Sharon Lombard is a long time member of PLANS and our resident Waldorf
scholar-in-the-making. In January 2001, she shared via successive posts
to the waldorf-critics discussion group her research on the meaning
behind Waldorf's signature "wet-on-wet" painting technique used in the
lower grades.
She also provided photos of actual Waldorf wet-on-wet paintings that her
daughter painted. These can be viewed here.
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Hi every one, it's Sharon here with 5 batches of talismans for you to
look at. Missing from the pile are numbers 14-22 due to technical
difficulty. The pictures that I've sent are not the best quality, but
they are a start, and will help to illustrate a little of what I have
found out about the Waldorf wet-on-wets.
I will share with the list an assortment of the clues that I've come
across in my reading. I will slowly post information under the heading
"Talismans". Take a look at the attachments, all of them are occult
moral exercises that my daughter produced / experienced, *except* the
batch that depicts the lightning bolts and pyramids. Those talismans
were made by an older child, but I've included them because I think they
are interesting. This is just a beginning, obviously there are many
grades and many school weeks.
The images by my daughter were made during Kindergarten through to the
first part of 4th grade when she left the school. Missing from her stack
are a small pile, approximately 8 or so talismans that I regrettably
threw away in disgust right after we left the school. Had I understood
what the color blobs were, and had I known that I would find PLANS and
become fascinated with the pictures and want to study them, I would have
"treasured" every single one.
Also missing from my daughter's pile are the talismans from a 3 month
period at the end of 3rd grade when she did not attend Waldorf. (We took
her out of the increasingly religious curriculum thinking that the
following year, 4th grade, would level off, which it did not). Instead
she attended a little school in Jamaica where we have family. We all
loved her Jamaican school but watched her struggle to catch up to the
other children, by the end of the three months, she was thriving
academically and very happy.) We put her back into Waldorf for 4th grade
and ended up leaving for good after a couple of months. I still had not
read Steiner or found the PLANS site at this point in time.
The talismans are not in a special order. I will repost certain
attachments with specific information during the next couple of weeks.
Hope you can open them without difficulty.
I'll let you digest them.
Sincerely, Sharon
Talismans can be viewed [here].
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I will begin to share some of my findings on Waldorf talismans and the
magic color exercises that children experience as pupils in Waldorf
schools. I will slowly post this information under the heading of
"Talismans" for those that are interested. I've attached some of my
daughter's talismans (numbers 5 - 13). Remember that young children in
Waldorf are considered not fully reincarnated and the children can still
see the spirit world. Let's begin:
From the book: "Color", by Rudolf Steiner, Rudolf Steiner Press, Sussex,
C.1992. ISBN: 1 85584 111 8 (cloth) or 1 85584 1169 (paper).
Lecture from Dornach, 8th May 1921, "Colour In Matter - Painting out of
Colour", p 54-55:
Sharon: Let's look at some of Steiner's instructions for his disciples
in "The Stages of Higher Knowledge", Rudolf Steiner. Anthroposophic
Press 1967.
p 48 Steiner: "....Imagination may be called a spiritual seeing.....
Whoever tries to put a flower before his mind's eye, and then separates
off from his picture everything that does not represent color, so that
an image of the colored surface, separate from the flower, is suspended
before his soul, can gradually through such exercises arrive at an
Imagination." Sharon: In other words, if one does exercises of looking at *color* one
will gradually arrive at a spiritual seeing. Now, Listen to this:
Sharon: The children's pictures must be transparent, they must shine
from within. Note that Steiner's disciples must learn to discriminate
between color formations that are opaque and those that are radiant and
transparent. (Opaque formations are lower beings.) Now take a look at
the color exercises by my daughter below. See how transparent they are?
See how they shine from within?
Next time....colors heal!
Talismans can be viewed [here].
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Sharon here with more about Waldorf wet-on-wets.
Colors Heal.
The following quote is from "The Cresset", Journal of the Camphil
Movement, Christmas, 1969, by Trude Amann:
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Colors heal at Waldorf schools. Take a look at the magic color exercises
imposed on my daughter at her Waldorf school here. Pay special attention to numbers 24,
25, 27, 28, (the yellow and blue examples). I think it would be safe to
say that these talismans were made in kindergarten before my child's
change of teeth, during the time that her teacher believed that she was
still reincarnating.
"Sleep: An Unobserved Element In Education", by Audrey E. Mc Allen, p
44:
Talismans can be viewed [here].
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It's Sharon again with more information as we begin to examine the magic
color exercises that pupils in Waldorf schools experience. I'll slowly
post information that I've found on color and Waldorf for you to digest.
The following passage is not about wet-on-wets, but it helps to explain
one way that color is used in Waldorf. My child was draped in colored
silk by the curative eurythmist. The purpose of this magical practice
was for its "healing" power, (as well as for veiling).
Colors Heal at Waldorf Schools.
Talismans can be viewed [here].
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It's Sharon again with some more on color and Waldorf. Here's a quote
from anthroposophist, Audrey E. Mc Allen's book, "Sleep: An Unobserved
Element in Education". p 40-43. (Steiner's pupil, Hilda Boos-Hamburger,
who painted the small cupola of the first Goetheanum, taught Audrey Mc
Allen. Hilda, in her old age asked Audrey to complete the forms for the
existing color sequences which supposedly help children accept their
present reincarnations in their bodies). The color sequences and forms
posted below will give you an idea of how these color exercises are
experienced by children in a Waldorf classroom, as they are exposed to
the healing influence of color.
(Snip verse and ritual of Solomon's Key).
(Sharon here: I will post Steiner's explanation of the supposed effect
of vermilion red on the soul sometime soon!!!)
Sharon: Audrey continues with other exercises in this particular series.
For example, the second exercise requires the pupil to cover the paper
in an orange wash, taking out or leaving out a six pointed star,
painting it in "a tender prussian blue". On p 42, after listing other
magic color exercises, Audrey writes about how she sensed that a Greek
incarnation in classical times is a central one for many souls, and
since Greek is no longer taught, she began to teach the Greek letters of
the alphabet as a rhythmic ball throwing game. Then she selected certain
Greek letters, which the children painted in sequence using specific
colours. Audrey claims their was a sense of release and satisfaction
from these repetitive sequences. On p 43 she says: "Yellow with Orange
Circle (form by H. B-H). The circle is the perfect form of the astral
body. One carries one's self awareness in yellow, into the stream of
earth existence. The evolutionary sequence commences with the sound of
B. Hence the choice of the letter Beta."
Sharon: Pay special attention to "The circle is the perfect form of the
astral body". Also, I wonder if the letters Audrey chose had magical
powers, similar to the ones used in Eurythmy?! Stay tuned for more on
Waldorf-wet-on-wets to be posted over the next few days! Some of the
talismans that my daughter made in kindergarten through to the beginning
of 4th grade can be viewed [here].
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Hello, it's Sharon with more information on Waldorf color exercises!
In my last post I shared a passage on color and Waldorf from
anthroposophist Audrey Mc Allen who said: "The circle is the perfect
form of the astral body". Today I'd like you to think about astral
bodies, color and thought-forms! I will quote from the book, "Secret
Symbolism In Occult Art", by Fred Gettings, Harmony Books, New York. C.
1987.
Gettings gives a quick glimpse into Annie Bessant and CW Leadbeater's
book entitled "Thought-Forms". I have a copy of this book, published in
1909 and I will share from it at a later date. For right now I'll just
give you some background via Gettings. I'll also quote from Steiner who
uses the words "thought-forms" demonstrating that he knew about these
ideas. I'd also like to point out that Steiner knew the occultist
Leadbeater and of course, he knew Annie Bessant, who headed up the
Theosophical Society with the help of her mentor, Charles W.Leadbeater.
(Steiner split from the Theosophical society, taking about half of the
members with him to found the Anthroposophical Society).
In James Webb's, "The Occult Underground", C. 1974, Open Court
Publishing Company 1990, Webb introduces Leadbeater and on p 95 he
says: "Charles Webster Leadbeater belonged to that type of mildly
homosexual clergyman who is as familiar now as he was then. He had been
won over by Madame Blavatsky, but he always maintained that his first
contact with Theosophy had been in the year 540 BC when he had visited
Pythagoras on Samos. Since that period he had spent his time in Devachan
- the heaven-world - because of his exclusive devotion to higher
thought." Webb continues with the life of Leadbeater who ended up
getting in trouble because of his weakness for young boys.
Sharon: (Figure 61 depicts astral bodies in red and black swirls with
lightning bolts in red-orange. In figure 62, the astral bodies, seen by
Leadbeater are softer , fuzzier swirls in white and red, and instead of
chaotic lightning bolts, there are lines of zig zags).
Sharon: Now let's here from dear Mr. Steiner! "Theosophy Of The
Rosicrucian", by Rudolf Steiner. Rudolf Steiner Press, London. Lectures
from 1907. Reprint 1981.
Sharon: Well, well, well, I love that bit of moralizing from dear Mr.
Steiner. Makes me feel *good* to read that I'm helping to promote the
evolution of humanity by telling the truth about Waldorf education! The
important bit is Steiner's use of the word "thought-form" in the context
of the astral world.
If any of you are curious as to what Leadbeater's "thought-forms" look
like, look at the site posted below, and you will see astral forms that
resemble some of Leadbeater's paintings, (look at the blobs and swirls).
Talismans can be viewed [here].
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Sharon here with more on Steiner's color ideas. If you are interested in
the Waldorf wet-on-wet color exercises you shouldn't miss this post
because it is an important clue to the mystery. Steiner repetitively
dictates that color must be inwardly shining, and that liquid paint
should be used to create this in the right way.
Here's another quote from Steiner insisting that liquid paint be used.
(In the quote he lets slip the fact that Waldorf color exercises are not
artistic painting when he says, "That is wrong even in artistic
painting.")
"Painting with Children", by Brunhild Muller, Floris Books, Edinburgh.
Second reprint 1994.
p 26: "Rudolf Steiner gave special indications about the use of
water-colours:
Sharon: Now why on earth must you develop an inward relationship to the
color? Why must color be mixed with water? Read on and it will start to
become clearer!
In steiner's evolution of the world, (before the fall when the spirit
"fell into matter" /bodies, and Steiner's sub race theory began), there
were 4 stages. The first stage was one where Beings of the First
Hierarchy existed. They were Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones. To cut a
long story short, let's just say they were Beings of warmth, Fire.
Then came the Second Hierarchy and its Beings took form in light. These
light Beings worked together with the fire Beings to create air.
(Read Steiner's book, "Rosicrucianism and Modern Initiation, Mystery
Centres of the Middle Ages", Rudolf Steiner Press London, second edition
1965, for details!)
Sharon: So you have Beings of fire in the beginning, then Beings of
light which create air, next comes the Third Hierarchy of Archai,
Archangels and Angels . This is VERY IMPORTANT for understanding Waldorf
wet-on-wets.
Archai, Archangels, Angels bring.......you guessed it!!! COLOR! These
color Beings create WATER (*and Beings that resemble Archai, Archangels
and Angels live in water*). I will post a delightful passage from
Steiner about Rainbows next time which you critics will just love! We
will talk more about all of this coming up.
So remember that Archai, Archangels and Angels are BEINGS of color and
make water. Also remember that Steiner dictates that only liquid paint
should be used in order to make the color shine inwardly and he insists
that children and adults must have an intimate relationship with color.
PS:(You don't need to know this now, but in case you are
wondering....The Fourth Hierarchy is man before he fell into matter and
the EARTH stage of existence). Stay tuned for the Rainbow post and a bit
about Albertus Magnus. I can't wait!!!!
Talismans can be viewed [here].
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Hello everyone, here's the post I promised on "rainbows" from Steiner.
Remember my last post? I pointed out Steiner's 4 Hierarchies. Here is a
quick summery straight from Steiner:
Keep in mind that the Angels, Archangels and Archai are color, and that
they made water when they came. If you go to the bottom of this post,
you can click on a site which will show you a series of color wet-on-wet
images that my daughter made at her ex Waldorf school. (Click on the
first batch of Talismans, number 1-4). In this group you will see the
rainbow, the sun, the star and sun and moon. Remember that "imagination"
is a veiled word meaning "spiritual sight". Enjoy.
Sharon: There is an illustration of a section of a rainbow, it lists the
colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. Then there is
another picture (circle) showing fear as closest to red, and courage
closest to violet.
Sharon: Digest that, and I'll continue from here next time. Steiner
mentions the old occultist, Albertus Magnus who I will introduce to
those of you who have never heard of him. Boy! I have so much to tell
you re. the subject of Waldorf color wet-on-wets, so be prepared for
many more posts on Talismans. All the quotes above come from
"Rosicrucianism and Modern Initiation, Mystery Centres of the Middle
Ages", Rudolf Steiner. Lectures from Jan. 1924. Rudolf Steiner Press.
London
Talismans can be viewed [here].
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From: soma
Sent: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 15:27:02 -0800
To: waldorf-critics@topica.com
Subject: Talismans
From: soma
Sent: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 20:04:41 -0800
To: Waldorf-critics@topica.com
Subject: Talismans
Steiner: "...Colour can only be studied properly by taking into account
the realm of soul. For it is sheer nonsense to say that colour is merely
subjective. And if one goes on to maintain that there is some objective
cause outside which works upon us, upon our 'I'...this is nonsense - and
implies an inadequate conception of the 'I'. The 'I' itself is within
the colour. The human 'I' and astral body are not to be separated at all
from colour; they live in colour and inasmuch as they are united with
the colour they have an existence outside the physical body. It is the
'I' and the astral body which reproduce colour in the physical and
etheric bodies. That is the point......Colour actually bears the 'I' and
astral body into the physical and etheric bodies. "
Same book p 68, Steiner: I have already stressed that one should not
keep asking what things mean. Just as there is no sense in asking what
the 'meaning' of the larynx is, for it is the living organ of speech,
similarly we must learn to see that what lives in the forms and colours
is the living organ of the spiritual world."
P 9 Steiner: "When we paint the spiritual content of the world we are
not dealing with figures illumined by a source of light, but with
figures shining with their own light."
P 50, Steiner: "When the observer in the higher worlds once knows what
Imagination really is, he soon acquires the conviction that the pictures
of the astral world are not merely pictures, but manifestations of
spiritual beings. He comes to know that these imaginative pictures have
reference to spirit or soul being just as do sensory colors to sensory
things or beings. In particular, he will, of course, have yet much to
learn. He must learn to discriminate between color formations that are
opaque and those that are quite transparent and in their inner nature
clear and radiant. In fact, he will perceive formations that seem to be
continually producing their color-light anew from within, and that
therefore are not only fully illuminated and transparent, but are
forever radiating light from within. He will link the opaque formations
to lower beings, the clear, luminous ones to intermediate entities; the
inwardly radiant ones will be for him manifestations of higher spiritual
beings."
From: soma
Sent: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 13:59:18 -0800
To: waldorf-critics@topica.com
Subject: talismans
"The healing power of colors and painting is more and more recognized.
But only when the teacher has followed the development of a sequence of
paintings does he become aware of the manifold difficulties on the way
to achievement: to learn to guide the brush, to control the
pressure,.......In our time much stress is laid on the young child's
"freedom" to choose his own materials for his first artistic ventures,
out of a bewildering manifoldness. The child's path to "free expression"
is paved forcefully at an early age by modern teaching methods. This is
done especially at the time when the school child is trying to find in
his teacher one who "knows" - who knows what is beautiful, what is ugly.
Whether conscious of it or not, the child longs to be guided into color
experiences by his teacher - to be told, for example, that a blue patch
next to a yellow one is more beautiful than green put next to yellow. By
providing the child with the right tools for his artistic work, the
teacher's guidance grows into the discipline of painting and drawing.
After puberty, true "free expression" can develop, and individual
judgment and taste unfold. It is the well-tried way from being a pupil,
to becoming an apprentice, in order to achieve mastery in artistic work.
....The first seeds can be planted by the teacher in the first painting
lesson he gives to his class. And thus we can divine the responsibility
of teachers of today. What we first and foremost want to achieve is to
open the mind of the child for the true quality of the colors, to give
him the exciting experiences of red and blue and yellow and green, and
to let him partake as fully as possible in the healing truth: "Color is
a manifestation of life revealed by the spirit".
From: soma
Sent: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 14:31:39 -0800
To: waldorf-critics@topica.com
Subject: Talismans
"The colours which the child uses for the expression of the harmonious
connection with his body before the change of teeth are blue and yellow;
out of these colours the soul weaves its connection with the hereditary
body and transforms it.
If we consider the colour-combination of this last exercise we see how
the soul has been led to the moment when it can free itself from too
strong an attachment to forces working in the physical body
(violet-black), releasing itself from intellectuality (green), and
regaining the first powers with which it entered life (yellow-blue).
This youthful element has become captured or is unused; and with this
free the soul can make further progress."
From: soma
Sent: Sun, 14 Jan 2001 16:49:21 -0800
To: waldorf-critics@topica.com
Subject: Talismans
"Art Inspired by Rudolf Steiner", by John Fletcher, p 130: "The use of
after-images to modify a child's temperament is familiar practice in
Rudolf Steiner schools. Teachers know that excitable children can be
calmed by surrounding or clothing them with reds and that lethargic
children can be aroused by green or blue tones. What occurs in blood and
nerve is not restricted to the eye. A red, for instance, will influence
the nervous system as a whole and the blood system reacts as a whole
with a metabolic activity corresponding to the colour green. The child
is still more asleep in the nervous system than is the adult, more awake
than the adult in the blood system. So while he enjoys colour, he lives
strongly in the calming or vitalising effect. The adult is conditioned
by modern culture to the nerve, the death process; he brings his
perceptions to consciousness in the astral body and is not aware of the
life therein. "
From: soma
Sent: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 20:54:12 -0800
To: waldorf-critics@topica.com
Subject: Talismans
Audrey Mc Allen: "I have found these colour exercises of great help to
the pupils to whom they have been given. They work as a stimulus to
creativity, the pupils asking during and after working with them, if
they could paint or draw their own picture. They often brought some
which they had done at home on their own initiative. The color sequence
works as a cleansing re-orientation of soul, helping the individuality
to accept the present incarnation in a physical body. This is clearly
shown in the pictures which pupils make. For example, one pupil made a
drawing of two dragon-like creatures breathing out fire and flying in
the air, uncovering below an idyllic landscape in which three houses
were set by a river with a group of trees by its bank. Other pictures
have revealed nuances of disturbing memories coming from the past. In
one instance one was able to follow the incarnating process in a series
of soul pictures until the final one which the pupil said was 'What I
see from my window when I wake up'. During such a process the pupil
improves in his whole bearing and outlook. Problems of soul are solved
in sleep life and the individuality takes hold of his body with his
whole will.
These exercises are not suitable until the twelfth year has been reached
when the child is in Class 6 and chronological history has been
introduced. It is at this time that the first awareness of the skeleton
wakens into consciousness.
To prepare the first colour sequence which is vermilion with a magenta
star form, let the pupil first experience his body as a star, standing
with his feet apart, his arms raised horizontally from his sides, head
erect. He could be reminded of the verse with its movements that he
learnt in Class Four".
"The painting can now be made. There are two methods which may be used.
First exercise. Cover the paper with vermilion red using long unbroken
brush strokes across the paper from left to right, commencing at the top
of the page......The star form can then be taken out of this colour-mass
by brush or sponge. Alternatively, the vermilion wash may be made and
the star form left uncolored. This is suitable when repetition of the
colour sequence is repeated. Nothing is said about the quality of the
vermilion red or its effect on the soul. "
Audrey continued: "In this first exercise...only, I ask the pupil what
color he would choose for the star, so that the vermilion red is held
back from the star and kept in balance. Most children immediately say -
yellow- and therein lies the problem. Yellow is the colour which should
not be confined, it needs to dissolve and fly away. The soul is 'holding
on' to something which needs to be released. The vermilion is drawing
out the 'congealed' yellow in the soul. I have allowed the pupil to
paint-in the star with yellow, as I noted that it is these two colours
which Fra Angelico used in his paintings for Mary Magdalene. I then ask
my pupil if he likes the effect. If the answer is yes, I make no
comment. We repeat the exercise at the next lesson, asking which colour
the star should be. When he gives the answer that he does not like the
effect, we discuss the relationship between the two colours, for
example, the yellow makes the vermilion hot. Then comes the question,
how shall we cool the vermilion red? There are some children who insist
on the yellow, others will suggest different colours, and then realise
they are not satisfactory. We can now tell them to paint the star in the
pale peach-blossom-like magenta. This always brings great satisfaction.
I have learned to dwell on this first combination for several weeks and
then to proceed with the sequence in their order, telling the pupil
which colours to use."
From: soma
Sent: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 20:54:44 -0800
To: waldorf-critics@topica.com
Subject: Talismans
Fred Gettings, p 46-48: "One of the earliest attempts to portray the
Astral body of man (as seen by a clairvoyant) emphasizes the beauty of
the colour, and it is this which has been the keynote of the majority of
astral illustrations ever since (figure 61).Many occultists point out
that the Astral body differs according to whether or not man's lower
passions are controlled or tamed. Those people with chaotically arranged
colours (especially those with large areas of dull red or violent
movement) betray an emotional life which lacks discipline, while those
with relatively harmonized areas of colour (figure 62) are themselves
disciplined and well balanced".
Gettings: "One important group of occultists attempted a systematic
program of research into the appearance and colour of the astral plane,
and their findings profoundly influenced the theory of colour in modern
art. This group worked at the end of the nineteenth century and was
connected with the then recently formed Theosophical Society, which had
been founded in the United States at the instigation of the great
occultist Madame Blavatsky. Among this group was a clairvoyant called
Leadbeater, who had free access to the astral plane. He made it his
practice to look into the astral, by means of clairvoyant techniques,
and to dictate to artists what he saw. These artists would then attempt
to interpret his visions in colour; after detailed correction by
Leadbeater, they would paint finished pictures to represent what he had
seen.
A very large number of these curious paintings have survived and among
the most remarkable are what Leadbeater called 'thought forms'. These
thought forms were described by him as being the forms produced on the
astral plane by human thinking. He claimed that every human thought, no
matter how slight or unimportant, created a pattern or image in the
astral, and he attempted to portray the most interesting of them by
dictating detailed descriptions of them to his artists. He even
published commentaries on what these thought forms represented."
Steiner p 60-61: "Everything that a man thinks and feels has its effects
in the outer world and the seer can follow with great precision the
effect of a loving thought that goes out to another man, and the very
different effect that is produced by a thought filled with hatred. When
you send out a loving thought to someone the seer perceives a form of
light shaped like a sort of flower-calyx, playing around his etheric and
astral bodies, thereby contributing something to his vitality and
happiness.....
There is a tremendous difference in the astral world if one voices a
thought that is true or a thought that is untrue. A thought is related
to a thing and is true if it coincides with that thing. Every event that
happens causes an effect in the higher worlds. If someone relates this
event truly, an astral form rays out from the teller, unites with the
form emanating from the event itself, and both are strengthened. These
strengthened forms help to make our spiritual world richer and more full
of content - which is necessary if humanity is to make progress. But if
the event is related untruthfully, in a way that does not coincide with
the facts, then the thought-form of the teller comes up against the
though-form that has proceeded from the event; the two thought-forms
collide, causing mutual destruction. These destructive "explosions"
caused by lies work on the body like a tumour which destroys the
organism. Thus do lies kill the astral forms which have arisen and must
arise, and in this way they obstruct or paralyze a part of evolution.
Everyone who tells the truth actually promotes the evolution of humanity
and everyone who lies, obstructs it. Therefore there is this occult law:
Seen with eyes of the Spirit, a lie is murder. Not only does it kill an
astral form, but it is also self-murder."
From: soma
Sent: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 22:09:42 -0800
To: waldorf-critics@topica.com
Subject: Talismans
In "Colour", by Rudolf Steiner p 49, Steiner says that a painting of a
wall will not be a wall, only the image of one, unless the color is made
luminous inwardly. He says: "We must make the colours shine inwardly;
they will then, in a certain sense, become mineralized. For this reason
it would be good to give up painting from the palette, which leads
merely to smearing colouring matter onto a surface and makes it
impossible to evoke the inwardly shining quality in the right way. We
should try to paint increasingly from pots of liquid paint with colour
that is liquid and has a flowing, shining quality. Generally speaking,
the introduction of the palette has brought an inartistic element into
painting. The palette has brought a materialistic form of painting, a
failure to understand the true nature of colour - for colour is never
really absorbed by any material body but lives within it and emanates
from it. Therefore, when I put my colours on to a surface I must make
them shine inwardly".
We should be specially careful not to let the children use paints
straight out of a paintbox. That is wrong even in artistic painting. One
should paint out of the dish where the paint has already been mixed with
water or other fluid. You must develop an inward intimate relationship
to the colour - and so must the child- and you do not have such an
intimate relationship to the colour when you paint from the palette, but
you develop this when you paint with the colour dissolved in the dish."
From: soma
Sent: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 09:06:11 -0800
To: waldorf-critics@topica.com
Subject: Re: Talismans
" Sun-born Man on Earth would have been in very truth the Fourth
Hierarchy. If one were wanting to place Man, one would have had to say:
First Hierarchy: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones; Second Hierarchy: Exusiai,
Dynamis, Kyriotetes; Third Hierarchy: Angels, Archangels, Archai; Fourth
Hierarchy: Man - three different stages or gradations of the human,
forming together the Fourth Hierarchy." (p 53).
Steiner: "In the colours everything is alive. The colours are a world in
themselves, and the soul element in the world of colour simply cannot
exist without movement; we ourselves, if we follow the colours with
soul-experience, must follow with movement.
People gaze open-eyed at the rainbow. But if you look at the rainbow
with a little imagination, you may see there elemental beings. These
elemental beings are full of activity, and they demonstrate their
activity in a most remarkable manner."
Steiner: "Here (at yellow) you see some of them streaming forth from the
rainbow, continually coming out of it. They move across, and the moment
they reach the lower end of the green they feel drawn to it. You see
them disappear at this point (green). On the other side they come out
again. To one who views it with imagination, the whole rainbow is a
revelation of the spiritual - of the streaming out, and disappearing
again within, of the spiritual. It is in fact like a spiritual cylinder,
wonderful to behold. And you may observe too how these spiritual beings
come forth from the rainbow with extreme fear, and then how they go in
with an absolutely invincible courage. When you look at red-yellow, you
see fear streaming out, and when you look at the blue-violet you have
the feeling: there all is courage and bravery of heart.
Picture it to yourself: What I see before me is not just a rainbow! Here
beings are coming out of it...there beings are disappearing into it.
Here is anxiety and fear...there is courage...And now the courage
disappears again. That is the way to look at the rainbow! But now,
imagine it is there before you in all its colours: red, yellow, and so
forth...and it receives a certain density! You can easily imagine how
this will give rise to the element of water. And in this watery element
spiritual beings live, beings that are actually a kind of copy of the
Beings of the Third Hierarchy". (P 13-15).