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made, we find in it four elements: solids, liquids, gases, warmth—elements rediscovered in
the small microcosmic words human voices utter‖ (Spock, 1980, pp. 36-37). With
correspondences to the Zodiac, with words and letters of power, lines of force, numerology,
symbols, sigils, breath work, gestures, tones, colors, and copper wands, Steiner promised to
connect man to the macrocosm via Eurythmy, enabling him to experience it in a cosmic
way.
It is the arms which essentially lead man into this freedom, and which are the
supreme instruments to reveal the life of the soul. From the horizontal, which
they alone can properly express, they can reach upward into the sphere of
lightness, and downward into the sphere of weight…Thus they relate man to
the universe. (Raffe et al., 1974, p. 13).
And as Steiner points out, ―The limbs are the part of the human body which more than any
other part passes over into the life of the next incarnation. They are the part which points to
the future, to what comes after death‖ (Steiner, 1970, p. 70). In her book entitled
Eurythmy, Marjorie Spock noted the twelve basic consonants and their correspondences to
the zodiac as follows: ―Leo, T or D Cancer, F Gemini, H Taurus, R Aries, V Pisces, N
Aquarius, M Capricorn, L Sagitarius, G Scorpio, S Libra, K Virgo, B or P‖ (Spock, 1980,
p. 78).
The Eurythmy Association of North America‘s Commemorative Issue Newsletter makes
some clear statements about how eurythmy fits into Waldorf life:
Eurythmy can contribute greatly to the spiritual life of Waldorf schools. Of all
the arts, eurythmy is an anthroposophical art and has the greatest potential
for transformation. Eurythmy is also a social art and has the ability to enliven
and harmonize the life forces. It is helpful to set aside time for eurythmy
before meetings of teachers, parents, and the board, for instance. Faculty and
children can do eurythmy at school assemblies. Public courses might be
offered during main lesson time or evenings. The experience of festival
offerings can be deepened with the inclusion of eurythmy works....
(Friedman, 1998/99, first draft of guidelines…retrieved March 3, 2003 from
www.eana.org/SUMMER%201999.pdf p. 7, last paragraph).
In the back of this 45-page newsletter is something called A Review of a Study: The
Influence of Eurythmy on the Life Span of Eurythmists. The author of this review, Thomas
Poplawski, states that a Chicago psychologist named Earl Ogletree, a longtime admirer of
eurythmy, was interested in how the practice of eurythmy would affect the lives of those
who practice it. Ogletree said ―since eurythmy enhances and facilitates the flow of healing
forces, one could extrapolate that professional eurythmists would be healthier, relatively
free of diseases and in better physical and mental health than non-eurythmists‖ (Poplawski,
a review of a study, retrieved from www.eana.org/SUMMER%201999.pdf p. 38).
He apparently studied 211 Anthroposophists—106 of whom were eurythmists. His findings?
Non-eurythmists lived to an average of 80.58 years and eurythmists lived an average of
73.92 years. Poplawski notes that ―not only do eurythmists not live much longer than the
average…in fact they seem to live significantly shorter lives!‖ (Poplawski, a review of a
study, retrieved from www.eana.org/SUMMER%201999.pdf p. 38). He quotes Roy Wilkinson
who proposes that ―the healing effect of practicing eurythmy brings out something in the
eurythmists which could manifest in a possible worst form‖ adding, ―There is also the
question whether curative eurythmists donate some of their own strength which they do not
recuperate in sufficient measure‖ (Poplawski, a review of a study, retrieved from
www.eana.org/SUMMER%201999.pdf p. 38). Other Anthroposophic experts offer their
theories about why eurythmists have a shorter lifespan, including the idea that eurythmy
can cause ―disarray‖ in eurythmists‘ ―forces.‖ Retired Waldorf teacher Hans Valentien says

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 151
this could happen because eurythmists engage their ―own life forces to a much greater
degree than is normal‖ and, eventually, the disarray ―can lead to cancer‖ (Poplawski, a
review of a study, retrieved March 3, 2003 from www.eana.org/SUMMER%201999.pdf p.
38).
―Doctor‖
In the early years of Waldorf, I did not know that some fairy tales being taught were occult
parables. Nor had it dawned on me that the ―festivals‖ celebrated throughout the school
year were in reality Anthroposophic rituals devised by Steiner with deep esoteric meaning.
Young Waldorf children didn‘t write anything down, but by third grade my daughter was
being taught violent ―Holy Bible Stories‖ with an Anthroposophic twist like the following
reference to ―Michael‖ excerpted from one of her lessons entitled ―Abraham and Isaac‖:
Soon after they arrived to mount moria and made a small fire and lade his
son a pon it and raised his knife a bove his head and Isaac‘s sole fled from his
body and Abraham was just about to plung the knife in Isaac‘s chest when
Miciel stept out of the clouds and said ―Abraham pot down that knife you have
proovin yourself werthy.‖
I became more and more concerned about the curriculum. What was going on? Waldorfers
assured me that since Christianity is an integral part of American culture it was good for
children to be familiar with Bible stories. However, part way through the school year, we
decided to remove our daughter from the overt religious third grade curriculum. Instead,
she attended a little school in Jamaica for three months as we have family ties there. We
noticed an improvement in our daughter‘s demeanor and willingness to attend school. We
also realized that she was very behind the Jamaican pupils. Within months her reading and
writing greatly improved and we all liked the new school very much. The school in general
seemed to be a happier and ―lighter‖ place. The Jamaican school closed for holidays, and we
returned to the United States for the summer, planning to reorganize our lives, make
appropriate visa arrangements and move to Jamaica—we even paid school fees to the
Jamaican school.
Back in Wisconsin, school was winding down for summer and since we‘d already paid
Waldorf‘s fees for the full year, we decided to place our child back in Waldorf for the
remaining weeks so that she could reconnect with friends and full fill legal attendance
requirements. During that brief period she became depressed, standing alone on the
playground. School closed and over the summer my daughter became quite ill, so we
cancelled our Jamaican plans, and put her back in Waldorf that fall. My husband believed it
was our best schooling option in our rural location, though I was not so certain.
During the early manifestation of her illness, in the summer, after the loss of the initial
pounds, we had sought the help of a doctor—a friend and fellow Waldorf-parent. He assured
us that our child was ―fine‖ and ―just growing.‖ Time slipped by, more weight dropped, and
on our next visit blood tests were ordered to check vitals and for diabetes. Later, upon
visiting our home, the Waldorf-parent-doctor advised us to ―get comfortable with death.‖ At
one point he recommended that we seek the help of a Chinese doctor who had a medical
degree from China. On a subsequent visit to the Waldorf-parent-doctor‘s office, he handed
us over to a kind young homeopath/doctor with no experience concerning my child‘s illness.
The homeopath gave my daughter a remedy and began monitoring her every couple of
weeks during which time more and more weight was lost and our situation became dire. In
those days I believed that homeopathy was science-based medicine and that we were in the
best of care. All the doctors we saw had medical degrees. What I didn‘t realize until later
was that during our time in Waldorf, while under the influence of Waldorf educators and
practitioners, our judgment had become skewed. We‘d become suspicious and fearful of the
regular mainstream medical establishment, avoiding it, as we floundered with the advice of