Detail from a drawing by a Waldorf student. 

[Courtesy of People for Legal and Nonsectarian Schools.]

Demeter farms — named for the ancient Greek goddess of grains and fertility — operate in accordance with Rudolf Steiner's biodynamic teachings. Demeter International is a certifying authority that verifies the bona fides of agricultural operations that claim to be biodynamic. See http://www.demeter.net/.  

◊ "'Biodynamic' is a trademark held by the 'Demeter' organization." — Henk van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Sophia Books, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 13.

◊ "Organized anthroposophist groups are often best known through their far-flung network of public institutions. The most popular of these is probably the Waldorf school movement, with several hundred branches worldwide, followed by the biodynamic agriculture movement, which is especially active in Germany and the United States. Other well-known anthroposophist projects include Weleda cosmetics and pharmaceuticals and the Demeter brand of health food products... 

"In light of this broad public exposure, it is perhaps surprising that the ideological underpinnings of anthroposophy are not better known. Anthroposophists themselves, however, view their highly esoteric doctrine as an "occult science" suitable only for a spiritually enlightened elite. The very name "anthroposophy" suggests to many outsiders a humanist orientation. But anthroposophy is in fact a deeply anti-humanist worldview, which is why humanists like Ernst Bloch opposed it from the beginning.◊ Its rejection of reason in favor of mystical experience, its subordination of human action to supernatural forces, and its thoroughly hierarchical model of spiritual development all mark anthroposophy as inimical to humanist values." — Peter Staudenmaier, "Anthroposophy and Ecofascism".

According to Steiner, the growth of plants hinges on the activities of nature spirits — incorporeal beings that live inside the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Gnomes are the nature spirits of the earth. The nature spirits of the air are sylphs, those of fire are fire-spirits or salamanders, and those of water are undines. 

“And so we picture, from below upwards, in bluish, blackish shades the force of gravity, to which an upward impulse is given by the gnomes; and flitting all around the plant...[is] the undine power that blends and disperses substances as the plant grows upwards. From above downwards, from the sylphs, light is made to leave its imprint in the plant and molds and creates the form which descends as an ideal form and is taken up by the material womb of the earth; moreover fire spirits flit around the plant and concentrate cosmic warmth in tiny seed points. This is sent down to the gnomes together with the seed power, so that down there they can cause the plants to arise out of fire and life." — Rudolf Steiner, HARMONY OF THE CREATIVE WORD (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2001), pp. 125-126. 

[R.R. sketch, 2009. 

There is no plant in my sketch because 

there is none in the book's.]

Waldorf schools often have biodynamic garden plots,

which may produce food for the cafeteria.

Students are often required to work in these gardens.

"[G]arden work should be an obligatory addition to the lessons."

— Rudolf Steiner, quoted by Rudolf Krause in 

GARDENING CLASSES AT THE WALDORF SCHOOLS

(Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association, 1992), p. 2.

Perhaps a better translation:

"The gardening class is an obligatory part of the education."

— Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER

(Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 65.

Possibly you do not realize that the Earth is a huge, dead human head. 

“[W]hen we look inside the head, we find dying matter ... Once we have penetrated this hard, lifeless skin and reached the brain, we find in it fossilization everywhere, just as we do upon the surface of the earth ... [T]he earth is a huge human head, indeed, a huge, dead human head." — Rudolf Steiner, FROM CRYSTALS TO CROCODILES (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2002, pp. 148-149. 

[R. R. sketch, 2009, based on the illustration on p. 148. 

On the left, a cross section of a bit of human skull; 

on the right, a cross section of a bit of terra firma. 

Amazing, hm?]

"[A]fter reading Steiner, I conclude that Rudolf Steiner was a complete nutcase, a flimflam man with a tremendous imagination, a combination if you will, of an LSD-dropping Timothy Leary with the showmanship of a P.T. Barnum. His books, writings and lectures should be catalogued under 'science fiction' because there is not a scintilla of truth in any of his writings. Reading Steiner is tough sledding because it makes no sense in our real world, yet when viewed as 'science fiction' masquerading as some sort of Jim Jones new age cult you are forced to admit that Steiner was extremely clever and creative in actually making this stuff up. Unfortunately, it is quite sad that someone — anyone — would actually believe in this hoax and profoundly disturbing that the Biodynamic movement is gaining ground." — Stuart Smith, "Biodynamics Is a Hoax" [http://biodynamicshoax.wordpress.com/]

Biodynamic farms are sometimes described as places of sweetness and light, tinged just a bit — innocently, charmingly — by superstition and foolishness. If only it were so. The reality is less sweet and less light. Biodynamic agriculture requires the use of animal body parts, including horns, skulls, intestines, and mesentery. To harvest body parts, biodynamic farmers must, at least occasionally, slaughter animals.

Of course, animals are killed on most farms of most sorts, and it appears that biodynamic farmers slaughter their animals much as other farmers do — they kill the animals for meat, either to consume it or to sell it. The difference is that biodynamic farmers take the extra step of saving the “magical” body parts of the animals they kill. [12] It is unclear whether biodynamic farmers ever kill animals exclusively to harvest body parts.

Most people eat meat and, therefore, they raise few objections to the way animals are treated on farms, including biodynamic farms. But strict vegetarians and animals’ rights advocates should take note: The foods produced at biodynamic farms result from practices that are bound up with the killing of animals and the use of animal body parts. If this appalls you, you should buy your groceries from other providers. (Conventional organic growers do not need bits and pieces of animals for sorcery.)

Parents of Waldorf students may also want to mull over this subject. If a Waldorf school maintains a biodynamic garden, the slaughtering of animals lurks in the background. The children will surely never be instructed to kill any animals, and they probably will not handle animal body parts. Indeed, the children probably will never see a scene like the one shown below — unless they visit a biodynamic farming operation, in which case they may. Biodynamic agriculture is both less, and more, than meets the eye.

— Roger Rawlings

Here is an excerpt from

a report that first appeared

in SF WEEKLY

on November 19, 2008:

“Voodoo on the Vine”

by Joe Eskenazi

https://www.sfweekly.com/dining/voodoo-on-the-vine/

In a remote corner of the Benziger Family Winery, you can just barely hear the tour guide's voice from over the adjacent ridge. Sightseers will never be led to this spot, however, and not just for the obvious reason — a series of massive compost piles emitting a smell so powerful it brings tears to the eyes. In this part of the winery, there are things tour guides would rather not explain.

One recent Friday, Colby Eierman, the vineyard's chief gardener, slowly motored his pickup past the piles. Viscous red fluid was slathered over the truck's back flap; with every bump in the road, a bovine nose protruded momentarily from the bed.

The fluid was blood. Only hours earlier it had coursed through the veins of a 1,500-pound animal; now it congealed on the liner of Eierman's truck. The bull's eyes stared serenely skyward while its majestic horns barely fit within the truck bed. A calf's head, shorn of its jaw muscles, bounced around alongside it.

When asked just what was going on, Eierman shot a glance at Jessica LaBounty, Benziger's marketing manager, who closed her eyes and gave a quick nod. The gardener proceeded to explain that the severed heads were a vital ingredient in Biodynamic Preparation No. 505: Finely ground oak bark will be placed into the cows' fresh skulls and stored in a shallow, moist hole or rain bucket throughout autumn and winter. The resultant concoction is then applied, in nearly undetectable quantities, to the gargantuan compost piles; Benziger's promotional literature claims it "stimulates the plant's immune system and promotes healing."

...Those with a vested interest in moving Biodynamic wines almost invariably use the words "natural" and "holistic" — terms that are malleable and vague.

...Clearly, Biodynamic wines' sign is ascending – even if no one involved in making or selling them wants to volunteer information about the severed cows' heads or a bevy of other animal and vegetable preparations that read like a shopping list for Shakespeare's three weird sisters. Also left unmentioned is a reliance upon provably bad science and an unabashed embrace of supernatural concepts such as astrology and even alchemy.

How to protect a farm field from field mice:

“You catch a fairly young mouse and skin it, so as to get the skin. There you have the skin of a fairly young mouse. (There are always enough mice — albeit, they must be field-mice if you wish to make this experiment). But you must obtain this skin when Venus is in the sign of Scorpio.

“Those people of olden time, you see, were not so stupid with their instinctive science! Now that we are passing [in our discussion] from plants to animals, we come to the ‘animal circle’ — that is, the ‘Zodiac.’ It was not called so in a meaningless way. To attain our end within the plant-world we stop at the planetary system. For the animal world, that is not enough. There we need ideas that reckon with the surrounding sphere of fixed stars, notably the fixed stars of the Zodiac.

“Moreover, in the growth of plants the Moon-influence is well-nigh sufficient to bring about the reproductive process. In the animal kingdom, on the other hand, the Moon-influence must be supported by that of Venus. Nay, for the animal kingdom the Moon-influence does not need to be considered very much. For the animal kingdom conserves the lunar forces; it emancipates itself from the Moon. The Moon-force is developed in the animals kingdom even when it does not happen to be full Moon. The animal carries the force of the full Moon within it, conserves it, and so emancipates itself from the limitations of time.

“This does not apply to what we have here to do; it does not apply to other planetary forces. For you must do something quite definite with the mouse-skin. At the time when Venus is in Scorpio, you obtain the skin of a mouse and burn it. Carefully collect the ash and other constituents that remain from the burning. It will not be much, but if you have a number of mice, it will be enough. You can easily get enough.

“Thus you obtain your burned mouse-skin at the time when Venus is in Scorpio. And there remains, in what is thus destroyed by the fire, the corresponding negative force as against the reproductive power of the field-mouse. Take the pepper you get in this way, and sprinkle it over your fields. In some districts it may be difficult to carry out; then you can afford to do it even more homeopathically; you do not need a whole plateful.

“Provided it has been led through the fire at the high conjunction of Venus and Scorpio, you will find this an excellent remedy. Henceforth, your mice will avoid the field.”

— Rudolf Steiner, AGRICULTURE COURSE 

(Rudolf Steiner Press, 1958), p. 113.

July/August, 2021

From SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, The Magazine for Science and Reason:

"An early example of the spiritual approach to the environment was biodynamic farming, which dates back to 1924 when Austrian philosopher and self-declared psychic Rudolf Steiner gave a series of lectures in the German city of Breslau on a new discipline he called 'anthroposophy.' Steiner was interested in improving agricultural yields without damaging the environment. What he wasn’t interested in was investigating this important cause with science or even basic logic. Anyone masochistic enough to read his lectures will find themselves swallowing an indigestible word salad. In a single sentence, Steiner appeals to astrology, radiation, ether, and the metabolism of cows to explain the workings of anthroposophy. Elsewhere, he discusses the imagined effects of cosmic forces, karma, and 'moon rays' on the life force of plants and animals, which he believes are at the heart of environmental and agricultural processes. Ultimately, Steiner argues—without a shred of evidence—that the earth is home to a range of mystical and magical forces and that agriculture can be revolutionized by harnessing these forces (Steiner 2007).

"Steiner’s lectures were a hit. Although he died just a few months later, a small but dedicated following continued his teachings under the new name of biodynamics. People were attracted to it for various reasons. Those wary of modern agricultural methods were drawn to its disdain for industrialization. Those left cold by the sterility and order of the modern world found comfort in its pseudo-pagan mysticism. In truth, there was nothing venerable about biodynamic farming. Despite his frequent allusions to ancient wisdom, Steiner invented his anthroposophical worldview entirely from scratch in the 1920s.

"So how does biodynamic farming work? Well, in short, it doesn’t. Biodynamic farmers attempt to enhance a farm’s life force by applying potions, known as 'preparations,' to the soil, either directly or by mixing it into manure before spreading. These preparations are invariably concocted by subjecting natural substances to a series of bizarre, lengthy processes. One requires cow manure to be stuffed into a cow horn and then buried fifty centimeters underground for an entire winter. Another asks for a deer bladder to be bunged with yarrow blossoms and left out in the summer sun. And even if the resulting potions did somehow work, biodynamic farming guarantees its own uselessness by insisting that preparations should be applied in homeopathic amounts, with some processes asking for as little as one gram of potion per ten tons of manure (Dunning 2007). As Steiner himself confessed: 'To our modern way of thinking, this all sounds quite insane' (qtd. in Barton 2018)."

— David Mountain, "Environmentalism and the Fringe", 

SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Volume 45, No. 4, July/August 2021.

AFTERWORD

by Dan Dugan

On December 2, 2008, Dan Dugan posted the following message

at the Waldorf Critics discussion list. 

I have reprinted it here by permission. — R.R.

A recent fund-raising mailing from the Fellowship Community in Chestnut Ridge, NY (an Anthroposophical elder care facility) included a celebration of the life of Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, one of the founders of biodynamic agriculture. It reads (in part):

“In 1899, on the last day of the ‘dark Age’, [sic] a boy was born in southern Germany; he died in 1961 at the Threefold Community. [13] He was a very sensitive child and youth. He had an exceptionally close relationship with the life of nature. He grew up to become involved in WW I and was later guided through university training by Rudolf Steiner. His curriculum was daunting with an emphasis on chemistry in nature and in the human being. His purpose in life became the performance of the necessary research work to make evident the life forces working in nature and in the human being. He was one of the first adventurers to advocate and experiment with birthing Bio-Dynamics. In the late 1930's, he received an honorary medical doctorate from Hahneman Medical College for his work with the crystallographic revelation of the formative forces at work in the earth, in minerals, plants, animals, and in the cosmos. The Organic Movement in this country was born at his doorstep....”

The “dark age” referred to is the Kali Yuga of Anthroposophical myth. [14] In my estimation, rather than having ended, a dark age is developing now with a worldwide shift from scientific to magical thinking.

The “necessary research work to make evident the life forces” points up the antique scientific method that Steiner taught and Anthroposophists follow. Nineteenth-century scientists worked to “prove” their hypotheses by finding evidence that tended to support them. Twentieth-century science (especially since Karl Popper) learned that such a method is unreliable — it is better to challenge hypotheses as rigorously as possible.

Pfeiffer's “sensitive crystallization” procedure is the main biological and chemical analysis technique used in biodynamics and Anthroposophical medicine. Reading the highly random patterns formed during crystallization of a salt in solution with the substance being tested (blood, for example) is like reading tea leaves. Random data is an essential input for quack scientific methods — you can see anything you want in it.

Pfeiffer was an effusive hagiographer of Steiner, and he is now celebrated as one of the master's successors.

For statements Steiner made about magic and witchcraft,

 see "Magic".

For some other pertinent comments,

 see "Superstition".

More on gnomes and plants:

“The plant gathers the secrets of the universe, sinks them into the ground, and the gnomes take these secrets into themselves from what seeps down spiritually to them through the plants. And because the gnomes, particularly from autumn on and through the winter, in their wanderings through ore and rock bear with them what has filtered down to them through the plants, they become those beings within the earth which, as they wander, carry the ideas of the whole universe streaming throughout the earth. We look forth into the wide world. The world is built from universal spirit; it is an embodiment of universal ideas, of universal spirit. The gnomes receive through the plants, which to them are the same as rays of light are to us, the ideas of the universe, and within the earth carry them in full consciousness from metal to metal, from rock to rock.” — Rudolf Steiner, AGRICULTURE (Sophia Books, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2003), p. 154.

[Detail from a drawing by Susanne A. Mitchell,

in LIPUTTO 

(Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 1999).]

“Liputto is a mountain flower-root gnome ... In the summer he helps the flowers grow and when they bloom he pulls the sunlight down through the roots into the  earth. That’s how there got to be sundrops in the earth ... Liputto and many ofther gnomes carried sundrops deeper into the earth and divided their rays ... Mother Earth needs many sundrops, so that in the spring everything can grow ... A gnome master told all this to Liputto: 'Blue flowers drip blue light into the deep, red flowers — red light....'” — Jacob Streit LIPUTTO — Stories of Gnomes and Trolls (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 1999), p. 15.

Waldorf teachers find many ways to convey 

Anthroposophical beliefs to their students 

— including belief in gnomes.

[See, e.g., "Clearing House" and "Sneaking It In".]

In his 2010 PhD dissertation "Between Occultism and Fascism: Anthroposophy and the Politics of Race and Nation in Germany and Italy, 1900-1945", Peter Staudenmaier explores the ties and also the conflicts between Anthroposophy and Nazism. Some Nazi leaders looked favorably on Anthroposophy while others vigorously opposed it. The latter group ultimately prevailed and Anthroposophy was driven underground.

Biodynamic agriculture was held in special esteem during the Third Reich — several Nazi leaders, including Hitler, favored natural, organic, and/or vegetarian diets. 

"Despite ongoing opposition [from some quarters], the biodynamic movement flourished between 1933 and 1941, garnering praise from an extraordinary range of leading Nazis and winning supporters and advocates in several branches of the regime." — Peter Staudenmaier, BETWEEN OCCULTISM AND NAZISM (Brill, 2014), p. 129 There were biodynamic plantations throughout Germany and the occupied countries, including at concentration camps such as Auschwitz, Dachau, and Ravensbrük.

The produce from these plantations went primarily to "loyal" Germans, not to the camp inmates.

It is presumably not Anthroposophy's fault if some Nazis accepted some Anthroposophical doctrines. Yet, indeed, some highly placed Nazis did. I quote the following for whatever it may tell us — little or much — about the years when two Austrian Germans, Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Steiner, made significant impact on Germany and the world. Conventional history would indicate that Hitler's influence was far greater and, of course, far worse. Anthroposophists would likely argue that before all is said and done, Steiner's impact will be far greater and, of course, far better.

"In the realm of agriculture, the new school of anthroposophy led by Rudolf Steiner suggested that plants and the soil had to be handled in accordance with magnetic laws of the cosmos. Artificial fertilizers were condemned because they threatened the organic unit [sic: unity?] of man and nature ... [T]he official Nazi line condemned anthroposophical [i.e., biodynamic] farming ... [But the] Nazis' stand on anthroposophical farming was not uniform ... [Some] leading Nazis supported organic farming and saw a link between environmental purity and racial purity. Hitler and Himmler themselves were vegetarians, and during the Third Reich experimental organic farms were set up and used to supply the SS [the Nazi security force that ran concentration or death camps]. Jost Hermand even talks about a "green wing" of the Nazi Party that included ... Richard Darré, also Rudolf Hess, Fritz Todt, and Alwin Seifert ... Yet Darré remained skeptical of Steiner and treated biodynamic farming more as an intriguing theoretical possibility than anything else ... Only after the war and his release from prison in 1950 did he show commitment to anthroposophical ideas and new anthroposophical circles." — Brüggemeier, Cioc, and Zeller, editors, HOW GREEN WERE THE NAZIS? (Ohio University Press, 2005), pp. 138-139.

"Seifert [a proto-Green Nazi leader] was constantly trying to extend his influence ... With [Deputy Führer Rudolf] Hess he shared an interest in Steiner's methods of "biologic-dynamic" [sic] agriculture. Seifert designed a garden for Hess's private home and bragged to a colleague that he would do likewise for Hitler "after the war" ... [H]e acted as a go-between for the Anthroposophical Society and the Nazi state; while anthroposophical societies were banned for some time after 1933, biodynamic farming flourished. Only after Hess's flight to England were all anthroposophical institutions, including the Steiner schools, outlawed."— Ibid., pp. 156-157.

From the Waldorf Watch News:

April 15, 2018

ASTROLOGY, SUPERSTITION, 

AND SNACKS   

From The European Scientist:

Biodynamics; a very strange concept.

By Jean-Charles Estoppey

These days biodynamic agriculture is often assumed to be a standard of excellence in agriculture or viticulture, although it widely misunderstood by the general public, who presume it to be a category of organic farming. However, while the aims may be similar, the differences on a theoretical level are fundamental, and surprising to say the least!

Biodynamics, derived from anthroposophy, is a kind of occultism, supposed to harness “cosmic” and “terrestrial” forces that can be activated or controlled by herbal preparations.…

These “forces” supposedly can influence biological matter based on the constellations or the movements of the planets, according to theories similar to those of astrology….

This is a long way from classic organic farming which has nothing esoteric about it....

The founder of this theory, known as biodynamics since the 1930s, was Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian occult philosopher, who, in 1924, shortly before his death, invented it out of thin air in his study, without ever having contact with the business of agriculture and with no training in the field….

The idea of herbal preparations that could influence terrestrial and cosmic “forces” were born out of R. Seiner’s pure intuition, without any factual justification ever being claimed or produced by him or anyone else….

The main criticism of the philosophy of anthroposophy which biodynamics springs from is that the theory is based only on the “intuition” of its founder: maintaining a position opposed to scientific rationality, he always avoided having to prove his claims, which thus boiled down to certitudes which have to be taken on faith alone.…

[8/15/2018     https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/features/biodynamics-a-very-strange-concept/   This story originally appeared on April 13, 2018.]

◊

Waldorf Watch Response:

Alongside Waldorf education and Anthroposophical medicine, biodynamic agriculture is one of Rudolf Steiner's chief "achievements." Unfortunately, it stands upon ignorance and superstition — or, specifically, astrology and magic. [See "Biodynamics".]

Waldorf schools often have biodynamic gardens on their grounds. Students and teachers typically work in these gardens, producing biodynamic vegetables that are served in Waldorf meals and snacks. 

Steiner intended biodynamics to be an integral part of Waldorf schooling:

◊ "[G]arden work should be an obligatory addition to the lessons." — Rudolf Steiner, quoted by Rudolf Krause in GARDENING CLASSES AT THE WALDORF SCHOOLS (Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association, 1992), p. 2.

◊ Perhaps a better translation: "The gardening class is an obligatory part of the education." — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 65.

Belief in the efficacy of astrology and magic is linked to other mystical beliefs found both in biodynamics and in Waldorf schooling. Thus, Steiner associated plant growth with the activity of gnomes:

“The plant gathers the secrets of the universe, sinks them into the ground, and the gnomes take these secrets into themselves from what seeps down spiritually to them through the plants. And because the gnomes, particularly from autumn on and through the winter, in their wanderings through ore and rock bear with them what has filtered down to them through the plants, they become those beings within the earth which, as they wander, carry the ideas of the whole universe streaming throughout the earth. We look forth into the wide world. The world is built from universal spirit; it is an embodiment of universal ideas, of universal spirit. The gnomes receive through the plants, which to them are the same as rays of light are to us, the ideas of the universe, and within the earth carry them in full consciousness from metal to metal, from rock to rock.” — Rudolf Steiner, AGRICULTURE (Sophia Books, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2003), p. 154.

Foods produced by biodynamic methods are probably as wholeseome, generally, as foods produced by conventional organic methods. In this sense, biodynamics is less potentially harmful than Waldorf education and/or Anthroposophical medicine. But as a species of foolishness, biodynamics should nonetheless be rejected.

[For more about biodynamic agriculture, see the section on this subject at the website of People for Legal and Nonsectarian Schools: http://www.waldorfcritics.org/articles.html#biodynamic. For an introduction to Anthroposophical medicine, see "Steiner's Quackery". For more on gnomes and other "nature spirits", see "Gnomes" and "Neutered Nature". For Anthroposophical attitudes toward real science — as opposed to occult "spiritual science" — see "Science".]

— R.R.

Certainly we live in a world of intricate,

interconnected organic forces; 

it is a world, and a set of forces, we must preserve.

Our efforts to save the natural world, however,

will surely be hampered if our perception of 

the natural world is warped by occult falsehoods.

[R.R.]

Much of the news coverage of Waldorf schools is superficial — the reporters have not dug deep to learn what lies below the surface. We can't blame them, perhaps — Waldorf schools are good at hiding their beliefs and practices from outsiders. Still, it is helpful to dig. Here is a recent news account. I have appended endnotes that help explain what the reporter missed.

How does your garden grow?

ALABAMA WALDORF SCHOOL SOWS SEEDS

by Cory Bordonaro

Birmingham Weekly, August 19, 2010

As the wheels of the school bus start turning again this month, school gardening programs seem to be cropping up in curriculums all over Birmingham. Offering students hands-on lessons in farming and nutrition, several local campuses have instituted student-groomed plots.

The Alabama Waldorf School, currently located in Crestwood, is one example of a local school attempting to cultivate an attention to the earth in its students that runs deep. [15] “What I love about this [kind of education] is that the students are encouraged to have an interconnection to everything they learn,” says Michelle Lucas, third grade teacher at the Waldorf School. “It’s not shallow memorizing. [16] It’s experiencing what they learn and really taking it into themselves and finding out that they can do something with it. I think it will create active, intelligent, involved human beings.” [17]

The school’s unique learning philosophy permits teachers to tailor their curriculums to their own interests, to some extent. [18] “I’ve always been one of those people who’ve had tons of different interests,” says fourth grade teacher, Melissa Downs. “I enjoy nature and being outside, and that was just part of what we did when I was a kid: going hiking and camping and gardening. [Teaching at the Waldorf School] just really fits who I am. We don’t have textbooks. [19] Teachers are the ones that bring the information to the children and do the research first. It’s such a rich curriculum.”

The theme of a third grade year at any Waldorf School involves fostering practical skills, and here gardening and cooking are emphasized. [20] In addition to classroom time, students and teachers spend some school hours, in addition to after-school time, working their garden beds. Through the process of preparing soil, planting seeds, harvesting crops and using fresh ingredients in recipes, students gain more than just a holistic understanding of the farming system. [21] Teachers also use the activities to ingrain other lessons like mathematical principles or story writing. Last year, Downs used a grain-to-bread illustration to frame a unit on creative writing. “We walked around the garden and noticed how much the grass looked like grain. We imagined going through the process of grinding the grain, and wrote it down.” [22]

As a result of this hands-on approach to learning, students feel personally invested in what they experience at school. “It’s good for them to realize that they can make something really magical happen in the world by making something grow,” says Lucas. [23]

Of course, it’s also hard work. Not all of the students are enthusiastic about getting dirty and putting in hours of labor. But, many of them are captivated by the whole process of planting seeds. “Some of my kids were so ecstatic once [our seeds] started to grow that they would come out and talk to their plants,” Downs says. [24]

The children are not the only ones enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. With the support of some parents in the school, teachers hope to be able to join together with students to create what Downs refers to as a “Pasta Sauce Garden.” The idea is for each year’s third grade class to take ownership of the project by growing tomatoes and herbs. Not only would the students plant and harvest the fresh ingredients, the hope is that they would be able to use their goods to create and jar their very own blend of “Waldorf School Pasta Sauce” to help raise money for the school. [25]

The school is currently working a capitol campaign to raise the funds necessary to help them make a move from their present location to new school grounds located in Roebuck. While that move may be several years down the road, Downs and Lucas both have grander visions for the gardening space that the new campus will afford. In addition to that, they are already putting down roots in the surrounding area with ideas for a community garden. Allowing local residents to have plots on their grounds, according to Downs, would be “a neat way to connect with the neighborhood.” [26]

The concept fits right in with the school’s belief system. [27] For third grade students, the Waldorf School education, “is very much about learning about the world that they live in, about how community lives and how to develop a connection to the world around them,” says Lucas.

“The whole curriculum is just weaving things together,” says Downs. “It just feels so alive.” [28]

Endnotes

[1] 

“[T]he areas in which he grew up were little changed from the Middle Ages ... [H]e found himself in the mountains, among peasants whose way of life stretched unchanged into past centuries ... The peasants still maintained somewhat a clairvoyant perception of nature, and their cultural life was intimately related to the changing of the seasons and the tasks linked to what Steiner later called 'the breathing of the earth.'” — Hilmar Moore, “Rudolf Steiner: A Biographical Introduction for Farmers", BIODYNAMICS #214, November/December 1997.

Anthroposophists believe in clairvoyance. Indeed, their belief system depends on this psychic power — which is a delusion. [See "Clairvoyance".]

[2] 

“The farm is only healthy inasmuch as it provides its own manure from it own stock.” — Rudolf Steiner, AGRICULTURE COURSE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2004), p. 40.

There is little or no reason to think manure from other well-run farms should not be used.

[3] “Biodynamic agriculture,” WIKIPEDIA, 2/12/2007. One must be cautious about citing WIKIPEDIA, but in this instance the entry seems reliable. See the next quotation in this essay, which generally confirms the entry. (I would offer an entry from the ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, but as of this date there is none, an omission that indicates the standing of biodynamic agriculture in the eyes of independent experts.)

[4] “Biodynamic Frequently Asked Questions", www.biodynamic.org.uk .

[5] “Why Are Animal Organs Used?”, www.biodynamic.org.uk .

[6] Rudolf Steiner, AGRICULTURE COURSE, p. 20.

[7] Hugh J. Courtney, “Recommendations for Working with Crops, Sequential Spraying, and Ashing (for U.S.A.), January through June, 2007, (EST until April 1 at 2:00 am, then EDT)”, biodynamics.com .

[8] Rudolf Steiner, AGRICULTURE COURSE, p. 24.

[9] Ibid., p. 40.

[10] Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), pp. 30-31.

[11] Rudolf Steiner, AGRICULTURE COURSE, p. 26.

[12] E.g., a defender of biodynamic practices has written, 

“There are many small farms that have cattle for meat and dairy. When the farmer decides to slaughter (notice we farmers don't use the word sacrifice) a cow, the animal goes to the local butcher to get processed and put in the freezer. On biodynamic farms, the farmer will keep the intestine, mesentery, skull and horns. To use for compost preparations. These are parts that are normally thrown away.” [http://tastingroom.pressdemocrat.com/default.asp?item=2365133 ] 

There is, however, evidence that slaughtering sometimes occurs at biodynamic farms and wineries, not a distant butcher shops. In some cases, "sacrifice" may in fact be the more accurate term.

[13] Threefolding was Steiner’s attempt to formulate a new social order, especially for Germany after World War I. The term refers to three spheres of social life: politics, economics, and culture. Steiner drew up his proposals in opposition to the Fourteen Points offered by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson for ending of the war. Wilson’s points included arms reductions, the adjustment of colonial aims, and the drawing of national boundaries to correspond with the ethnicity of populations. Steiner considered Wilson’s proposals — and the entire set of terms discussed by the Allies for the treatment of defeated Germany — too harsh. [See, e.g., Rudolf Steiner, THE THREE-FOLD COMMONWEALTH (Macmillan, 1922).] The threefolding movement had little effect, and Steiner soon redirected his attention to mysticism. [See "Threefolding".]

Several Anthroposophical groups and institutions are clustered in rural New York. 

◊ “The residents and institutions of the Threefold community have been promoting spiritual values in the arts, education and community life since 1926.” [See http://www.threefold.org/.] 

◊ “The Fellowship Community, founded in 1966, is a community of all ages, centered around the care of the elderly.” [See http://www.fellowshipcommunity.org/ .] 

◊ The Pfeiffer Center (named for Ehrenfried Pfeiffer) “is dedicated to education, research and outreach in farming, gardening and beekeeping. An important goal is to raise awareness of biodynamics as the most holistic approach to caring for the land.” [See http://www.pfeiffercenter.org/ .] 

[14] 

“Kali Yuga began in the year 3101 [BC] prior to the founding of Christianity ... In the period prior to the year 3101...there existed that which one can designate at the last residue of the old clairvoyance ... In the course of human evolution these periods follow each other: Krita Yuga — Treta Yuga — Dvapara Yuga — Kali Yuga.” — Rudolf Steiner, COMPILED LECTURES (Anthroposophic Press, 1944 — reprinted by Health Research, 2006), p. 37.

According to Steiner, Krita Yuga, which came before the destruction of Atlantis, was the Golden Age when humans were still consciously united with “Divine-Spiritual beings.” [Ibid., p. 5] Treta Yuga was the Silver Age when men were less conscious of the gods but retained a memory of them and had a vague awareness of spiritual realities in general, an awareness that became heightened during sleep. [p. 6] During Dvapara Yuga, the Bronze Age, men became more adjusted to physical reality and thus retained little spiritual insight — they could remember the spirit realm only as old men can remember their youth. [p. 6] During Kali Yuga, the Dark Age, “the doors of the spiritual world were closed.” [p. 6]

As he often did, Steiner fudged the meanings of the terms he used — Krita Yuga, thus, may be considered as extending a fairly brief distance or an extremely long distance into the past. [pp. 6-7] Kali Yuga, if considered “in the sense in which we first used the term,” [p. 7] began more than three millennia before the birth of Christ and ended in 1899 A.D. [p. 9] During the era following Kali Yuga, men will gain new clairvoyant powers. [p. 9] Steiner offered himself as an adept in such powers. The rest of us can gradually catch up with him: The present, post-Kali age will last for 2500 years. [p. 10]

[15] It is possible to read too much into statements made by Waldorf teachers; but there is also a danger in failing to look deeply enough into the concepts embodied in such statements. Not all Waldorf faculty truly understand the doctrines of Anthroposophy, but all of them should study Anthroposophy devotedly if they are genuinely committed to the Waldorf movement. [See “Teacher Training”.]

Attention to the earth, environment sensitivity, and green values are important. I myself am an environmentalist and supporter of organic agriculture. But don’t overlook the occult basis of Waldorf beliefs. Rudolf Steiner taught that the Earth is literally a being, it is alive, it breathes in and out with the seasons, etc. Pretty ideas, if devoid of scientific substantiation. The essential Waldorf belief is that the gods created the cosmos for us humans. [See “Center” and “Polytheism”.]

(Steiner also sometimes said that the Earth is now dead. Sorting through his contradictions can be taxing.) 

[16] Waldorf schools oppose “shallow memorizing” because they are fundamentally anti-intellectual (just as they are anti-science). Steiner taught that the brain does not actually think. He said that true knowledge comes from clairvoyance, which is not seated in the brain. [See “Steiner’s Specific” and “Clairvoyance”.]

[17] Creating “active, intelligent, involved human beings” is a noble goal. But for Waldorf schools, this essentially means leading children toward embrace of the occult doctrines of Anthroposophy. Those doctrines are rarely explained openly to the students, but they are present — in one form or another — in most classes and activities at Waldorf schools. [See, e.g., “Here’s the Answer” and "Schools as Churches".] 

Waldorf schools claim that they educate the “whole child.” This may seem commendable. But realize that the whole child, according to Waldorf belief, is a reincarnated being who has three invisible bodies in addition to a physical body, s/he has both a spirit and a soul, s/he has a karma, s/he has a mystic temperament, s/he has an important astrological sign, s/he has a an important racial identity, s/he has twelve senses, s/he has a brain that does not produce real ideas, s/he has a heart that does not pump blood, etc. [See, among other pages, “Holistic Education” and “Humouresque”.]

[18] Teachers at Waldorf schools do play very large roles (Steiner said they serve, in effect, as priests), and they have a certain amount of autonomy.  But the overall curriculum is carefully structured and, by and large, it hardly varies from one Waldorf school to another. [See “The Waldorf Curriculum”.]

[19] Textbooks, computers, and other products of modern knowledge are largely absent from Waldorf schools because these schools generally reject modern knowledge itself. They tend to place much more reliance on ancient myths than on modern information. [See, e.g., “Lesson Books” and “The Ancients”.] There is also an Anthroposophical belief that modern technology is demonic. [See, e.g., "Spiders, Dragons and Foxes".]

[20] Note that, as I mentioned above, the Waldorf curriculum is generally quite rigid. Every third grade at every Waldorf school ought to teach the same things at about the same times, because Anthroposophy says that human beings evolve and develop in accordance with a divine cosmic plan that can be discovered through the use of “exact clairvoyance.” [See “Exactly” and ”Akasha”.]

[21] Waldorf schools promote themselves as offering a holistic approach. This is related to the concept of the whole child, which I mentioned above, and it is fundamentally tied to the occult doctrines of Anthroposophy. [See “Holistic Education”.]

[22] Imagination is a wonderful thing. You should know, however, that at Waldorf schools “imagination” is often a code word for clairvoyance. At a minimum, Waldorf doctrine holds that developing imagination in children is good because it can lead to the development of clairvoyance. [See “Thinking Cap”.]

[23] Be alert when you hear a Waldorf teacher speak of magic. Steiner taught that magic is real. [See “Magic”.]

[24] Talking to plants is nice, if of questionable value. When Waldorf students begin to do such things, it is possibly a sign that they have begun to accept Anthroposophical indoctrination. [See “Here’s the Answer”: scroll down to the Anthroposophical ideas and attitudes Waldorf students often learn to embrace.]

[25] Fund-raising is a major preoccupation for most Waldorf schools, since most do not receive taxpayer support. For this very reason, many Waldorf schools are maneuvering to be accepted as legitimate, alternative forms of public education, “charter schools,” worthy of support from the public purse. In the USA, this should be deemed unconstitutional, since Waldorf schools are essentially religious institutions. [See “Is Anthroposophy a Religion?”]

[26] Outreach efforts are important to Waldorf schools. Their fundamental purpose is to spread their belief system, Anthroposophy. As Rudolf Steiner said, 

“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.

[27] “Belief system” is correct. Waldorf schools are stalking horses for the Anthroposophical belief system, the religion called Anthroposophy. [See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"]

[28] There is much beauty in and around Waldorf schools, and many of the concepts expressed in the schools are attractive, such as the idea that everything is alive. The curriculum is supposed to be “alive” as well. This is a pleasant thought — until you dig into the occultism that underlies it. [See “Occultism”.]

Because Web postings are subject to change, I should state that I visited most of the sites mentioned in "Biodynamics" during the first half of February, 2007. As of early October, 2008, the sites were still online, but the contents of some pages have changed.

Poking around on the Web to keep abreast of these subjects can be interesting. Here is something I found on Feb. 3, 2009; it was written by a grape grower who rejects biodynamics: 

“I want to address Steiner’s irrational thought: Rodent control by burning rodent skins and spreading the ashes in our fields? Do I really accept that the horns of animals act like antennas and concentrate cosmic forces into the compounds places in them? ... Why bury items just so deep? ... Just how does astronomy affect these buried things and why am I supposed to bury them in the first place? ... I don’t believe I should accept as infallible a mystic who rejected experimentation in favor of clairvoyance. I ask myself, ‘Why would that work?’” — John Hilliard, “Why I Do Not Farm Biodynamically,” DAILY WINE NEWS, 1/16/2009. 

This prompted a curious rebuttal: 

“Steiner was indeed a nut, but he didn't dream all this stuff up. He was a reluctant evangelist who condensed whole epochs of old wives’ gardening tales and had the guts to promote them.” — Philip White, “Fertile Ground for True Believers,” THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY, 2/3/2009. With defenders like that...

[R.R.]