Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 145
planetary seals I deduced that Sun corresponds to white or gold, Saturn to blue, Moon to
violet/or silver, Mars to red, Mercury to yellow, Jupiter to orange and Venus to green.
Behind the planets are spiritual beings. Steiner instructed that paint should be made of
plant material, and the Anthroposophic company, Stockmar, produces the only brand of
paint used in Waldorf schools. This paint must be suspended in water in order for it to have
a transparent quality and shine with its own light. Pupils in Waldorf apply this paint to wet
paper with rounded corners. ―We know that out of the plants‘ world of color the activities of
the planets speak, placing themselves in a way before the workings of the stars …‖ (Vreede,
2001, p. 287). I first truly understood my daughter‘s paintings as talismans and mandalas
after delving into Rosicrucian based magic books for the first time in my life. It was there
that I first learned about color from an occult perspective.
TALISMAN An object (stone, metal, paper, etc.) which is meant to attract,
channel, or act as a battery for some type of force or energy in order to
perform a specific function (Whitcomb, 1999, p 543).
Complementary colors, when placed side by side, are said to attract the energies associated
with the colors and can act as attractors for Akashic currents (Whitcomb, 1999, p. 264 and
Greer, 1997, p. 86). I also learned that heavy watercolor paper is commonly used in the
magic world to make healing talismans because paper and ―fluid condensers‖ can hold
etheric charges (Greer, 1997, pp. 222-223). I began to see the rationale behind my
daughter‘s piles of wet-on-wet color-washed watercolor papers. I finally understood that
colors were thought efficacious for healing in Steiner‘s world because color is the organ of
the spiritual world.
Some ex-Waldorf parents have reported that their children have been wrapped in colored
silk and made to paint paper with color for healing purposes. Steiner taught that ―our
etheric body may be assisted by spiritual beings by using corresponding colour‖ (Fletcher,
1987, p. 95), and he said:
A nervous, that is to say excitable child should be treated differently as
regards environment from one who is quiet and lethargic. Everything comes
into consideration, from the colour of the room and various objects that are
generally around the child, to the colour of the clothes in which he is dressed
...An excitable child should be surrounded by and dressed in red and reddish-
yellow colours, whereas for a lethargic child one should have recourse to the
blue or bluish-green shades of colour. For the important thing is the
complementary colour, which is created within the child. In the case of red it
is green, and in the case of blue orange-yellow.‖ (Muller, 1987, pp. 7-8).
He warned and advised:
To delight in art that is materialistic increases the difficulties of the Kamaloca
state, whereas delight in spiritual art lightens them. Every noble, spiritual
delight shortens the time in Kamaloca. Already during earthly life we must
break ourselves of pleasures and desires which can be satisfied only by the
physical instrument‖ (Steiner, 1981b, p. 35).
In first grade, Anthroposophic drawings were copied by pupils from the teacher‘s drawings
on the board. They used large bees wax block crayons also produced by the Anthroposophic
company Stockmar. The crayons helped to prevent line-making. Fuzzy images of faceless
gnomes mining in metal mines and faceless humans with angels standing behind them,
began to appear. I was assured that Waldorf was just teaching children stories from around
the world. After leaving, and after spending countless hours studying Steiner‘s sermons, the
pictures in my daughter‘s lesson books took on new meaning. I saw stars as pentagrams. I
understood an image of microcosmic man when I saw him. I knew what images of the Sun
planetary seals I deduced that Sun corresponds to white or gold, Saturn to blue, Moon to
violet/or silver, Mars to red, Mercury to yellow, Jupiter to orange and Venus to green.
Behind the planets are spiritual beings. Steiner instructed that paint should be made of
plant material, and the Anthroposophic company, Stockmar, produces the only brand of
paint used in Waldorf schools. This paint must be suspended in water in order for it to have
a transparent quality and shine with its own light. Pupils in Waldorf apply this paint to wet
paper with rounded corners. ―We know that out of the plants‘ world of color the activities of
the planets speak, placing themselves in a way before the workings of the stars …‖ (Vreede,
2001, p. 287). I first truly understood my daughter‘s paintings as talismans and mandalas
after delving into Rosicrucian based magic books for the first time in my life. It was there
that I first learned about color from an occult perspective.
TALISMAN An object (stone, metal, paper, etc.) which is meant to attract,
channel, or act as a battery for some type of force or energy in order to
perform a specific function (Whitcomb, 1999, p 543).
Complementary colors, when placed side by side, are said to attract the energies associated
with the colors and can act as attractors for Akashic currents (Whitcomb, 1999, p. 264 and
Greer, 1997, p. 86). I also learned that heavy watercolor paper is commonly used in the
magic world to make healing talismans because paper and ―fluid condensers‖ can hold
etheric charges (Greer, 1997, pp. 222-223). I began to see the rationale behind my
daughter‘s piles of wet-on-wet color-washed watercolor papers. I finally understood that
colors were thought efficacious for healing in Steiner‘s world because color is the organ of
the spiritual world.
Some ex-Waldorf parents have reported that their children have been wrapped in colored
silk and made to paint paper with color for healing purposes. Steiner taught that ―our
etheric body may be assisted by spiritual beings by using corresponding colour‖ (Fletcher,
1987, p. 95), and he said:
A nervous, that is to say excitable child should be treated differently as
regards environment from one who is quiet and lethargic. Everything comes
into consideration, from the colour of the room and various objects that are
generally around the child, to the colour of the clothes in which he is dressed
...An excitable child should be surrounded by and dressed in red and reddish-
yellow colours, whereas for a lethargic child one should have recourse to the
blue or bluish-green shades of colour. For the important thing is the
complementary colour, which is created within the child. In the case of red it
is green, and in the case of blue orange-yellow.‖ (Muller, 1987, pp. 7-8).
He warned and advised:
To delight in art that is materialistic increases the difficulties of the Kamaloca
state, whereas delight in spiritual art lightens them. Every noble, spiritual
delight shortens the time in Kamaloca. Already during earthly life we must
break ourselves of pleasures and desires which can be satisfied only by the
physical instrument‖ (Steiner, 1981b, p. 35).
In first grade, Anthroposophic drawings were copied by pupils from the teacher‘s drawings
on the board. They used large bees wax block crayons also produced by the Anthroposophic
company Stockmar. The crayons helped to prevent line-making. Fuzzy images of faceless
gnomes mining in metal mines and faceless humans with angels standing behind them,
began to appear. I was assured that Waldorf was just teaching children stories from around
the world. After leaving, and after spending countless hours studying Steiner‘s sermons, the
pictures in my daughter‘s lesson books took on new meaning. I saw stars as pentagrams. I
understood an image of microcosmic man when I saw him. I knew what images of the Sun
