higher being of man descended in a bell-like form [5] and enveloped the lower human body, still on a level with the animals, depicts what eventually provided human beings with a body suited to the development of the self or ‘I’ [6]. Spiritual beings [7] and the great initiates [8] led humanity along the path it was destined to tread.
Rudolf Steiner presents a sweep of occult knowledge, including the phases of planetary evolution [9], various myths and symbols [10], human physical and spiritual organs [11], illness [12], reincarnation [13], and much more. Also included are unexpected insights into specific phenomena such as dinosaurs, bacteria, radiation, black and white magic, the Sphinx and Freemasonry [14].
[4/2/2019 https://rudolfsteinerpress.com/viewbook.php?isbn_in=9781855845619]
◊
Waldorf Watch Response
and Footnotes:
There is a tension in Anthroposophy — a conflict between the impulse to keep “occult knowledge” hidden, and the impulse to spread Rudolf Steiner’s wondrous wisdom. Anthroposophical publishers, who are in the business of printing and selling books, lean toward the latter urge.
FOUNDATIONS OF ESOTERICISM is not a new book. A previous edition was released in 1982, and Anthroposophical insiders have had access to these lectures since Steiner delivered them in 1905. But the upcoming edition appears to be more attractively packaged — it may find a wider audience among book buyers generally. Rudolf Steiner Press presumably hopes so, anyway.
The following footnotes provide a primer on some of the subjects Steiner discussed in these lectures.
[1] According to mystical tradition, a storehouse of occult knowledge — a sort of cosmic encyclopedia — is available to occult initiates who learn how to read it (clairvoyance is required). The storehouse is called the Akashic Chronicle or Record; it is written in “Akashic script,” a sort of code reminiscent of runes. Akasha is an esoteric cosmic ether or, according to some accounts, starlight. [See “Akasha”.]
[2] Steiner was a Theosophist before he broke away to establish Anthroposophy as a separate spiritual movement. [See “Basics”.] His central teachings changed little after the break, although he became silent on some details.
[3] I.e., Steiner claimed that all of his teachings result from his direct clairvoyant investigations. He vouched for them personally.
[4] This event occurred, Steiner taught, fairly recently — while humanity dwelled on the continent of Lemuria [see “Lemuria”], prior to our migration to Atlantis [see “Atlantis”]. Modern astronomy, of course, gives a very different account of the origin of the Moon.
[5] Steiner taught that human beings have existed since the very beginning of the solar system (which he sometimes called the “universe”) — that is, we have been around since the period called Old Saturn [see “Old Saturn”]. But we did not become recognizably human — having bodies more or less like we have now — until fairly late in our evolutionary history, after descending to the Earth in one of its preliminary physical phases.
[6] The “I” is one’s spiritual ego. [See “Ego”.]
[7] I.e., gods. [See “Polytheism”.]
[8] I.e., great spiritual masters. (Anthroposophists believe that Steiner was one of the greatest. [See “Guru”.])
[9] This is the evolution that began with Old Saturn. It has proceeded through Old Sun and Old Moon to the current stage, Present Earth. It will proceed to Future Jupiter, Future Venus, and Future Vulcan — and perhaps beyond. [See “Matters of Form”.]
[10] See, e.g., “The Gods” and “Signs”.
[11] See “What We’re Made Of” and “Our Parts”.
[12] See “Steiner’s Quackery”.
[13] See “Reincarnation”.
[14] Poking through The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia will yield tidbits about at least some of these topics. [See, e.g., entries on atoms, black magic, dinosaurs, dragons, Freemasonry, magic, white magic, etc.]
— R.R.
March 23, 2019
MYSTICISM AND CLAIRVOYANCE —
FUNDAMENTAL AT WALDORF
In 2017, a group of prominent Waldorf teachers — the Pedagogical Section Council of North America [1] — released a book through Waldorf Publications, the publishing division of the Research Institute for Waldorf Education [2]. The book is THE SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES OF WALDORF EDUCATION (Waldorf Publications, 2017).
Here are the seven key Waldorf principles posited by the Council [3]:
1. Waldorf educators should be guided by the description of human nature provided by Rudolf Steiner. [4] Reduced to it chief components, this description indicates that humans are beings of spirit, soul, and body. [5]
2. Children develop through a series of seven-year long periods [6]; during each period, a child comes to express the archetype for that period.
3. The Waldorf curriculum supports each stage of childhood development. Until age seven, children want to imitate; from seven to 14, children want to follow guidance; from 14 to 21, children are idealistic and develop a capacity for independent judgment.
4. Waldorf teachers should be free from outside interference as they work to meet the needs of their students. [7]
5. Waldorf teachers should generally follow established Waldorf methodologies, which are different for different student age groups. [8]
6. Forming deep and lasting bonds between teachers and students is essential. [9]
7. Waldorf teachers should develop their inner spiritual lives, which includes striving to develop "spiritual perception." [10]
Of these principles, by far the most telling is the seventh, which deals with the need for Waldorf teachers to develop (or try to develop) clairvoyance. Here is how this principle is stated near the front of the book:
"Core Principal 7 Spiritual Orientation
"In order to cultivate the imaginations, inspirations, and intuitions [11] needed for their work, Rudolf Steiner gave [Waldorf] teachers an abundance of guidance for developing an inner, meditative life [12]. This guidance includes individual professional meditations [13] and an imagination [14] of the circle of teachers forming an organ of spiritual perception [15]. Faculty and individual study, artistic activity, and research form additional facets of ongoing professional development [16]." — Pedagogical Section Council of North America, THE SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES OF WALDORF EDUCATION, p. 12.
Here are two statements elaborating on this seventh principle:
◊ "Rudolf Steiner indicated at least three levels of knowing above the intellectual [17]: Imaginative, Inspirational, and Intuitive [18]. In books, lectures, and seminars, he ever and again tried to teach others how to become knowers of the invisible [19]. He even told the teachers that it was a requisite aspect of their task that 'in the field of education, we come to an actual experience of the spiritual' [20] … I would argue that the entire edifice of Waldorf education rests on the assumption of the teacher as a spiritual practitioner [21], and that without this assumption becoming a reality there is an active absence at the center of the endeavor [22]." — Waldorf teacher Elan Leibner, THE SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES OF WALDORF EDUCATION, pp. 111-112.
◊ "[M]y thoughts turn to what is called the College Imagination [23] … The picture of adults’ forming a chalice [24] out of the power of their individual meditative striving, of the cup woven out of a selfless sharing of each one’s strengths and heightened awareness [25] that can allow a different quality of insight, is potent. I see the question of spiritual orientation as an essential element in the strengthening of the 'vessel activity' [26] that can generate the imaginations, inspirations, and intuitions needed for the work [27] … I experience the seventh principle addressing spiritual orientation as a remarkable invitation to become more authentically ourselves as individuals as we engage in becoming contemporary researchers [28] of the path to incarnation of the human spirit [29]." — Waldorf teacher Frances Vig, , THE SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES OF WALDORF EDUCATION, pp. 116-118.
The work of Waldorf faculties, as described in THE SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES OF WALDORF EDUCATION, is inextricable from the mystical practices of Anthroposophy. Parents considering Waldorf schools for their children should understand this clearly. Unless you want mystical Waldorf “priests” to take charge of your kids, you should find a different sort of school.
◊
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] The Council is an arm of the Anthroposophical Society, which has its center at the Anthroposophical headquarters building, the Goetheanum, in Switzerland. [See http://pedagogicalsectioncouncil.org/about/what-pedagogical-section-council/.]
[2] The Institute seeks to find evidence supporting and enhancing the Waldorf educational approach. [See http://www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org/aboutus.html.]
[3] The formulations are my paraphrases, not quotations from the book. We will proceed to consider some extended quotations.
[4] See "What We're Made Of" and "Our Parts".
[5] Anthroposophy distinguishes between spirit and soul. [See the entries for these terms in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[6] See "Most Significant".
[7] Students' parents, outside educational authorities, and even Waldorf colleagues should not abridge the freedom of the individual teacher. [See, e.g., "Faculty Meetings" and "Threefolding".]
[8] See, e.g., "The Waldorf Curriculum" and "Methods".
[9] This may be facilitated by the Waldorf practice of having teachers stay with their students for multiple years, for instance taking a class from first grade through fifth grade. The emotional bonds established may, however, sometimes create problems. [See, e.g., "Mistreating Kids Lovingly".]
[10] This form of perception is, essentially, clairvoyance. [See "The Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness".]
[11] Waldorf education stresses the development of imagination, inspiration, and intuition — and the products of these capacities — among Waldorf students and also among Waldorf teachers. In Anthroposophical belief, imagination, inspiration, and intuition are precursors to — or stages of — clairvoyance. [See the entries for these terms in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[12] Although its spokespeople almost always deny it, Waldorf education is essentially religious. [See "Schools as Churches".] Waldorf teachers are expected to have, or develop, a "spiritual orientation" that includes "an inner, meditative life." Steiner said that Waldorf teachers should function, effectively, as priests.
"[A] teacher’s calling becomes a priestly calling, since an educator becomes a steward who accomplishes the will of the gods in a human being." — Rudolf Steiner, HUMAN VALUES IN EDUCATION - Foundations of Waldorf Education XX (Anthroposophic Press, 2004), p. 9.
The religion of Waldorf teacher-priests is Anthroposophy. [See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"]
[13] See "Power Words", "Breathing Spirit", and "Teacher Training".
[14] As used in Anthroposophical discourse, "an imagination" is a true mental picture created through clairvoyance or through a precursor to clairvoyance. [See "imaginations" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[15] "Spiritual perception" is clairvoyance. Steiner taught his followers to believe they can develop non-physical "organs of clairvoyance," the use of which will enable them to perceive the spirit realm clearly and accurately.
"[J]ust as natural forces build the eyes and ears of the physical body out of living substance, so will the organs of clairvoyance be built out of...feelings and thoughts...." — Rudolf Steiner, KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS - How Is It Achieved? (Anthroposophic Press, 2004, reprinted 2009), pp. 47-48.
[See, e.g., "The Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness".]
Steiner indicated that Waldorf teachers may develop organs of clairvoyance as individuals and also as a group (as a "circle of teachers").
[16] Much of this work centers on the teachings and guidance provided by Rudolf Steiner. Thus, for instance, Waldorf teachers work individually to comprehend Rudolf Steiner’s works, and they also work toward this objective in group meetings with their colleagues. The “research” undertaken often means delving further into Steiner’s works. Likewise, artistic activities and other practices undertaken by Waldorf teachers are largely enactments of Steiner’s guidance. [See, e.g., “Teacher Training” and “Foundations”.]
[17] Steiner generally disparaged intellect [see “Steiner’s Specific”], and Waldorf education is largely anti-intellectual [see “Waldorf Wisdom”]. Steiner said intellect has some value here on the physical plane of existence, but it is a lower form of knowledge than clairvoyance and its stages or precursors.
[18] See, e.g., the book THE STAGES OF HIGHER KNOWLEDGE - Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition (SteinerBooks, 2009), consisting of lectures by Steiner. (Intuition is the highest of the three stages, imagination the lowest.)
[19] I.e., he claimed to show his followers how to “know” the spirit realm and its truths. He claimed to have the ability to “know” things that lie beyond the reach of our ordinary senses and brains.
[20] See Rudolf Steiner. BALANCE IN TEACHING (SteinerBooks, 2007), p. 82.
[21] As we saw earlier, Waldorf teachers should be, in effect, priests. The “entire edifice” of Waldorf schooling rests on this principle. It is far more important for Waldorf teachers to be a spiritual believers than for them to have extensive knowledge of the subjects they teach. [See, e.g., the section on teacher training in “Square One”.]
[22] The requirement, at its base, is that Waldorf teachers should be Anthroposophists. Steiner made this clear.
“As Waldorf teachers, we must be true anthroposophists in the deepest sense of the word….” — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 118.
True spiritual life can be present in a Waldorf school, Steiner said, only because the teachers are Anthroposophists.
“As far as our school is concerned, the actual spiritual life can be present only because its staff consists of anthroposophists.” — Rudolf Steiner, EDUCATION FOR ADOLESCENTS (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 60.
[23] See the “imagination of the circle of teachers” discussed previously.
[24] I.e., the “organ of clairvoyance” formed by the circle of teachers may be visualized as a chalice. (This is the “imagination” the teachers create through their “meditative striving.”)
[25] I.e., higher knowledge, as posited by Steiner.
[26] I.e., the activity of creating the “chalice,” the organ of clairvoyance.
[27] Using the organ of clairvoyance, the teachers can produce the spiritual insights they need for their work — they produce the required “imaginations, inspirations, and intuitions.”
[28] I.e., practicing Anthroposophists. Rudolf Steiner referred to Anthroposophy as a “spiritual science.” He said Anthroposophists are “researchers” if they develop clairvoyance and use it to study the spirit realm. [See “spiritual science" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[29] Waldorf education seeks to help children to incarnate properly upon the Earth. [See “Incarnation”.] In a larger sense, it seeks to enable the “human spirit” in its most exalted sense to incarnate.
— R.R.
February 25, 2019
Rudolf Steiner Press has been releasing a series of books presenting meditations written by Steiner. Here is one of these volumes:
Connecting to Those Who Have Died
(Rudolf Steiner Press, June 2018)
According to Anthroposophical belief, death is illusory. We pass through a long series of lives and "deaths," alternating — through the process of reincarnation — between existence on the physical plane and existence on the spiritual plane. [1] “Death” on Earth merely means transitioning to life in the spirit realm, which is a preparation for one’s next life on Earth. The point of it all is to gradually evolve to higher and higher levels of consciousness, which means becoming a higher and higher spirit. [2] In the none-too-distant future, Steiner taught, we will evolve to become gods. Thereafter, we will evolve through higher and higher levels of divinity until we become the highest of gods. “[W]e shall have gradually achieved the transformation of our own being into what is called in Christianity ‘the Father.’” [3]
There have been numerous Anthroposophical publications focusing on the relationship between living souls (i.e., those dwelling now on Earth) and dead souls (i.e., those dwelling now in the spirit realm). Among these are STAYING CONNECTED - How to Continue Your Relationships with Those Who Have Died [4], OUR DEAD - Memorial, Funeral, and Cremation Addresses [5], and WORKING WITH THE DEAD [6]. The latter is intended for use by Waldorf teachers, helping them to acquaint their students with the continuing existence of dead people. [7]
As you might anticipate, many of Steiner’s meditations centering on death are meant give succor to individuals living on Earth who have lost loved ones (i.e., they have seen people they love pass through the portal to the great beyond). Perhaps more surprisingly, many other Steiner meditations are meant to comfort and buck up the dead themselves (even though they presumably now live in a more wonderful place, interacting directly with angels and gods). [8]
Here is an example of a meditation meant to hearten the dead, as presented in OUR DEAD:
I send you love
In the worlds where
Your soul’s essential nature
Now sojourns —
To cool your warmth
To warm your coolness.
If you find me there in feeling,
I shall always be near you. [9]
Steiner claimed to be able to communicate with the dead, and on occasion he brought back messages from them. So, for instance, he consoled the widow of Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, the Chief of the German General Staff during the opening stages of World War I. The essence of the messages from General von Moltke is that the spirit realm turns out to be almost exactly as Steiner described it. [11]
MEDITATIONS FOR THE DEAD is one of four volumes of Steiner mediations released recently by the Rudolf Steiner Press. [11] Others are MEDITATIONS FOR HARMONY AND HEALING - Finding the Greater Self [12], MEDITATIONS FOR COURAGE AND TRANQUILITY - The Heart of Peace [13], and MEDITATIONS FOR TIMES OF DAY AND SEASONS OF THE YEAR - Breathing the Spirit [14].
◊
For previous coverage of MEDITATIONS FOR THE DEAD, see "Today 3".
◊
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See “Reincarnation”.
[2] See the entries for "evolution" and “evolution of consciousness” in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.
[3] Rudolf Steiner, THE LORD’S PRAYER (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2007), p. 17.
[4] Anthroposophic Press, 1999.
[5] SteinerBooks, 2011.
[6] Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America, 2003.
[7] See, e.g., Part II of "Waldorf Wisdom".
[8] Steiner taught that there are two "higher worlds" above us, the soul world and the spirit world. [See "Higher Worlds".] Steiner also taught that angels are, themselves, gods — they are members of the lowest rank of divinities. [See "Polytheism".]
[9] OUR DEAD, p. 331.
[10] See "Steiner and the Warlord".
[11] These books are essentially repackaged reprints of earlier offerings from Rudolf Steiner Press. Thus, MEDITATIONS FOR THE DEAD was preceded by LIVING WITH THE DEAD - Meditations for Maintaining a Connection with Those Who Have Died (Sophia Press, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2002).
LIVING WITH THE DEAD
(Rudolf Steiner Press, 2002)
[12] Rudolf Steiner Press, June 2018.
[13] Rudolf Steiner Press, October 2018.
[14] Rudolf Steiner Press, October 2018.
— R.R.
On the page "Today 6" we briefly considered the following book.
Let's extend the discussion here.
January, 2019
Defenders of Waldorf education sometimes concede that the belief system underlying the first Waldorf school consisted of many strange, esoteric, and mystical concepts. But, they contend, that’s all long gone. Waldorf education today is wholly up-to-date and sensible.
This defense may seem reassuring — but it is fundamentally untrue. The leaders of the Waldorf movement today, in the 21st century, go to great lengths to ensure that Rudolf Steiner’s strange, esoteric, and mystical concepts still prevail — still rule — in the Waldorf movement. Today. In the 21st century.
Consider, for instance, the book ENTRY POINTS. It leads the reader through a series of lectures Rudolf Steiner delivered to Waldorf teachers as they prepared to open first Waldorf school, in 1919. The extensive commentary provided by the editors of ENTRY POINTS stresses over and over that the statements Steiner made then are still true now: Steiner’s statements provided the rationale for Waldorf education way back when, and they continue to provide the rationale for Waldorf education now. Today. In the 21st century.
Here are a few samples — statements made by Steiner and commentary added by Waldorf teachers today. All of these statements occur near the beginning of ENTRY POINTS, establishing key propositions that are developed further as the book proceeds.
◊
From Lecture 1, delivered by Rudolf Steiner to Waldorf teachers:
The founding of the school is an event, a ceremony within the Cosmic Order [1]. On the physical plane, Mr. Molt has to be thanked for making the moment possible [2]. The coming together of all involved is a karmic moment [3]….
Our educational task is specific to the fifth post-Atlantean era [4]. It is not an education for all times. Each age has its tasks [5].…
The children you [6] will receive will bring with them the results of the upbringing (or the neglect) of their parents, and we will have to correct for much of what is done at home [7].…
— Rudolf Steiner, ENTRY POINTS (Waldorf Publications, 2017), p. 13.
◊
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] I.e., the founding of the first Waldorf school was an event of cosmic importance. It was a sacramental occurrence supporting the divine order established by the gods. [See, e.g., “Here’s the Answer” and “Polytheism”.]
[2] The school was founded because Emil Molt, owner of the Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Factory, asked Steiner to create a school for the children of the employees.
[3] I.e., the teachers, students, and backers of the school came together as a result of their combined karmas. [See “Karma”.]
[4] Steiner taught that before the beginning of history as it is usually understood, humanity lived on the continent of Atlantis. [See “Atlantis”.] , Steiner said we now live in the post-Atlantean epoch (the epoch following the sinking of Atlantis).
[5] According to Waldorf belief, humans are evolving toward becoming gods. Everything good that happens, promoting this evolution, is part of the divine cosmic plan. [See the entry for "divine cosmic plan" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.] Every stage in this process has specific “tasks” laid out by the gods.
[6] I.e., Waldorf teachers.
[7] Steiner taught that Waldorf teachers should essentially supplant students’ parents, taking control of the students’ upbringing. He said that, ideally, Waldorf teachers would assume control soon after each child is born.
“Given the difficult, disorderly, and chaotic conditions of our time, it might almost be preferable from a moral viewpoint if children could be taken into one’s care soon after birth.” — Rudolf Steiner, WALDORF EDUCATION AND ANTHROPOSOPHY, Vol. 2 (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 69.
◊
Commentary on Lecture 1, by a Waldorf teacher today:
In this lecture Rudolf Steiner describes that the task of education in the spiritual sense [1] is to bring the Soul-Spirit into harmony with the Life Body. [2] He introduces the terms sentient or astral body, etheric body, and physical body. [3] Gaining a background in what these terms mean is an essential part of early Waldorf teacher education [4] and needs to be revisited over and over again. Working with these subtle bodies is a bedrock of the Waldorf teacher’s understanding of human development [5]….
— Waldorf teacher Betty Staley, ENTRY POINTS, p. 17.
◊
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Waldorf education is fundamentally spiritual or religious. [See, e.g., “Schools as Churches”.]
[2] Steiner taught that each human has both a soul and a spirit. The combination of these incorporeal components is called the “Soul-Spirit” or, more often, the “Spirit-Soul.” [See the entries for “soul”, “spirit”, and “spirit-soul” in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.] Moreover, each growing child gradually incarnates a series of invisible bodies to supplement the physical body. [See “Incarnation”.] The “life body,” according to Waldorf belief, is the first of these invisible bodies; it is also called the “etheric body.” Here, a Waldorf teacher explains that the purpose of education according to Steiner is to help harmonize the combined soul and spirit with the etheric body.
[3] I.e., Steiner spoke of the astral body (also called the sentient body), the etheric body (or life body), and the physical body. (He also spoke of the “ego body” or the ego or the “I”.) [See the entries for these terms in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[4] I.e., the education or training received by a teacher who will work in Waldorf early-childhood education (preschool and the first grades of elementary school).
[5] I.e., accepting these mystical concepts (etheric body, astral body, etc.) is “essential” for Waldorf teachers. Dealing with these “subtle” (i.e., incorporeal) bodies is the “bedrock” of Waldorf schooling. That is, “the task of [Waldorf] education…is to bring the Soul-Spirit into harmony with the Life Body.” Anyone planning to be a Waldorf teacher must think in these ways and work to fulfill this task.
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From Lecture 2, delivered by Rudolf Steiner to Waldorf teachers:
[T]here is a tremendous difference between educating children rationally, conceptually, and developing their will [1]. Emphasis on conceptual instruction actually injures the children, because it focuses on what they have already completed before birth [2] … Before birth, spiritual beings planted seeds of knowledge (which we now awaken through concepts) [3], and we continue this future-oriented gesture by planting in the children’s soul imaginations that will grow into the future [4] … Thus we continue the work of spiritual beings when we bring living pictures [5], and a feeling for this reality will give our education the necessary consecration [6]. ‘Without this we cannot educate at all [7].'
— Rudolf Steiner, ENTRY POINTS, p. 26.
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Steiner opposed education that stresses rationality or intellect. [See “Steiner’s Specific”.] Instead, he said correct education strengthens a child’s will or willpower. [See “Will”.] Certainly, if you are to believe the things Steiner wants you to believe, strong willpower will probably be needed. Minimizing the rational use of your brain would also help.
[2] I.e., rational or intellectual education is bad for children because it takes them back to conditions they experienced and completed in their past lives. Steiner taught that human beings pass through many lives through the process of reincarnation. [See “Reincarnation”.] Rational education, or "conceptual" education, is based on intellectual concepts. Steiner says that such education is damaging to children. A slightly different translation (more direct and clear) is this:
"[T]here is a tremendous difference between the development of will and [the development] of thinking. If you particularly emphasize the development of thinking, you actually direct the entire human being back to prenatal life. You will injure children if you educate them rationally because you will then utilize their will in something they have already completed — namely, life before birth." — Rudolf Steiner, THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE — Foundations of Waldorf Education, I (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 61.
[3] I.e., before birth on Earth, children existed in the spirit realm. There, gods (“spiritual beings”) implanted knowledge within them. Children carry this knowledge, in germinal form, within themselves when they arrive on Earth. Hence, teachers don’t need to impart information to students; rather, they work to “awaken” knowledge that the gods implanted in the children. (The non-rational “concepts” or "imaginations" employed in class by Waldorf teachers are not new information imparted to students; they are triggers that awaken information the students already have within themselves.)
[4] In Waldorf belief, “imaginations” are true mental pictures, produced through the use of imagination and will power. These mental pictures are “living” images that embody the “living thoughts” implanted in children by the gods. [See “Thinking” and the entry for “living thoughts” in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
Here we are told that Waldorf teachers work to "awaken" in their students the "seeds of knowledge" implanted by the gods. The reality is that true-believing Waldorf teachers implant in their students ideas that come from Anthroposophy — this is central to the covert indoctrination that such teachers conduct on their students. [See "Indoctrination".]
[5] I.e., stimulating the retrieval of living pictures in the students continues the work of the gods, who implanted living thoughts in the children before they were born.
[6] Waldorf education is essentially religious. It seeks to fulfill the will of the gods, and thus it is an act of consecration.
“Among the faculty, we must certainly carry within us the knowledge that we are not here for our own sakes, but to carry out the divine cosmic plan … [W]e are actually carrying out the intentions of the gods….” — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER — Foundations of Waldorf Education, VIII/1 (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 55.
[7] This is the essence of Waldorf education. To educate properly, teachers must accept the mystical concepts Steiner has outlined, and they must remember the affirmation, “Without this we cannot educate at all.”
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From an endnote attached to Lecture 2, by a Waldorf teacher today:
At the outset of Lecture 2, Rudolf Steiner speaks rather disparagingly about the lack of insight…in the field of psychology at that time [1] … [His] critique of early 20th century psychology refers, in particular — as the context in this lecture makes clear — to the concepts of mental picturing and willing. [2] This should be no surprise when one considers the cosmic dimensions [3] of mental picturing and willing that Rudolf Steiner develops as the lecture unfolds. Such an understanding goes far beyond what one would expect of a modern psychologist, not only in 1919 but today as well. These perspectives presuppose the development of a spiritual science in Rudolf Steiner’s sense of that term [4].
— Waldorf teacher Michael Holdrege, ENRTY POINTS, p. 27.
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Steiner disparaged "the lack of insight" of almost all scientists and experts in a vast array of fields. [See, e.g., “Science” and “Materialism U.”] He found fault with virtually every form of inquiry that was not rooted in occultism — that is, inquiry that was not based on, and informed by, hidden spiritual “knowledge”. [See “Occultism” and “Gnosis”.]
[2] “Mental picturing” is the formation of true mental images, which Steiner called “imaginations.” These pictures are attained, Steiner taught, through the willed use of clairvoyance. Imagination, in his teachings, is one form of clairvoyance or, at a lower level, it is a precursor to clairvoyance. [See the entries for “clairvoyance” and “imagination” in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
“Willing” is the use of willpower. [See “Will”.] Steiner claimed that he attained true knowledge of the spirit realm through the use of “exact clairvoyance”. [See “Exactly”.] Fundamental to exercising such clairvoyance, he said, was the discipling of the will, so that one can objectively and truly perceive spiritual phenomena that otherwise are beyond the reach of human apprehension. (This may be true, but in a different sense than Steiner meant. Critics would argue that Steiner told his followers what to believe, then he insisted that they will themselves to “see” these things, and of course they then succeeded — not through true clairvoyance (which does not exist) but through the commonplace trap of self-deception. [See “Why? Oh Why?” and “Fooling (Ourselves)”.])
[3] Steiner’s teachings are “cosmic” in that he claimed to comprehend the past, present, and future of the entire cosmos. [See “Everything”.] He claimed that his teachings encompass the physical world and the invisible worlds above and below it. [See “Knowing the Worlds”.]
[4] “Spiritual science,” in Steiner’s “sense of that term,” is the objective study of the spirit realm through the disciplined, reliable use of clairvoyance. Steiner taught that throughout history there have been various forms of spiritual science, but the highest form yet attained, he said, is his own: It is Anthroposophy. [See the entries for “spiritual science” and “Anthroposophy” in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.] Anthroposophy is, indeed, the branch of “knowledge” that underlies Waldorf education. (Remember that the lectures we are examining were delivered to Waldorf teachers, directing them toward the approach they should take in their work.) But in reality, the “science” of Anthroposophy is actually a belief system, not a science; in a word, it is a religion. [See “Is Anthroposophy a Religion?”] Any “science” that depends on clairvoyance is no science at all, since clairvoyance itself is a delusion; it does not exist. [See “Clairvoyance”.]
— R.R.
January, 2019
Quotes of the Day
(Another, prior peek at this book):
Quotation #1:
"Birth to Age 7
“...From birth to around the age of 7, young children are working on and out of their physical natures [1] ... The etheric body works in conjunction with the physical body during these first seven years [2], bringing forming forces to the physical body and maintaining its organic life processes ... Approximately seven years later, when the child's physical growth and development has [sic] reached a certain conclusion and fewer etheric forces [3] are needed to form and maintain the physical body, the etheric body is born or emancipated from the physical body. [4]" — Waldorf teacher Holly Koteen-Soulé in THE SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES OF WALDORF EDUCATION (Waldorf Publications, 2017), p. 22.
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] In Waldorf belief, children spend the first phase of their new lives on Earth developing, and expressing themselves through, their physical bodies. (The children have undergone this process, or its analogues, before. According to Rudolf Steiner, the children have been born multiple times previously, through the process of reincarnation. [See "Reincarnation".])
[2] During the first seven years, Steiner taught, the invisible etheric body — a constellation of growth forces — has not yet incarnated fully. But it is present in preliminary form, and as such it enables the physical body to develop properly.
[3] I.e., forces from the etheric realm, mediated by the etheric body. [See entries for "etheric body", "etheric force(s)", and "etheric realm" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[4] Steiner said the etheric body incarnates during approximately the seventh year of a child's earthly life. [See "Incarnation".] Steiner also taught that other invisible parts of the human constitution incarnate later, one part every seven years or so. [See "What We're Made Of".]
The most crucial point for readers to grasp is that Steiner's occult teachings, now a century old, are still affirmed in Waldorf belief and practice today. The Waldorf curriculum is keyed to the purported incarnation of the etheric body and the other invisible parts described by Steiner. [See "The Waldorf Curriculum".]
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Quotation #2:
"Between 7 and 14
"With the birth of the etheric body [1], some of the child's formative life forces are now available for psychological rather than physiological activities — for instance, the forming of concepts, [etc.] ... This allows the child to be ready for direct instruction [2] and to receive guidance from the teacher as a beloved source [3] of worldly knowledge and skills." — Waldorf teacher Holly Koteen-Soulé in THE SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES OF WALDORF EDUCATION (Waldorf Publications, 2017), p. 23.
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] The etheric body is the first of three invisible bodies that incarnate during childhood; the others are the astral body and the "I". [See the entries for these terms in "The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia".] The etheric body incarnates (or is "born") around age seven, following which event some of its forces are redirected from helping to form the physical body to helping develop the child's psyche.
[2] Waldorf schools do not generally provide sound early-childhood education. They operate on the premise a child is not ready for such instruction until her/his etheric body incarnates. [See "Incarnation".] After a child's etheric body begins sending some of its forces to help with psychological development, the child becomes ready for basic academic instruction (s/he can be taught to read, learn basic math, and so forth).
[3] Waldorf teachers, especially those teaching the early grades, usually make strong efforts to elicit love from their students. The emotional bond is meant to cause students to emulate and obey their teachers with little or no hesitation. Critics deem this a process of indoctrination. [See "Mistreating Kids Lovingly".]
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Quotation #3:
"Between 14 and 21
"The outer birth [1] of the astral body [2] is heralded physically by the onset of puberty ... [The] 'inner birth' [3] of the astral body [comes earlier] ... The moment when the young child, around the age of 2 or 3 years, begins to say 'I' signals...the 'inner birth' of the astral body [4] ... The interval between the inner and outer birth of the astral body is around ten or eleven years [5] ... During the final period of child development, the intellect and abstract thinking capacities come at last to the foreground [6]." — Waldorf teacher Holly Koteen-Soulé in THE SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES OF WALDORF EDUCATION (Waldorf Publications, 2017), pp. 24-25.
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] "Outer birth" is what, in Waldorf discourse, is usually termed incarnation — it is the moment when a component of the human constitution emerges and becomes active.
[2] The astral body is the second of three invisible bodies that, according to Waldorf doctrine, incarnates during the first 21 years of earthly life. The astral body purportedly consists of soul forces.
[3] "Inner birth" is the moment when a component of the human constitution becomes present, inwardly, in a human being. The component does not become truly active, however, until the outer birth occurs.
[4] The inner birth of the astral body, signaled by a child's use of the first-person pronoun — "I" — should not be confused with the incarnation of the third invisible body, called the ego or "I". This third body incarnates at around age 21, an event that marks the end of childhood. [See "Ego".]
[5] Thus, the outer birth — or incarnation — of the astral body occurs around age 14.
[6] Just as Waldorf schools delay the start of academic instruction until the students' etheric bodies have incarnated, they delay the start of intellectually challenging instruction until the students' astral bodies have incarnated. Thus, "intellect and abstract thinking" are suppressed until students enter high school. The question arises whether Waldorf students ever catch up with students at schools that have not intentionally tried to retard their mental growth. The question is doubly poignant, given that the Waldorf beliefs that lead to such efforts at retardation (invisible bodies, inner birth and outer births, etc.) are baseless.
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Quotation #4:
"One addition, which is not actually part of the birthing process for the four members [1], but is very helpful to know about and recognize, is the first moon node. [2] This comes approximately every 18 years and seven months (repeating around ages 37, 56, and 74 years), when the sun and moon cross paths in the same place in the heavens as when one was first born. [3] This repetition opens a window to a remembrance of the intention that first prompted one's incarnation [4]." — Waldorf school doctor Adam Blanning in THE SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES OF WALDORF EDUCATION (Waldorf Publications, 2017), pp. 42-43.
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] I.e., the four bodies that, according to Waldorf belief, incarnate during the first 21 years of life: the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, and the “I”. [See “Incarnation”.]
[2] (Sic; emphasis in the text.) Anthroposophy and Waldorf education are deeply tied to astrology. This is one instance. [See “Star Power”.] In astrology, the two moon nodes are the points where the moon dips below and later rises above the ecliptic (the Sun's apparent path across the celestial sphere). Astrologers look to these nodes to assess one's future destiny and one's identity in a past incarnation.
[3] We are born four times, Steiner taught: once per body. Your first birth (the physical body) occurs at the moment you emerge from the womb; your second birth (the etheric body) occurs around age seven; your third birth (the astral body) occurs around age 14; and your fourth birth (the “I”) occurs around age 21.
[4] I.e., you can then remember why you elected to leave the spirit realm to incarnate on Earth — you remember your spirit-charged intentions and purposes, or your karmic needs. [See, e.g., “Karma”.]
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Quotation #5:
"Rudolf Steiner indicated at least three levels of knowing above the intellectual [1]: Imaginative, Inspirational, and Intuitive [2] … [H]e ever and again tried to teach others how to become knowers of the invisible [3]. He even told teachers [4]…”in the field of education, we [must] come to an actual experience of the spiritual [5] … I would argue that the entire edifice of Waldorf education rests on the assumption of the teacher as a spiritual practitioner [6]…." Waldorf teacher Elan Leibner in THE SEVEN CORE PRINCIPLES OF WALDORF EDUCATION (Waldorf Publications, 2017), pp.111-112.
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Steiner disparaged intellect and, more generally, the use of the brain. He said the brain does not produce thoughts and does not apprehend truth. [See, e.g., “Steiner’s Specific - Thinking Without Our Brains”.] In Waldorf education, development of the intellect is meant to be postponed at least until high school, and often until late in high school. Steiner acknowledged that intellect has some uses in earthly life (he himself was an intellectual, after all), but the Waldorf system attempts to assure that students don't develop critical intelligence until they have been deeply molded and directed by many years of non-rational Waldorf instruction and conduct. The effect is that Waldorf students should not even begin to ask probing questions (for intance about the Waldorf approach) until they have internalized Anthroposophical inclinations, preferences, and attitudes. The answers the students arrive at, then, should almost always be compatible with Anthroposophical/Waldorf views.
[2] These are three levels of clairvoyance, according to Steiner. [See the entries for “imagination”, “inspiration”, and “intuition” in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[3] Essentially, this means attaining knowledge of the spiritual realm. [See “Knowing the Worlds”.]
[4] I.e., Waldorf teachers.
[5] Essentially, this means becoming practicing Anthroposophists. [See “Here’s the Answer”.]
"As Waldorf teachers, we must be true anthroposophists...." — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 118.
— R.R.
January 3, 2019
◊ READINGS ◊
BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL
Rudolf Steiner said all teachers in Waldorf schools should be true-believing Anthroposophists. [1] And he explained why: It is because a key aim (perhaps the key aim) of Waldorf schools is to spread Anthroposophy. [2]
In practice, Waldorf schools have had trouble creating, and maintaining, all-Anthroposophical faculties. Often, the schools have been unable to find enough willing and able Anthroposophists to serve as Waldorf teachers. So the schools have often needed to hire — at least temporarily — non-Anthroposophists to teach this subject or that, at this grade level or that.
But Steiner’s vision persists, and it continues to inspire leading figures in the Waldorf/Anthroposophical movement. Efforts continue to ensure that as many Waldorf teachers as possible embrace Steiner’s occult preachments. In part, this has meant that when non-Anthroposophists join a Waldorf faculty, efforts will be made to convert these individuals to Anthroposophy. [3]
An example of the efforts made to ensure Anthroposophical purity among Waldorf teachers is the recently republished book, TOWARD THE DEEPENING OF WALDORF EDUCATION (Waldorf Publications, 2012, reprinted 2017). The book's text originated at the worldwide Anthroposophical headquarters, the Goetheanum. [4]
Here are excerpts from the first pages of the book:
1.
It was of very great importance to Rudolf Steiner that the educational impulse which had arisen out of anthroposophy in Central Europe [5] should put down roots in the English-speaking world…. [6]
He was aware that this would require a particular inner effort of heart and soul [7] on the part of teachers in the English-speaking world, and it is, therefore, of very special urgency that the esoteric foundations of Waldorf education [8] as they have been gathered together in this volume should be taken up with the utmost inner activity and earnestness by individual teachers and in faculty communities.... [9]
— Waldorf teacher and headmaster Henry Barnes, Foreword to the Second English Edition, TOWARD THE DEEPENING OF WALDORF EDUCATION (Waldorf Publications, 2012, reprinted 2017), p. 13.
2.
At this point in time, the anthroposophical school movement [10] is faced with the task to found itself anew spiritually…. [11]
In earlier times…it was a matter of course that only those were taken into the ranks of Waldorf teachers who had chosen anthroposophy as the guiding principle of their lives. [12] Things are different now. It used to go without saying that our pedagogy was based in anthroposophy; now we must work to achieve this in a new way [13]….
It is therefore part of the responsibility of a community of teachers [14] to acquaint new colleagues with this esoteric side of the profession [15], to point out the importance of its practice [16], and answer relevant questions. Basically anyone who earnestly wants to work with this content [17] is entitled to receive a copy of this book [18] … Whether the individual teacher or the school pays for the book is up to the individual school….
Steiner demands commitment and responsibility in the face of this task [19] and then calls us to be conscious of the real connection we have with the spiritual world…. [20]
— Waldorf alumnus and teacher Heinz Zimmermann, Preface to the Fourth Edition, TOWARD THE DEEPENING OF WALDORF EDUCATION, pp. 15-17.
Times have changed. But if leaders within the Anthroposophical movement have their way, the essence of Waldorf education will remain unchanged. Waldorf schools will continue to be devoted — fully and unflinchingly — to Anthroposophy.
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] “As Waldorf teachers, we must be true anthroposophists in the deepest sense of the word in our innermost feeling.” — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 118.
[2] “One of the most important facts about the background of the Waldorf School is that we were in a position to make the anthroposophical movement a relatively large one. The anthroposophical movement has become a large one.” — Rudolf Steiner, RUDOLF STEINER IN THE WALDORF SCHOOL (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p.156.
[3] See, e.g., the section “The Indoctrination of Teachers” in "He Went to Waldorf".
[4] See the section on the Goethanum in “Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"
[5] Waldorf education was originally intended specifically for German youngsters, to help the German people to fulfill their “mission.” [See “The Good Wars”.] Because Anthroposophy and the Waldorf movement arose in, and have particular application in, “Central Europe” (i.e., Germany), teachers in other parts of the world must make special efforts to comprehend them and adapt them to local needs without fundamentally altering them.
[6] TOWARD THE DEEPENING OF WALDORF EDUCATION consists chiefly of key statements made by Steiner about Waldorf education, translated from the German. Waldorf education began in Germany and later spread to England. The Waldorf movement has subsequently opened schools in lands where neither German nor English is the native language. If Steiner was eager for Waldorf schooling to put down roots in English-speaking countries, a similar solicitude exists now among Steiner’s followers who are intent on planting Waldorf education in all nations.
[7] I.e., meditative and prayerful reflection.
[8] Many terms may be used to characterized the belief system that underlies Waldorf education. “Esoteric” is one; others are “spiritual,” “occult,” “gnostic,” “mystic,” etc.
Steiner laid out the key doctrines underlying Waldorf education in a series of lectures that have been published under such titles as STUDY OF MAN and THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE. [For an overview, see “Oh Humanity”.]
[9] I.e., individual teachers should meditate upon and study Steiner’s teachings, and the entire faculty of a Waldorf school should meditatively discuss those teachings.
[10] I.e., the Waldorf school movement. Here, and in succeeding sentences, TOWARD THE DEEPENING OF WALDORF EDUCATION makes explicit the deep, essential tie between Waldorf schools and Anthroposophy. (In the book, the Waldorf school movement is called "the anthroposophical school movement.")
[11] I.e., conditions have changed. Waldorf schools must now find new ways to embody their essential Anthroposophical character.
[12] I.e., previously, the faculty at any Waldorf school was likely to consistent entirely of true-believing Anthroposophists.
[13] The goal (full allegiance to Anthroposophy) remains the same, but new ways to reach the goal must be developed.
[14] I.e., a true-believing Waldorf faculty.
[15] I.e., the faculty must inform new members about Anthroposophy, and it must seek to usher new members into the fold of true-believing Steiner followers.
[16] New Waldorf teachers should not merely be informed about Anthroposophy, they should be led to practice Anthroposophy.
[17] “Earnestly” working with the contents of this book means entering, at least provisionally, the ranks of practicing Anthroposophists.
[18] I.e., all earnest teachers at a Waldorf school in the English-speaking world should receive copies of TOWARD THE DEEPENING OF WALDORF EDUCATION. (Teachers in lands where other languages predominate presumably should receive similar books published in those languages.)
[19] I.e., Steiner firmly requires Waldorf teachers to pursue the purposes of Waldorf education. He does not suggest it or encourage it — he “demands” it. As we saw previously, he said Waldorf teachers “must be true anthroposophists in the deepest sense of the word.”
[20] ◊ “We can accomplish our work only if we do not see it as simply a matter of intellect or feeling, but, in the highest sense, as a moral spiritual task. Therefore, you will understand why, as we begin this work today, we first reflect on the connection we wish to create from the very beginning between our activity and the spiritual worlds ... Thus, we wish to begin our preparation by first reflecting upon how we connect with the spiritual powers in whose service and in whose name each one of us must work.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 33. ◊ “Among the faculty, we must certainly carry within us the knowledge that we are not here for our own sakes, but to carry out the divine cosmic plan. We should always remember that when we do something, we are actually carrying out the intentions of the gods, that we are, in a certain sense, the means by which that streaming down from above will go out into the world.” — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, p. 55.
— R.R.
January 4, 2019
◊ READINGS ◊
BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL
(CONTINUED)
Yesterday, we considered some of the prefatory material in a book intended for the edification of Waldorf teachers. That material urged Waldorf teachers to be true to “the esoteric foundations of Waldorf education.”
The question naturally arises: What sort of “esoteric” beliefs can we find in the “foundations” of Waldorf schooling? Digging a little deeper into the book — TOWARD THE DEEPENING OF WALDORF EDUCATION — provides some of the answers.
The following is excerpted from the first section of the book, a section titled “Karmic Reflections”. The words were spoken by Waldorf founder Rudolf Steiner. He was addressing Waldorf teachers:
…It will be important that the question of karma, or destiny [1], is taken into account, especially with regard to education and teaching methods. The people with whom my karma brought me together in childhood and youth certainly are important. [2] And a tremendous amount depends on it that in our teaching we are aware that we and our pupils have been brought together [by karma]….
We [Waldorf teachers] will know how to behave if we are constantly aware of the idea of karma; but we must have a real inner connection with this. Whether we are particularly good at teaching something, or perhaps less good, is not really so important. Even completely inept teachers may on occasion have a tremendous influence. [3] … [T]he question as to whether we are the right teacher or educator depends on the way in which we were connected with the child's soul before either of us — teacher and child — were born. The difference is merely that we teachers have come into the world a few years earlier than the children. Before that we were together with them in the world of the spirit [4].…
If you do not merely take what I am saying as an abstract truth but let it enter fully into your soul, you will find it has tremendous significance. Just think of the truly serious mood, the profundity of feeling which would come if, in the field of education, people lived with the idea: "You are now showing the child something which it accepted from you in the world of the spirit before it was born…." [5]
— Rudolf Steiner, TOWARD THE DEEPENING OF WALDORF EDUCATION (Waldorf Publications, 2012, reprinted 2017), pp. 32-34.
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] The paired concepts of karma and reincarnation are extremely important in Anthroposophical belief and in Waldorf pedagogy. Karma and reincarnation rank high among the esoteric beliefs that shape the Waldorf approach. [See "Karma" and "Reincarnation".]
[2] I.e., students and their teacher are brought together by karma. These particular students and this particular teacher are destined to be together. The bond between children and teacher are therefore virtually sacred and should not be broken. Hence, we find Anthroposophists explaining Waldorf education in statements such as this:
“A school class is a destiny community ... A class is not a group of children who have been thrown together arbitrarily. The class forms a social context around a teacher to which the children were led by their life's destiny.” — Anthroposophist Peter Selg, THE ESSENCE OF WALDORF EDUCATION (SteinerBooks, 2010)‚ p. 45.
[3] Waldorf schools generally have low academic standards. [See “Academic Standards at Waldorf”.] Waldorf school have other priorities, such as assisting children to incarnate their invisible bodies. [See “Incarnation”.] A Waldorf teacher may be considered a great success even if s/he is not a particularly skilled as an educator. The ability to teach well is “not really so important.”
[4] A Waldorf teacher is the “right teacher” for a group of children if s/he forged links to the students’ souls before incarnation on Earth. The karma binding teachers to their students predates the teacher’s and students’ current lives on Earth — the teacher and students lived together in the spirit realm before descending to Earth.
[5] According to Anthroposophic belief, humans arrive on Earth carrying, in their souls, knowledge they attained in the spirit realm. For this reason, Waldorf schools do not really need to teach kids much. At most, Waldorf teachers try to reawaken knowledge implanted in the students’ souls before birth. Hence, Waldorf education generally downplays the importance of the brain. Steiner taught that true knowledge is accessible through intuition (or imagination, or clairvoyance), not through the use of the brain. [See “Thinking”.] In Waldord education, the rational use of the brain is considered unimportant or even damaging. Thus, Steiner made such assertions as this:
“[T]he brain and nerve system have nothing at all to do with actual cognition … If you particularly emphasize the development of thinking, you actually direct the entire human being back to prenatal life. You will injure children if you educate them rationally because you will then utilize their will in something they have already completed — namely, life before birth.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE (SteinerBooks, 1996), pp. 60-61.
According to Steiner, the gods implant "living thoughts" in our souls before we descend to Earth for life on the physical plane of existence. These divine thoughts are infinitely more important than any tidbits of additional knowledge we may pick up here be below. Waldorf teachers attempt to awaken the living thoughts in students' souls; they are far less interested in conveying mere earthly knowledge to the students. (The reality is that the thoughts awakened in students at Waldorf schools come from human beings, not from gods. These thoughts are the Anthroposophical beliefs, attitudes, and preferences inculcated in the students through a subtle process of indoctrination. [See "Indoctrination".])
— R.R.
Let's return, briefly, to a book
we examined at Today 6.
December 4, 2018
FOUR KINDS OF KIDS
AT WALDORF
Currently featured — and on sale — at the Waldorf Publications website:
THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS
by Helmut Eller & Cynthia Eller
[Waldorf Publications, 2018]
Waldorf education is built upon many antiquated beliefs, outdated and baseless. Belief in the four temperaments is one prominent example.
According to an ancient Greek concept revived by Rudolf Steiner, there are four primary psychological types found among human beings: phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine, and melancholic. These four temperaments are supposedly associated with bodily fluids or humours as conceived by ancient physicians: phlegm, yellow bile (or choler), blood, and black bile. Moreover, the temperaments are expressed in four basic bodily types. In Waldorf belief, phlegmatic individuals are dull, slow, deliberate, and objective, and they tend to be fat; choleric individuals have short tempers, they are abrupt and enthusiastic, and they tend to be short and bull-necked; sanguine individuals are sunny and physically attractive, but they also are often shallow and flighty; melancholic individuals are sad and moody much of the time, they are loners but empathetic, and they tend to be big-boned.
Amazingly, Waldorf schools often organize themselves on the basis of these four false stereotypes. Even at the basic level of seating assignments in class, Waldorf teachers are urged to make their decisions based on these stereotypes. So, for instance, in the new Waldorf book THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS — written by a Waldorf teacher — we find this:
"Rudolf Steiner emphasized how important it is to seat children in class according to their temperaments. But which temperaments are appropriate to seat together so they will have a positive influence on each other? We might think spontaneously of contrasting temperaments, for example seating a choleric child next to a phlegmatic one. Will the choleric child be able to harmonize her excessive temperament through him? Will she be able to gradually overcome it, to ‘wear it down,’ so to speak? ... [T]he choleric student can get upset about the character traits of her neighbor … But when she sits next to someone with the same temperament, something special happens, and this holds true for all four temperaments. It happens that she sees herself in the temperament of the other; she is confronted with herself, unconsciously recognizes herself and dislikes her own characteristics that she sees in the other … Now we can understand Rudolf Steiner’s suggestions to seat children with the same temperaments new to each other in class." — Waldorf teacher Helmut Eller, THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS (Waldorf Publications, 2018), pp. 86-90.
All of this might almost make sense, if the four classical temperaments were real. But they are not. They are an ancient hypothesis, nothing more. Of course, children do differ from one another, and we might identify some of these differences as matters of temperament. But the simplistic, tight Waldorf schema — sorting children into four boxes — has no basis in modern psychological understanding. Even when Waldorf teachers try to be subtle about temperament, deciding that a child is mostly choleric but also has traces of the phlegmatic, for instance — even then, the teachers are working with false and potentially harmful stereotypes.
In Waldorf schools, more than seating charts are based on these stereotypes. Indeed, Waldorf teachers are encouraged to adjust their teaching methods based on the kids' imagined temperaments, for instance by giving different assignments to kids of the four different types. The effect can be both discriminatory and destructive. Do you agree, for instance, that a child should be led to “dislike her own characteristics”? This is one presumptive benefit of segregating kids based on temperament, as Waldorf teacher Helmut Eller has explained, above. Choleric children (if such a category really existed) should certainly learn to control their tempers. But, to be realistic for a moment, so should all children. Creating a special category of choleric students, and hanging a label on them, is wrong. And it is doubly so if you arrange a situation designed to cause kids to dislike themselves. Bear in mind, the Waldorf approach is meant to teach all children to dislike their own characteristics, the sanguine as well as the choleric, the melancholic as much as the phlegmatic.
Waldorf education is sometimes called progressive. But this is a serious misunderstanding. Waldorf methods are generally rooted in ancient errors and fallacies. Waldorf education is fundamentally backward.
[For more on Waldorf beliefs and practices having to do with the four temperaments, see "Humouresque" and "Temperaments". For more on the Waldorf infatuation with ancient beliefs, see "The Ancients".]
— R.R.
December 2, 2018
STEINER AND THE STARS —
WALDORF'S COSMOS
For the last several years, SteinerBooks has released a series of astrology texts called Journals for Star Wisdom. The latest addition to the series is now available, under a new title:
COSMOLOGY REBORN
Star Wisdom, Volume 1
[Lindisfarne Books (an imprint of SteinerBooks), 2018]
From the publisher:
The Star Wisdom series (previously Journal for Star Wisdom) includes articles of interest on star wisdom [1]…as well as a guide to the correspondences between stellar configurations [2] during the life of Christ [3] and those of today. This guide comprises a complete sidereal ephemeris [4] and aspectarian, geocentric and heliocentric [5], for each day throughout the year….
According to Rudolf Steiner, every step taken by Christ during his ministry between the baptism in the Jordan and the resurrection was in harmony with — and an expression of — the cosmos. Star Wisdom is concerned with these heavenly correspondences during the life of Christ and is intended to help provide a foundation for cosmic Christianity, the cosmic dimension of Christianity. [6] It is this dimension that, by and large, has been missing until now from Christianity and its the [sic] 2,000-year history. [7]
Readers can begin on this path by contemplating the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets against the background of the zodiacal constellations (sidereal signs) today in relation to corresponding stellar events during the life of Christ.…
[12/2/2018 https://steiner.presswarehouse.com/Books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=558677]
◊
Waldorf Watch Response:
Astrology is woven throughout the Waldorf belief system, Anthroposophy. [8] Rudolf Steiner warned his followers not to fall for ordinary astrology as practiced, for instance, by fortune tellers. But he insisted that a true form of astrology has long existed, and it can be consulted by spiritual aspirants who embrace Steiner’s teachings.
Here are a few of Steiner’s assertions about true astrology:
◊ “[T]he old, real, and genuine Astrology expresses itself in the destinies of men.” — Rudolf Steiner, ROSICRUCIANISM AND MODERN INITIATION (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1965), lecture 3, GA 233a.
◊ "The truth underlying the casting of a horoscope is that those who know these things can read the forces which determine a person's physical existence.” — Rudolf Steiner, SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE OF MAN AND HUMANITY (Anthroposophic Press, 1970), lecture 3.
◊ “For as what man is today stands written in the heavenly spaces in the writing of the constellations of the stars, so stands written there too what is yet to happen with him. This is the ground of true astrology. You will see at once, from what we have been considering, that you really only need to know occultism [9] and you have at the same time the root principle of astrology.” — Rudolf Steiner, MAN IN THE LIGHT OF OCCULTISM, THEOSOPHY AND PHILOSOPHY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1964), lecture 9, GA 137.
In class, Waldorf teachers rarely press the “truths” of astrology on their students. But belief in “true astrology” is integral to many Waldorf concepts and practices. The following footnotes should help illuminate this strange reality.
◊
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] “Star wisdom” — the occult wisdom that allegedly can be read from the stars — is “astrology” or “astrosophy.” Both terms essentially mean wisdom derived from the stars. [See “Astrology” and “Astrosophy”.] Cosmology is the science of the origin and evolution of the cosmos, the universe. “Reborn cosmology” is this science altered by the addition of astrological beliefs and other unscientific teachings.
[2] These are the constellations seen in the sky — the apparent (and illusory) patterns that the stars seem to form.
[3] In Anthroposophy, Christ is the Sun God. [See "Sun God".] Steiner taught that the Sun God incarnated on Earth in the body of a human being named Jesus. [See "Was He Christian?"]
[4] I.e., a table giving the calculated locations of the stars at various times during the year.
[5] I.e, a chronological list of the “aspects” of celestial objects — their angular locations in the sky as seen from a specific location. Heliocentric descriptions ascribe centrality to the Sun; geocentric descriptions ascribe centrality to the Earth.
[6] Steiner and his followers profess to modify or correct Christianity in various ways. Thus, for instance, they incorporate teachings from Hinduism (such as karma and reincarnation). They also incorporate astrological teachings, thus producing “cosmic” Chritianity.
[7] Some of Steiner’s most important “corrections” of Christianity appear in his lectures published under the title “The Fifth Gospel.” [See "Steiner's Fifth Gospel".]
[8] For more on Waldorf astrology, see, e.g., "Star Power", "Horoscopes", and "Waldorf Astology". For more on Anthroposophy, see, e.g., "Everything" and "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?".
[9] "Occultism," as Steiner used the term, is essentially synonymous with "spiritual science" and/or Anthroposophy. [See "Occultism".] Steiner's most important book, laying out his central teachings, is titled An OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE. [See, again, "Everything".]
— R.R.
November 12, 2018
RETURNING TO HIGHER WORLDS
RATHER THAN CROSSING THE RIVER BELOW
In covering the recent news about an epidemic at an American Waldorf school, we have touched on a terrible topic: the deaths of children. The contagion at the Asheville Waldorf School [1] involves chickenpox, a disease that is rarely fatal. On some occasions, however, chickenpox can kill. [2] This raises a significant question. If a follower of Rudolf Steiner chooses not to vaccinate her/his child, and if the child later dies of a disease that might have been prevented by vaccination, what consolation does Steiner's belief system — Anthroposophy — offer?
A recent Waldorf book offers one answer. The book is RUBICON — The Nine Year Change and Child Development Between the Ages of Seven and Twelve (Waldorf Publications, 2014). Compiled by Waldorf teacher Monica Ruef, RUBICON consists of excerpts from the works of Rudolf Steiner.
[Waldorf Publications at the Research Institute for Waldorf Education, 2014]
According to Waldorf belief, children pass through an important transition at about age nine — they effectively leave childhood behind and enter the first stages of adulthood. This transition is often called, in Waldorf terminology, "crossing the Rubicon." [3] Here is the opening of the foreword to RUBICON:
"In this collection of written works, Monica Ruef has, for the first time, assembled the various indications given by Rudolf Steiner about the beginning of preadolescence. Steiner calls this period in a child's development the 'Rubicon' because it is during this time that one developmental stage is brought to fulfillment and the maturing person irretrievably leaves behind his or her childhood." — Michaela Glöckler, RUBICON, p. 15.
On average, according to Waldorf doctrine, children cross the Rubicon at age nine, although some children may do so as early as age seven or as late as age twelve.
Believing that a crucial developmental stage occurs around age nine has important implications for Waldorf belief about the deaths of children. Before s/he crosses the Rubicon, a child has not truly incarnated on Earth, Steiner taught. The young child retains close ties to the spirit realm, the realm from which s/he descended at the moment of Earthly birth. When a young child dies, therefore, s/he essentially returns to her true home, the spirit realm. Our sorrow at the child's death should be moderated by this consoling thought.
Here are some of Steiner's indications on these matters:
"[O]nly at this point in time, between the ninth and tenth years of life, is there a real detachment of the 'I' and the astral body from the etheric and physical bodies during sleep. [4] For some children it will be earlier or later, but the average is between ages 9 and 10 ... [C]hildren who die before this point...have something that has separated them very little from the spirit-soul world which they went through between death and a new birth. [5] These children are relatively easily pulled back into the spirit-soul world [6] ... A child that is present before us before this point in time between ages 9 and 10 embodies the physical-soul aspect and the spiritual-soul aspect much less separately than is the case later on [7] ... As a physical being, a child is much more of a soul-being than the later adult. During the growth period, the soul forces still thoroughly hold sway in the physical body of a child [8] ... [I]n the early years of life, a child [who dies] will be 'thrown back' to an earlier existence [9]; after this phase of life, a human being is separated from the previous life [10]...." — Rudolf Steiner, RUBICON, pp. 26-27.
All in all, then, the death of a young child is not really a very sad event. The child simply returns to the spirit realm and resumes her happy life there.
Not everyone would be consoled by such reasoning, but Steiner's followers generally are consoled. And for this reason, Steiner's followers may have little hesitation deciding to spare children the pain of vaccination.
◊
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See "Chickenpox, Black Magic, and Waldorf", November 6, 2018, and the succeeding coverage.
[2] See "Chickenpox, Black Magic, and Waldorf - Part 4", November 9, 2018. Chickenpox is usually mild; children usually come through it without suffering severe damage. In a minority of cases, however, serious complications arise. And, in rare instances, children die of the disease. If your child were hospitalized due to chickenpox, presumably you would consider it a serious matter. And if your child died from chickenpox, you would presumably know that chickenpox is a serious disease. You would presumably know, then, that children should be vaccinated against chickenpox.
[3] The Rubicon is a river Julius Caesar and his army crossed when Caesar made a fateful decision. In common usage, "crossing the Rubicon" refers to taking step from which there is no turning back. [See "crossing the Rubicon" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[4] According to Steiner, fully incarnated human beings have four bodies, three of which are invisible. [See "Incarnation".] Steiner taught that, among adults, the higher two bodies — the astral body and the 'I' — return to the spirit realm at night, while the lower two bodies — the physical and etheric bodies — remain on Earth. Among very young children, however, the process of Earthly incarnation is incomplete. Steiner said. A young child is still fundamentally a spiritual being for whom various constitutional components have not yet become distinct and separate. (The child still effectively lives, all the time, in or near the spirit realm.)
[5] I.e., young children are still closely connected to the spirit realm, the realm they lived in between their most recent deaths and rebirths. (Reincarnation is a key Anthroposophical doctrine. A young child is actually an old spirit, in a sense — s/he has had many previous lives on Earth and also in the spirit realm. After s/he died at the end of a recent Earthly life, s/he went to the spirit realm where s/he lived a while before coming back down to Earth for a new life here.)
[6] I.e., a young child who dies on Earth returns easily and painlessly to the spirit realm. (Steiner refers to the spirit realm, here, as the "spirit-soul world," because he distinguished between spirit and soul. [See the entries for these terms in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.] More often, Steiner taught that there are actually two "higher worlds" above the physical world — the soul world and the spirit world. Together, these may be understood as comprising the spirit realm. [See "Higher Worlds".])
[7] Steiner sometimes described human beings on Earth as having three major components: a physical component, a soul component, and a spirit component. Here he says that among young children, the three parts are still intermingled (there is little separation between the physical body, the soul, and the spirit).
[8] I.e., a child consists more of soul than physicality — soul forces still dominate within the physical body of a child. (So the physical death of a child is less difficult than the death of an adult — there is less strain when a child separates from her physical body.)
[9] I.e., a child who dies will return to the life s/he had previously in the spirit realm. (The child had not yet really left that life, because s/he had not yet fully incarnated on Earth.)
[10] I.e., only after crossing the Rubicon does a human being become genuinely separated from the previous life in the spirit realm.
— R.R.
November 4, 2018
INCARNATION, MEDITATION,
GODS, AND WALDORF TEACHERS
A fascinating book from the Rudolf Steiner College Press is available again, after apparently being out of print for a while. Written by a Waldorf teacher, the book provides further evidence that the occult fantasies of Rudolf Steiner — taken as profound spiritual wisdom by his followers — continue to inform Waldorf education in the 21st century.
The book is THE UNIQUENESS OF WALDORF EDUCATION (Rudolf Steiner College Press, 2015), by Astrid Schmitt-Stegmann. It is available through the Rudolf Steiner College Bookstore [see https://rscbookstore.com/products/the-uniqueness-of-waldorf-education]. In addition to working as a Waldorf teacher, Schmitt-Stegmann has served on the faculty of Rudolf Steiner College.
[Rudolf Steiner College Press]
Here are a few excerpts from the book. (I have added some explanatory footnotes.)
According to Schmitt-Stegmann, an important goal for Waldorf teachers is helping students to incarnate successfully on Earth. Children have both souls and spirits, Anthroposophists believe. [1] Schmitt-Stegmann says Waldorf teachers should ensure that kids’ souls and spirits incarnate fully and harmoniously, interpenetrating each other:
"The task of the Waldorf teacher then clearly is to assist in this process of interpenetration of the two different entities [soul and spirit]." — THE UNIQUENESS OF WALDORF EDUCATION, p. 68.
Schmitt-Stegmann identifies two situations Waldorf teachers must work to correct. Some children fail to incarnate fully (they don't descend far enough into the physical body), while others incarnate too much (they descend too far into the physical body). [2]
"[The] child needs to make a good connection with the physical body … The harmonious connection [between soul, spirit, and body] can fail in two directions. On the one hand, the soul and spirit may not connect well enough with the body, remaining outside [3] … The second way a harmonious connection can fail to come about is when the soul and spirit are drawn too deeply into the physical body [4]…." — THE UNIQUENESS OF WALDORF EDUCATION, pp. 68-71.
The issue of incarnation is crucial in Waldorf education. Schmitt-Stegmann gives specific recommendations on how to deal with insufficiently incarnated students and excessively incarnated students. [5] So, for instance, insufficiently incarnated kids tend to be dreamy and inattentive. Schmitt-Stegmann provides guidance such as the following for helping these students:
"Artistic work is ideal for a dreamy child ... Any art or craft using the hands, bringing attention to the work of the hands, is already an incarnating process. Writing or drawing with their feet will bring their attention...all the way down to their feet....
"In addition, tasks in the classroom such as watering plants, sweeping the floor, washing the counters, emptying the trash, and so on are excellent challenges for the child [who is] not sufficiently incarnated...." — THE UNIQUENESS OF WALDORF EDUCATION, pp. 70-71.
Schmitt-Stegmann gives comparable recommendations for helping children who have plunged too deeply into material existence. [6]
◊
The most important, and revealing, part of the book is the last: "Part III: The path of the Waldorf teacher". Here, Schmitt-Stegmann stresses the crucial role played by contemplation and meditation in the life of a Waldorf teacher. Teachers in Waldorf schools should make "inner work" part of their daily routine. [7]
"The teacher's inner life[:] ... Rudolf Steiner considered contemplative, meditative practice to be part of the Waldorf teachers' daily work ... As teachers, we should discover [the] higher Self in us, for this is the selfless self, capable of working for the common good, while our self-seeking, self-interested self is what needs to be transformed!" — THE UNIQUENESS OF WALDORF EDUCATION, p. 154.
Seeking spiritual self-improvement is an unending obligation for Waldorf teachers. They need to elevate the invisible, inner parts of themselves in order to have the proper effect on their students. Thus, the teachers need to be mindful of their own etheric bodies, astral bodies, "I"s, and spirit selves. [8] According to the "Pedagogical Law" elucidated by Rudolf Steiner, each inner part of the teacher has a powerful effect on the part of the student that is one step lower. So, for instance, the etheric body of the teacher has a powerful effect on the physical body of the student. Schmitt-Stegmann summarizes the Pedagogical Law in this little chart:
Teacher..................../.. Child
The teacher's etheric body [has influence] on the child's physical body
The teacher's astral body [has influence] on the child's etheric body
The teacher's "I" [has influence] on the child's astral body
The teacher's Spirit Self [has influence] on the child's ["I"]
— THE UNIQUENESS OF WALDORF EDUCATION, p. 157.
You may be unacquainted with the inner parts we're talking about here. You may even doubt that they exist. (And you would be right.) But the key point is that Waldorf teachers believe in these inner parts, and they think the "Pedagogical Law" is unquestionably true.
Let's press ahead. Schmitt-Stegmann explains that, in order to guide their students properly, Waldorf teachers need to work in conjunction with the gods who oversee Waldorf education. The chief of these gods is Michael, the militant Archangel of the Sun. [9]
"Steiner...made clear who is the being that stands behind this education [i.e., Waldorf education]. It is Michael, who is the ruling Spirit of our Time, the one who sends his inspirations to humanity to re-spiritualize human life. This is currently a necessity in order to save humanity from another 'fall,' this time into the subterranean realm of electricity and magnetism. [10]" — THE UNIQUENESS OF WALDORF EDUCATION, p. 163.
Re-spiritualizing humanity may be taken as the ultimate goal of Anthroposophy in general [11] and Waldorf education in particular. A Waldorf faculty should convene under the guidance of gods who, spiritually speaking, stand one step and two steps higher than humanity. [12] The gods one step above us are the spirits who are usually called "angels," while the gods two steps above us are the spirits who are usually called "archangels." Each Waldorf teacher is overseen by one angel, while each Waldorf faculty jointly is overseen by a cohort of archangels. (The following passage is couched in typical, murky-mystical Waldorf jargon. I will offer a paraphrase in the footnotes.)
"We can experience the archangels in a circular sweep above the heads of the group of teachers weaving together the offering of each teacher, brought to life through the meeting with her angel, with the offering of the others in a great, uniting gesture. They form and shape what they thus weave together into a sculpted vessel. A chalice is formed above the heads of the teachers. It is composed of a special substance: it is formed out of courage. The archangels allow creative forces of inspiration to stream to the teachers for their work." [13] — THE UNIQUENESS OF WALDORF EDUCATION, p. 165.
That, dear reader, is the uniqueness of Waldorf education.
Now.
In the 21st century.
◊
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] According to Waldorf belief, souls are short-term spiritual identities that exist during a single lifetime; spirits are immortal spiritual identities that last through, and beyond, all lifetimes. [See, e.g., the entries for "soul" and "spirit" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[2] How can a Waldorf teacher know whether a child has fallen into one of these undesirable conditions? In part, through the use of clairvoyance — what Steiner called the Waldorf teacher’s consciousness. [See "The Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness".]
[3] This is the condition of insufficient incarnation.
[4] This is excessive incarnation.
[5] Two section headings in the book are "The child not incarnated enough" [p. 69] and "The child too deeply incarnated" [p.71].
[6] See pp. 69-74.
[7] In Waldorf schools, inner work may often be deemed more essential than mundane objectives such as mastering subject matter. Waldorf teachers often attempt to give their students instruction in subjects about which they, the teachers, know little. [See, e.g., "The Waldorf Curriculum".]
[8] Steiner taught that the physical body is animated by a higher, invisible body: the etheric body. Above the etheric body is the astral body, consisting of soul forces. Above the astral body is the "I" — one's unique spiritual essence. Above the "I" is the spirit self, which is the purified and transformed astral body, the reincarnating self. Above that are still other invisible, inner parts of the human constitution. [See "What We're Made Of" and "Our Parts".]
[9] See "Michael".
[10] Our first "fall" occurred in the Garden of Eden. (In Anthroposophy, this is taken as emblematic of our descent from the spirit realm to existence on the physical Earth.) We currently stand in danger of a second fall: We may slip into the clutches of the arch-demon Ahriman. Ahriman incarnates on Earth through technological devices such as televisions and computers — gizmos that use electricity and magnetism. [See "Ahriman" and "Spiders, Dragons and Foxes".]
[11] Anthroposophy is sometimes called the "School of Michael". [See, again, "Michael".]
[12] See "Polytheism".
[13] Paraphrase: A circle of archangels hovers above each Waldorf faculty. This circle weaves together the spiritual offerings made by the individual Waldorf teachers in that faculty. Each Waldorf teacher makes her/his offering in conjunction with her/his angel. All of these offerings, woven together, unite the teachers in a great gesture to the gods above. The teachers' united offerings form a spiritual vessel above the heads of the teachers — they form a spiritual chalice. The chalice is composed of the teachers' courage. Out of the chalice, the archangels pour "creative forces of inspiration" down to the teachers below.
— R.R.
October 29, 2018
ANTHROPOSOPHY AND
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
Anthroposophists today — including those who run Waldorf schools — continue to embrace Rudolf Steiner’s preachings, such as those dealing with the demonic spirits Lucifer and Ahriman. The following is from the autumn, 2018, issue of the Anthroposophical magazine, NEW VIEW:
"[A]s Steiner describes, there is no binary struggle between good and evil, but humanity must find its path by holding the balance between the powerful influences of Lucifer, on the one hand, and Ahriman (or Mammon) on the other. Christ is the being who is able to hold the balance between these, thereby also making it possible for humanity to do so. Lucifer attempts to pull us in a purely one-sidedly spiritual direction, drawing us away from the earth and our commitment both to the earth and to humanity, and attracting us through (and into) illusion and an over-great focus on the self. Ahriman attempts to bind us solely to the earth and to a one-sidedly materialistic (or technological) relationship to it, rejecting spiritual realities, and attracting us through (and into) lies, deception and power and an over-great focus on the outer world." — Anthroposophy proponent Richard Ramsbotham, "Michaelmas and Easter, Autumn and Spring Poets, and the Adonis Mystery", NEW VIEW (issue 89, October to December, 2018), p. 28.
The triumvirate of Lucifer, Ahriman, and Christ does indeed loom large in Anthroposophy. The Anthroposophical headquarters building, the cathedral called the Goetheanum [1], contains a monumental statue showing these three spirits in their proper relationship to one another.
This is the statue housed at the Goetheanum.
The standing figure is Christ, the Sun God.
Below his feet crouches Ahriman,
and above his right shoulder impends Lucifer.
There are other figures in the statue
(including a second Ahriman and a second Lucifer),
but these three represent the key paradigm
posited by Steiner.
[R.R. sketch.]
Accounting for the existence of evil is a persistent problem for theologians. How can a loving God — or, in polytheistic faiths such as Anthroposophy [2], how can beneficent gods — allow evil to exist? We see horrors and atrocities, acts of wanton violence and evil, perpetrated daily in our country and in countries all around the globe. Why do the good spirits of the cosmos allow evil to run riot like this? Are they powerless to prevent it?
Steiner’s solution, as a rule, was to assert that there is really no such thing as “evil.” Rather, he said, there is imbalance. We fall into error when we become unbalanced in either of two directions. If we yield too much to the temptations of Lucifer [3], we become ensnared in a false form of spirituality. If we yield too much to the temptations of Ahriman [4], we become ensnared in excessive materialism. The solution is to follow the example of the Sun God, Christ [5], who stands between the two tempters. Through the intervention of the Sun God, we can receive the benefits of the dangerous gifts offered to us by Lucifer and Ahriman, but we will not succumb to the damage these gifts can inflict if we lose our sense of perspective and proportionality. [6]
Steiner was not entirely consistent about all of this. He often indicated that Lucifer, Ahriman, and other demons or oppositional gods are in fact evil. He sometimes spoke of evil as a real and destructive phenomenon, not merely as a loss of balance. [7] So, Steiner sometimes made statements such as the following. Evil people must be separated from good people [8], and in the future a cataclysmic war will be fought between the good and the evil.
“Consider that through evil separating from good, the good [people] will be immeasurably strengthened, and that after the great War of All against All [9] the good [people] will have to make every possible effort to salvage and rescue the evil [people], during the period in which this will still be possible.” — Rudolf Steiner, EVIL (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998), p. 194.
A statement like this has real meaning only if good and evil are real, and opposite, phenomena. Logically speaking, this means that evil does actually exist — it is not merely a type of imbalance.
At a minimum, Anthroposophists believe, we should realize that Lucifer, Ahriman, and other dark spirits have intentions that certainly seem evil. Ahriman, in particular, is a dreadful figure in Anthroposophy.
A bust of Ahriman by Steiner.
There can be little doubt that
this represents an "evil" figure.
[R.R. sketch.]
Ahriman wishes us ill. Steiner taught that when humans seek to reach moral, spiritual levels of existence, we must overcome Ahriman. This was true for ancient spiritual aspirants, and it remains true for us now.
"[We face] the spiritual opposition of Ahriman — who sought (and seeks) to keep people bound to the outer material phenomena and to prevent them passing through these to the deeper spiritual realities of which they are the physical expression.” — Richard Ramsbotham, NEW VIEW (issue 89), p. 29.
Ahriman “sought” to hinder us, and he still “seeks” to do so now. Much of the evil in the world today, Anthroposophists believe, has been produced by Ahriman, who seduces humanity into a deeply materialistic existence, bound up with earthly matters and divorced from the spirit realm.
It is up to each individual to decide whether Anthroposophical teachings about the nature and sources of evil make sense. The Anthroposophical view of evil hinges on belief in the Sun God, Lucifer, and Ahriman. Only if you believe in these beings will you find much wisdom or comfort in Anthroposophical dogma.
Many people would say the Anthroposophical view is both unrealistic and useless. It does not describe the real world, and thus it is useless to us as we confront the problems that must be resolved in the real world. Nevertheless, Anthroposophists believe Steiner, and such belief underlies much of what happens within Waldorf schools as the teachers try to steer their students through the tribulations of earthly existence. [10]
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Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See the section about the Goetheanum in "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"
[2] See "Polytheism".
[3] See "Lucifer".
[4] See "Ahriman".
[5] See "Sun God" and "Was He Christian?" One contemporary Antroposophist has written this:
"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 and its future evolution.” — Margaret Jonas, Introduction to RUDOLF STEINER SPEAKS TO THE BRITISH (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998), p. 5.
Discussing the incarnation of the Sun God on Earth, Steiner said this:
“Had Christ not appeared on the earth, had He remained the Sun-God only, humanity on the earth would have fallen into decay.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE FESTIVALS AND THEIR MEANING (Anthroposophical Publishing Company, 1958), “World-Pentecost; The Message of Anthroposophy”, GA 226.
[6] Steiner said that Christ is our prototype, our representative. We should endeavor to be like him. [See "Prototype" and "Representative/Group".]
[7] See, e.g., "Evil Ones", "Sin", and "Hell." On one occasion, speaking about current events, Steiner said this:
“[W]e are watching the battle waged by the good gods against the evil gods.” — Rudolf Steiner, KARMIC RELATIONSHIPS, Vol. II (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1974), p. 251.
[See, e.g., "Evil".]
[8] Steiner taught that spiritual evolution entails casting off backward, abnormal, and/or recalcitrant types. The most evolved individuals evolve to still higher levels, while the cast-off individuals remain behind. [See, eg., "Evolution Anyone?" and "Embedded Racism".]
[9] See "All v. All". After the War of All Against All, Steiner says, the good will endeavor to redeem the evil.
[10] See, e.g., "Soul School", "Serving the Gods", and "Spiritual Agenda".
— R.R.
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For all the installments of the "Today" series, see
"Today"
"Today 2"
"Today 3"
"Today 4"
"Today 5"
"Today 6"
"Today 7"
and
"Today 8"
o0O0o
