Detail, Anthroposophical mural. See John Fletcher, ART INSPRED BY RUDOLF STEINER (Mercury Art Publications, 1987), p. 112. [R.R. impression.]

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Waldorfish art (inspired by Rudolf Steiner), impression by R.R.

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Although Anthroposophical prayers are often addressed to "God" or "God's Spirit," in fact Anthroposophy is polytheistic, recognizing many ranks of gods rather than a single Lord of Creation. Shown above is a detail from a painting at the Anthroposophical headquarters, depicting the activity of the Spirits of Form and the creation of human senses. Steiner taught that there are nine ranks of gods. Spirits of Form are gods of the sixth rank. [R.R. sketch, 2014, based on a painting by Gerard Wagner, based on indications given by Rudolf Steiner — see THE GOETHEANUM CUPOLA MOTIFS OF RUDOLF STEINER (SteinerBooks, 2014), p. 55.]

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Supernal consciousness brooding over our evolution. Anthroposophy is largely optimistic; we are headed higher, to marvelous heights. But there are no guarantees. Things can go wrong. Evil may prevail. So beware. [R.R. sketch, 2014, based on a painting by Gerard Wagner, based on indications given by Rudolf Steiner — see THE GOETHEANUM CUPOLA MOTIFS OF RUDOLF STEINER, p. 93.]

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Waldorfish art (in this case, veil painting), impression by R.R.

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"[T]he human embryo merely rests in the mother's body; it is given form by the sun's forces ... The moon forces become evident, above all, as the inner influence of the lower, metabolic nature of man ... With their whole being human beings are placed into the polarity of the sun forces and moon forces." — Rudolf Steiner, MATERIALISM AND THE TASK OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (Anthroposophic Press, 1987), pp. 240-241. [R.R. sketch, 2009, based on illustration on p. 241.]

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One of the windows at the Goetheanum, the Anthroposophical headquarters. “On a high cliff sits man, surrounded by flashing lightening. [sic] In front of him rises a huge world form, with the head of Ahriman. This form carries in its snake-body the planets in sequence of Saturn to Moon. Below is the earth.” — Georg Hartmann, THE GOETHEANUM GLASS-WINDOWS (Philosophisch-Anthroposophischer Verlag, 1972), p. 27. [R.R. copy, 2014.]

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"I have pointed out that the Earth moves behind the Sun in a screw-like line, the Earth moving along always with the Sun. And then if we view the line from above, we get a projection of the line and the projection shows a lemniscate." — Rudolf Steiner, MAN: HIEROGLYPH OF THE UNIVERSE (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1972), lecture 6, GA 201. [R.R. sketch, 2010.]

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“Epic poetry turns to the upper gods, drama to the lower gods. True drama shows the divine world lying below the earth, the chthonic world, rising up onto the earth ... In contrast, epic poetry sees the spiritual world sink down ... [T]he dramatic element rises like a volcano, and the epic element sinks down from above ... [I]t is right here on the same plane with ourselves that the cosmic element is enticed and made gay, joyous, full of laughter, through nymphs and fire spirits; right here the upper gods cooperate with the lowest; right here in the middle region that man becomes lyrical.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE ARTS AND THEIR MISSION (Anthroposophic Press, 1964), pp. 40-41. [R.R. sketch, 2010, based on the illustration on p. 41, using colors specified by Steiner. Epic poetry is shown purple, lyric poetry green, and drama red.]

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Impression of eurythmy — or, indeed, the entire Waldorf students experience. [R.R.]

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"People in former times, the ancient Greeks, for example, were chiefly receptive to the colour red. They lived within red. Today we have to find our way into living in the other part of the spectrum, the blue ... What is pouring into the sense organs now is something that will gradually develop in a natural way through the eyes as Imagination, through the ears as Inspiration, and through the sense of heat as Intuition." — Rudolf Steiner, BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS 1919-1924 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2003), p. 41. [R.R. sketch, 2011, based on the one in the book.]

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“Picture a man with the old clairvoyant vision. (I will take the eye as representing the clairvoyant gaze, although this is not exclusively a function of the eye.) He directed his gaze to the starry heavens and beheld the different spiritual impulses streaming from there.

“Then, in the course of the ages this clairvoyance faded away and man's gaze was restricted to the phenomena of earthly existence. Something else had to arise in place of the earlier clairvoyance, something that can be indicated by saying: What formerly came from without must now go out from within. Man had to learn to project outwards what the Heavens had implanted in him in order that he might again find his links with the phenomena of the Heavens.

“The direction that had now to be followed was exactly the opposite of that of the earlier path. It is an actual fact that human nature is at this present point of time involved in a process of re-organisation. It has passed through the point of deepest darkness — one expression of which was what I called the full flood of materialism in the middle of the nineteenth century. But humanity is emerging from this condition. Describing this in terms of occultism, we may say: In earlier times men did not perceive, did not think with the physical body only, but they perceived and thought with the etheric body. What was perceived with the etheric body was experienced consciously in the astral body as Astrology. But in modern Astronomy everything is a matter of calculation.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE OCCULT MOVEMENT IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1973), pp. 107-109.

[R.R, sketch, 2010, based on the one on p. 108.]

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Mandalas and mandala-like forms, more or less Waldorfish, impressions by R.R.:

Students in Waldorf geometry classes are often led to create mandalas more or less like these, although usually consisting of straight lines attached reaching from points on geometric polygons. Stiner taught that geometry wakens clairvoyant abilities.

Mystic seal for Steiner's play "The Soul's Probation". See, e.g., John Fletcher, ART INSPIRED BY RUDOLF STEINER (Mercury Arts Publications, 1987), p. 73. [R.R. sketch, 2010.]

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“We see countless elemental beings in spring just around Easter time ... [W]e see them come together in a general cloud (red) and form a common mass within the Earth soul (green). But in doing so these elemental beings lose their consciousness to a certain degree and enter into a sort of sleeping condition.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE CYCLE OF THE YEAR AS THE BREATHING-PROCESS OF THE EARTH (Anthroposophic Press, 1984), p. 40. [R.R, sketch, 2010., based on image on p, 41.]

“[W]hen the human being returns once more with the forces which he has taken up into his own soul through through the Earth’s out-breathing...he plunges into an Earth which has been ahrimanized ... There comes to the aid of the descending human soul the force of Michael, who, while the Earth’s breath is flowing back into the Earth itself, contends with the Dragon, Ahriman.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE CYCLE OF THE YEAR AS THE BREATHING-PROCESS OF THE EARTH, p. 11. [R.R, sketch, 2010, based on image on p. 11.]

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Copy of details from a drawing by Assia Turgenieff, illustrating a passage in one of Rudolf Steiner's mystery plays — see ART INSPIRED BY RUDOLF STEINER, p. 187. Anthroposophical art is usually, but not always, upbeat. We saw the angel previously; but demonic forms are also often represented in art created by and for Anthroposophists. [R.R. copy, 2009. See the entry for "shaded drawing" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]

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[R.R.]