When Waldorf teachers tell fairy tales to their young students, they generally use versions of the stories that have been molded to embody Anthroposophical doctrines. Thus, these teachers in effect give the children religious instruction — the religion being Anthroposophy. The rationale is that, according to Rudolf Steiner, fairy tales are true, at a spiritual level: Fairy tales reflect the clairvoyant discoveries made by ancient peoples who were closer to the spirit realm than most people are today. According to Steiner, Anthroposophy revives the ancient wisdom, and it leads us to new, higher levels of spiritual wisdom now. The fairy tales told in Waldorf schools are generally meant to help young children move toward the Anthroposophical path.

Here are some of the Anthroposophical lessons Waldorf teachers try to convey through fairy tales. I will quote from Roy Wilkinson’s THE INTERPRETATION OF FAIRY TALES (Henry Goulden, 1984; reprinted by the Rudolf Steiner College Press, 1997). Roy Wilkinson was a Waldorf educator for more than 60 years. The book covers 39 fairy tales; I have selected a few of the best known. In some instances, Wilkinson offers more than one interpretation of a tale, but the variations are minor: Each interpretation lays out Anthroposophical beliefs that may be conveyed to the children.

I think you will find that the Anthroposophical interpretation of fairy tales takes us far from the meanings most parents and children normally find in the stories. The Waldorf versions also include episodes and characters that may surprise you.

For clarity, I have highlighted some of the Anthroposophical concepts set forth by Wilkinson: They appear in bold type. I have also appended brief explanations. 

— R.R.

HANSEL AND GRETEL

“The story portrays spirit and soul descending into a physical body and ascending again, enriched, to the spiritual world ... The story could also be looked upon as an initiation process. Soul and spirit  are engaged in developing higher organs ... Yet another interpretation would be to consider the story as one of human evolution. With the expulsion from Paradise the human being enters the material world. Through his experiences he regains the faculty of spiritual perception in a new way and regains his spiritual home greatly enriched.” — THE INTERPRETATION OF FAIRY TALES, pp. 13-14.

Anthroposophists believe that we have both spirits and souls. We descended to life on Earth from spiritual worlds, and we will return there. The “faculty of spiritual perception” is clairvoyance. Ancient people had this faculty; we tend not to have it now — but we can regain it, in an improved form, by following Anthroposophy. Becoming a real Anthroposophist means undergoing initiation — that is, it means entering the inner circle of spiritually enlightened humans. Part of this process entails developing invisible organs of clairvoyance, i.e., “higher organs.” All of this is wrapped up in our spiritual evolution which will lead us to become God one day. The evolution described in Anthroposophy is, obviously, quite different from Darwinian evolution.

Depending on how a teacher tells a fairy tale — the words chosen, the tone of voice, the facial expressions used, the commentary s/he adds — the children may or may not receive intimations of these doctrines. Eventually, after many, many fairy tales are told, the doctrines are generally implanted, if only at an unconscious level. These are the beliefs that trained Waldorf teachers have in mind; they are the doctrines they want their students to absorb, sooner or later, consciously or not.

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

“In human development there are certain obvious stages of development. For the first seven years of its life the child is, so to speak, carried by heavenly powers. Then a change takes place ... [W]hen Snow White is seven, it is she who is the most beautiful. She has grown into her own being to a certain extent. The significance is that a new type of human being is coming into existence ... When the queen thinks she is eating Snow White's lungs and liver, she aims at acquiring the new powers ... Snow White...wanders alone in the woods and comes to a little hut which is the home of the seven dwarfs. The significance here is that the child's soul (and the human soul in general at a certain stage) is still in connection with the elemental powers ... The negative powers now attack the developing soul ... The elemental beings can assist humans to some degree but some things are beyond their powers ... [A] higher power is needed to awaken [Snow White]. The power of the higher self, in the form of the prince, arrives ... [T]he old magical powers must die. It is the beginning of a new era."  — THE INTERPRETATION OF FAIRY TALES, pp. 16-17.

A quick gloss: ◊ “Human development,” in Anthroposophy, is the spiritual evolution described by Steiner. ◊ The “stages of development” include the three seven-year-long phases of childhood. [See "Incarnation" and "Most Significant".] ◊ The “heavenly powers” are the many gods recognized in Anthroposophy. Steiner taught that young children, after incarnating on Earth, remain in contact with the gods (they are "carried by heavenly powers"). ◊ In Anthroposophical belief, at age seven a child incarnates its etheric body. [See "Incarnation".] This is a key turning point, a major transition. At a higher level, Snow White is evolving to become a more spiritualized, more advanced human being possessing new spiritual powers. This is the journey that the maturing child should ultimately take: becoming, truly, a "new type of human being." ◊ The Queen wants to gain the new powers possessed by Snow White; she thinks she will get them by eating Snow White’s organs. (Snow White, of course, escapes.) ◊ In Waldorf belief, dwarves or gnomes really exist. They are a type of nature spirit or elemental being. [See “Gnomes” and “Neutered Nature”.] ◊ Steiner taught that elemental beings are amoral. Far more "negative" are various demons. [See "Beings" and "Evil Ones".] ◊ The basic narrative of Anthroposophy traces our evolution into new historical epochs; over and over, "It is the beginning of a new era." The death of the Queen/witch shows human spiritual evolution, as we set aside old powers ("the old magical powers") and move toward our new, higher powers. ◊ The handsome prince who awakens Snow White embodies the "higher power" of the evolved human spiritual ego, the transformed Self.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

“In the picture of the little girl with the red covering on her head is the ego-conscious soul. The grandmother represents old forces and ancient wisdom which are fading. Red Riding Hood seeks wisdom but has new forces of cognition. She is the bearer of cake and wine but the story becomes more significant if we think of bread and wine. A renewal of wisdom is signified through the Christ impulse. However, there is distraction brought about by the dark forces of materialism, represented by the wolf ... The dark powers seek to destroy cosmic wisdom and put themselves in its place." — Ibid., p. 19.

Red Riding Hood represents "the ego-conscious soul." The ego, according to Steiner, is the highest of the three invisible bodies each of us has in addition to a visible, physical body. Our evolution entails developing higher and higher states of consciousness. Fundamental to this process is the consciousness of oneself as an "I" or "ego." (In Anthroposophy, the "ego" is a spiritual concept, not to be confused with the "ego" of Freudian psychology).

Anthroposophists honor the ancients, who were presumably in tune with the spirit worlds. But ancient wisdom is fading, Steiner taught. Presently, dark powers threaten to overwhelm humanity: the powers of materialism and false belief, exemplified by the demons Ahriman and Lucifer. These dark powers will rule the world if the good powers of Anthroposophy do not prevail. The cosmic wisdom offered by Anthroposophy comes through the "new forces of cognition": the new, improved, "exact" clairvoyance developed by Steiner. Christ was crucially important in showing us the right direction: He is the Sun God, who came to earth to become our prototype, the model for the new type of human being that is evolving. This is the "impulse" Christ gave us.

(You should note that in his comments on this fairy tale, Wilkinson clearly plays fast and loose. In the story, Red Riding Hood brings cake and wine. Wilkinson suggests changing this in our minds to bread and wine, since this accords better with Christian communion. Do not be misled, however: Anthroposophy is not really Christian. If you are uncertain about this, go back over the Anthroposophical concepts we have already seen and ask yourself whether you would hear of such things in a Christian church. Some, yes. Others, certainly not. How many Christian priests or ministers would agree, for instance, that Christ is the Sun God who helps us to evolve through reincarnation?)

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

“[Jack] symbolizes a soul cut off from the spiritual world, with no direction. He is, however, open to new influences ... [T]he beans are intended to represent a consolidating effect on Jack who then becomes steadier and has the impulse to climb the beanstalk, i.e., to seek a higher world ... Jack succeeds in getting the hen that lays the golden eggs and bringing it back home, signifying that he brings a spiritual treasure to the earth. (Golden = spiritual.) [sic] An egg is a new beginning. The golden egg on earth is the beginning of a new stage of evolution." — Ibid., p. 29.

Once again we see Wilkinson wrenching a tale, forcing it to conform to his belief system. Steiner did this as well, to a far greater degree. Anthroposophy consists of fairy tales, myths, superstitions, and religious teachings gleaned from many sources, and most have been twisted out of their original form.

Anthroposophy teaches that our true home is the spiritual realm or "world," which actually consists of several "worlds." In one of his self-published pamphlets, Wilkinson says that the worlds above us "can be equated with the planetary spheres" described in astrology. — Roy Wilkinson, THE HOSTS OF HEAVEN (Roy Wilkinson, PRT Offset Limited, ~1980), p. 16. Steiner prescribes steps for learning about the higher worlds in his book, KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT (Anthroposophic Press, 1944). [See "Knowing the Worlds".]

It is obviously debatable whether "Jack and the Beanstalk" is really about attaining "a new stage of evolution" or, as Wilkinson says in his subtitle for the tale, "The Quest for Spiritual Knowledge." It is equally debatable whether "golden" means "spiritual" and whether the hen that lays golden eggs signifies "spiritual treasure" (i.e., knowledge of higher worlds). But to make the tale consistent with Anthroposophy, this is what Wilkinson claims, and it is what many Waldorf teachers will have in mind when they tell the tale to their young charges.

CINDERELLA

“The picture of the dying woman [i.e., Cinderella's mother] portrays the loss of ancient spiritual wisdom ... When the child [i.e., Cinderella] visits the grave it signifies a subconscious belief in the spiritual world or, that [sic] in its inmost depths, the soul retains memory of [the spiritual world] ... The "dead" can influence the living ... The old powers of spiritual perception are gone. To attain to the spiritual world the soul must undergo trials and purification. Then it may unite with the higher self ... The true egoseeks to unite with the purified soul." — Ibid., pp. 37-38. 

You may not recognize the popular story of Cinderella in Wilkinson's comments, but this is how the tale is perceived in the Waldorf universe. We have seen some of the highlighted concepts already; I won't repeat myself about them. But in addition to the ego, ancient spiritual wisdom, and spiritual perception (clairvoyance), we find the following:

According to Waldorf belief, children are born with memories of their past lives in the spirit realm. True-blue Waldorf schooling aims to keep the kids young so they can retain these memories. Maintaining contact with the spirit realm is helpful as we undergo the purifying trials of Earthly life, and it aids us in evolving into our truer, better selves. Also helpful is maintaining contact with the dead. Steiner's teachings on how to communicate with the dead are presented in such works as STAYING CONNECTED: How to Continue Your Relationships with Those Who Have Died (Anthroposophic Press, 1999).

SLEEPING BEAUTY

“From the starry regions the soul incarnates, bringing with it the forces of the twelve signs of the Zodiac ... With the beginning of physical maturity the light-filled world of childhood fades ... There is even an indication of an initiation process. The Prince passes through the thicket, the etheric world; he sees dogs and horses, the astral world; he comes to the court, the realms of the cosmos of archetypal man ... At one time mankind was in direct contact with the spiritual world and was inspired by it. Evil powers intervened, the vision was lost. Man became independent and intellectual forces developed. The darkness lasted until a time was ripe for a new impulse. The mankind reawakened." — Ibid., pp. 62-63.

Do you see the pattern that is developing? No matter what story Wilkinson discusses, he twists it to have the same meaning: Every fairy tale becomes a lesson in the doctrines of Anthroposophy. Several of the themes we have already seen are repeated here: reincarnation, the ancients' communion with the spirit realm, the child's communion with the spirit realm, astrology, initiation, and so forth.

We also find the terms "etheric" and "astral": These are tags for realms above us and also for two of our invisible bodies. The etheric world is closely connected to the physical world, and at night our etheric bodies remain on Earth with our physical bodies (or so Anthroposophists believe). The astral world is higher, and at night our astral bodies leave the Earth and travel along with our spiritual egos into the spirit worlds (or so Anthroposophists believe).

Occupying the spirit worlds are nine levels of spiritual beings or gods, who are arrayed above us. Someday we will evolve to a level above all nine: We will form our own, new, tenth level.

For the time being, however, we are on Earth, largely cut off from the spirit realm. Here, we contend with evil powers — a struggle that can be good for us, if it purifies us. We have developed intellectual powers, which have helped us to become free. But the intellect is a destructive power — we need to evolve far beyond it. Jehovah, the Moon God, once gave mankind an impulse leading upward in our spiritual evolution. Later Christ, the Sun God, gave us another such impulse. One day we will get God the Father's impulse, and we will climb higher yet. Indeed, we ourselves will become the Father. Or so Anthroposophists believe.

When Waldorf school teachers relate innocent-seeming fairy tales in class, these are the sorts of lessons they are trying to convey. Not all Waldorf teachers do this, of course. Some Waldorf teachers don't know Anthroposophical teachings well enough to understand what Wilkinson understood. But many do. As Steiner himself said, 

“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.

A quick recap: In the popular stories I have listed, Waldorf teachers find such concepts as evolution, higher worlds, multiple gods, elemental beings, reincarnation, astrology, initiation, communication with the dead, memories of life before birth, dark powers, clairvoyance, the etheric, the astral, the "Christ impulse," seven-year cycles, organs of clairvoyance, invisible human bodies, and so forth and so on.

As told in Waldorf schools, fairy tales can serve as primers in the doctrines of Anthroposophy.

Another point needs to be made. Not all Waldorf teachers are Anthroposophists. Not at first, anyway. Many may take jobs in Waldorf schools because they find the schools attractive, or because they simply need work. But once the newcomers arrive, senior Waldorf teachers such as Wilkinson — senior teachers who are deeply devoted to Anthroposophy — are likely to begin steering the newcomers to the underlying Waldorf mission and faith. One way they do this is by stressing the Anthroposophical interpretation of all subjects, including fairy tales. When a new Waldorf teacher starts to think that "Hansel and Gretel" may actually be about "spirit and soul ... the spiritual world ... initiation ... higher organs" and so on, s/he begins moving down the path toward adopting Anthroposophy as her/his personal belief system. Waldorf schools do not work only to indoctrinate students — they work to indoctrinate everyone who comes within their reach, including new faculty members. [See "Indoctrination".]

We should hear more from Steiner. Here's why fairy tales are told in Waldorf schools: The purpose is religious:

“We form a link with the knowledge of nature conveyed to children through fantasy and fairy tales. The goal is to awaken, first of all, a sense of gratitude for everything in the world. Gratitude for what others [i.e., the gods] do for us and for the gifts of nature; this guides children’s religious feeling along the right path. It is tremendously important and meaningful to develop a child’s sense of gratitude. It may seem odd, but it is a profound fact that people should learn to feel gratitude whenever the weather is favorable to our endeavors. Being able to feel gratitude to the cosmos — though only in one’s imagination — deepens all our feelings in a religious sense.” — Rudolf Steiner, A MODERN ART OF EDUCATION (Anthroposophic Press, 2004), pp. 166-167.

It's also well to remember that fairies and the other beings who appear in fairy tales really exist:

"Whereas it is our physical body that connects us with the realm of physical becoming, our brain connects us with certain elemental beings...the elemental beings of the myths and sagas. There they are called elves, fairies, and so on.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE RIDDLE OF HUMANITY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1990), lecture 5, GA 170.

Key fact: Rudolf Steiner believed that fairies are genuine (actual, real), and his followers believe so today:

“That fairyland and its denizens should be as much a concern of scientists as they have long been of poets and painters and storytellers was one of Steiner’s deep convictions. For he was a close observer of their life and work, and it was clear to him that they were of profound importance to the earth.” — Waldorf educator Marjorie Spock, FAIRY WORLDS AND WORKERS (SteinerBooks, 2013), p. 3. (The book’s dedication: “In memory of RUDOLF STEINER who understood so well the living forces behind Nature.”)

At least some Waldorf teachers have a thoroughly superstitious belief in the potency of fairy tales. It is hard to know how to respond to a statement such as the following. It speaks for itself.

"I was deeply impressed when I heard of a mother in England who, in line with her honest belief in pure scientific thinking, deprived her little daughter of all fairy tales with the result that the child became seriously ill in spite of all the physical care that was given her, and it was said that the child recovered only on account of the fairy tales which her nurse was finally allowed to tell her." — Waldorf teacher William Harrer, "The Value of Grimm's Fairy Tales", THE ONLINE WALDORF LIBRARY, downloaded Nov. 3, 2014.

Waldorf teachers recommend various collections of fairy tales to one another. Particularly valued are the "colored" Fairy Books (Yellow, Brown, Blue, Green...) edited by Andrew Lang (Dover Publications, New York). 

One virtue of these books is that Lang thinks this:

"[He] thinks that there are certainly fairies, though he confesses that he has never seen any himself. He does claim that he knows people who have actually seen fairies and heard their music." — Recommendation from the Detroit Waldorf School, Waldorf Clearing House Newsletter (Waldorf School of Adelphi University, spring 1969), p. 4.

Fairy tales told in Waldorf schools often retain the grisly details emphasized by the Brothers Grimm. Wilkinson defends this: 

"Some people object to the apparently 'horrible' which occurs from time to time in the fairy stories. One can sympathize with this point of view and wish that everything in the world were roses and honey. Unfortunately there are negative forces and the child who is prevented from experiencing these will grow up without a sense of reality." — Roy Wilkinson, THE INTERPRETATION OF FAIRY TALES, p. 11.

There is some truth in Wilkinson's statement, although Waldorf schools hardly offer children "a sense of reality" — the schools lure children into a fantasy universe. In any event, parents who are considering Waldorf schools for their kids should realize that, despite appearances, the schools may not truly offer refuge from the harshness of life in the wide, rough-and-tumble world. There is much harshness within the Waldorf universe. Think of the Norse myths that are so celebrated in Waldorfs: They are extraordinarily violent. [See "The Gods".] Or consider Steiner's doctrines about demons, dark forces, warfare, black magic, hidden conspiracies, people who are not really human, etc. [See such pages as "Evil Ones", "Steiner's Bile", "Double Trouble", "War", "Violence", and "All v. All".]

Waldorf teachers find various other ways 

of sneaking Anthroposophy into Waldorf classes.

See, e.g., "Sneaking It In".

— Compilation and commentary by Roger Rawlings

A different universe.

[R.R.]