The Grade-School for Occultists, .i
My Experience Attending the Kelowna Waldorf School, Starting in 1999.
Some locals still refer to the Kelowna Waldorf School as “that cult school”.
While I don’t begrudge this assessment, it’s not accurate.
The Kelowna Waldorf School wasn’t “a cult school”
— it was an occultist school.
INSTALMENTS:
“A CERTAIN MIDSOMMAR CHARM”
PART ONE.
A CERTAIN MIDSOMMAR CHARM.
This is the testimony of a student who attended the Kelowna Waldorf School from kindergarten until grade eight, who’s education was steeped in the mystical hallmarks of Anthroposophy (an esoteric belief-system that encompasses everything from Zoroastrian demons, to planetary cycles, to the Lost City of Atlantis).
There’s a temptation to start my account with a good hook, something sensational that’ll keep you reading on. I could ask you to imagine our faculty huddled in the teacher’s room, nervously discussing the presence of the demon Ahriman — and which child might be his next target. But, although I’m certain such a conversation took place, it would be disingenuous of me to let that be your first impression of my childhood.
This will not be an exposé of the Kelowna Waldorf School, or any of the other thousand-plus Waldorf Schools that are still active around the globe — each of which appear to differ in their interpretation of Steiner pedagogy in significant enough ways as to defy such broad slander.
(If you’re looking for an exposé, I’d direct you to Waldorf Watch, or various YouTube testimonials, like this one provided by Sara Michaels, which details her kids being given wands and chanting incantations under the guise of reciting ‘poetry’).
The shocking truth that I would like to expose — more shocking than a curriculum designed by an Austrian occultist still being taught globally in the 2000’s — is that, despite the preponderance of strangeness, despite the abject neglect of education, the Kelowna Waldorf School was, basically, a pretty decent way to spend your childhood.
I opened this article by declaring that the Kelowna Waldorf School wasn’t a cult school — although, it did have a certain Midsommar charm about it, no doubt. I make this distinction because, although most of the faculty were devout followers of Anthroposophy — as-well as a small, but vocal percentage of the parents — attempts to indoctrinate or even educate outsiders on the subject wasn’t ever prioritized. This is excluding a single zealot, who I’ll inevitably have to mention later on, although not by name.
I’d wager that even my fellow classmates would be surprised by the extent to which Anthroposophy textured their childhood memories. Even a simple act like water-colouring has ritualistic potential in the world of Anthroposophy. But, I’m getting ahead of myself already.
The logical place to start this account is with a brief introduction to Rudolf Steiner, the aforementioned Austrian occultist (and architect, philosopher, clairvoyant, esotericist, social reformer, pseudo-historian, artist, lifelong Goethe scholar and playwright). The problem with that approach, though, is that his founding of the Waldorf Education System is probably the least interesting thing that the man ever accomplished.
I’m my humble opinion, Rudolf Steiner might be the most influential occultist of the 20th century — Crowley be damned. If I attempted to write even a glancing biography of the man, I’d quickly get lost exploring an overwhelming amount of interesting tangents:
Did you know that Steiner pioneered Biodynamic Agriculture? It was the first organic farming movement; except, with some Pagan bullshit mixed in there for good flavour (like burying a cow’s horn filled with quartz crystals somewhere in your field, in an attempt to channel the cosmic forces of the soil).
Did you know that Adolf Hitler wrote venomously about Rudolf Steiner for the National Socialist newspaper all the way back in 1921? He accused him of fraternizing with “the driving force behind all this devilishness”, the Jews. (This is not to suggest that Steiner was always on the right side of history, but we’ll get to that toward the end of my account, when it’ll become relevant.)
Did you know that Michael Chekhov was inspired by Steiner’s theories on the craft of acting? It seems even Stanislavski borrowed from Rudolf Steiner when he conceived of Method Acting.
Did you know that Steiner was one of the earliest scholars of Friedrich Nietzsche? He played a substantial role in popularizing Nietzsche’s body of work.
Okay, last one. Did you know that Rudolf Steiner arguably belongs in the cannon of great Modern Architects? Actually, this might be a tangent that I can’t help but indulge in for a moment… Bear with me…
Look at this:
I defy you to tell me this house doesn’t fuck.
Now, look at this one:
My God… I want that to be my villain’s lair.
Point is, Rudolf Steiner lead an utterly fascinating life; but, I won’t bring it up again, unless I’m required to by the natural course of my account.
So, where do I start?
>I opened this article by declaring that the Kelowna Waldorf School wasn’t a cult school
>The problem with that approach, though,
>I’m my humble opinion,
>Okay, last one.
>but, I won’t bring it up again,
You spend half this article apologizing for writing the article.
Stop it, you are interesting.
Your writing style is captivating.
Please, never stop.