Anthroposophical Society in Australia

Livestream lectures from the Goetheanum
2023-11-22 20:00 - 21:30 (Europe/Zurich) | Goetheanum online
Coming up

November 22, 20:00 | Constanza Kaliks: Emmanuel Levinas
November 30, 20:00 | Peter Selg: Paul Celan
December 21, 20:00 | Peter Selg: Rudolf Steiner’s preparation of the Christmas Conference

All times are Central European Time (CET) – Livestreams will appear below at the indicated time / date.
Otherwise, recordings of previous lectures will be displayed.

Find out more
Previous lectures

AnthroArt Training to start in Taiwan
2023-11-25 - 2023-12-01 | Shan Mei Zhen AnthrArt Center, Taiwan
Shan Mei Zhen AnthroArt Centre presents
a new anthroposophic training in Taiwan

The first session of a anthroposophic art training will begin in Taiwan in November 2023 with the theme The Art and Individuality of Color: An Overview of the Painting Indications and Color Theory of Rudolf Steiner. Given in both English and Chinese the three- to four-year course will meet both in-person and online with home projects as part of the program.
Where
Shan Mei Zhen AnthroArt Center in Taichung, Taiwan
When
Saturday, November 25 through Friday, December 1, 2023.
Find out more
Download the flyer or for further information, schedule and timetable contact: albertruby.tai@gmail.com or to register use the QR code (for Chinese speakers only):

Artistic Director
Van James is an artist, author, Steiner-Waldorf educator and international advocate for the arts. A longtime teaching-artist in Hawai’i, he is a council member of the Visual Art Section, School of Spiritual Science, in North America, and an award-winning author of numerous books on culture and the arts including Drawing with Hand, Head and Heart: A Natural Approach to the Art of Drawing (SteinerBooks, 2012), Painting with Hand, Head and Heart: A Natural Approach to the Art of Painting (Waldorf Publications, 2023) and Teaching Art History: Engaging the Adolescent in Art Appreciation, Cultural History and the Evolution of Consciousness (Waldorf Publications, 2022).

Breathing through the Night
2023-11-25 10:00 - 2023-11-26 16:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Armidale, 2350
A Soul-building Art Intensive
With artist Fiona Campbell
This therapeutic painting intensive brings the health-giving forces of the harmonious breath into our souls and bodies through painting through the cycle of the night.
We breathe in colour and then breathe out its complementary in a transforming process that enlivens both our life body and our soul. In this way, we bring our innermost being into connection with the world and nature, moving gently between the two in harmonious rhythm.
What will we do?
Based on a classic exercise called Painting as an Exercise for Breathing from the Hauschka therapy school, we will paint the cycle of light and darkness from sunset to sunrise using colour, accompanied by poetry. On Saturday, we use wet-on-wet painting, then prepare a stretched board for veiling the final stage, the sunrise, on Sunday morning.
This workshop is an immersive experience designed to work deeply into our fourfold being.
Who is it for?
Anyone in need of soul nourishment as we approach the end of another (for many) difficult year. The exercise supports our mental health and physical well-being by harmonising the breath, easing our tensions and bringing our polarities into balance. You do not need to be an experienced painter to benefit from this workshop.
When
10.00am – 12.30 pm, then 1.30-4.00 pm, 25 November, 2023
10.00 am – 12 pm, 26 November 2023
Where: Armidale NSW
Please register as early as you can for this and we will advise you on the venue, which will be determined by the number of participants…..one side of Armidale or the other, depending!
Cost
Full workshop: $225
Saturday only: $165
Concession: $180
What to bring
We will supply paints, paper, boards, water jars and brushes. If you have any brushes please bring them, otherwise everything should be there for you.
How to register
Heather or phone/text 0408 020508
Chris or phone/text 0431 459 109
Payment details, and any further information will be sent on registration.
Please register by FRIDAY 10 NOVEMBER, so we can book the appropriate venue and order your art supplies.

About the Presenter
Fiona Campbell PhD is a visual artist, muralist, researcher, lecturer and arts educator. She trained in the anthroposophic approach to the arts at Tobias School of Art and Transpersonal Therapy, first as an artist, then as a therapist.
As Painted Space, Fiona has been a professional artist at for more than 30 years and regularly offers masterclasses in wet-on-dry painting, pastel drawing, therapeutic painting and art contemplations for festivals. She is a member of the Stream of Life Research Studio where her focus is phenomenology, and she is creative consultant for the multimedia Parsifal Project. Since 1994, she has regularly lectured on evolving consciousness and art at Sydney Rudolf Steiner College. She also has a Diploma in Waldorf Education (Emerson College)
Fiona has been involved in Anthroposophy for over 40 years and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience about the core principles and practice of Steiner’s work to her classes.

‘Colours are the breath of the living soul’
Dr Margarethe Hauschka

Photo credits: courtesy of Fiona Campbell

Vic Branch presents: The Twelve Holy Nights
2023-12-02 10:00 - 12:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Aurora Australis, 2 Union Street, Kew, Vic, 3101, Australia
The Victorian Branch would like to invite you to
How Can We Prepare to Meet the Masters, Teachers of Mankind
and to receive their blessings

Discover the significance and the magic of the Twelve Holy Nights which run from 24th December to Epiphany on 6th January.
Through this dynamic workshop, prepare for the coming year and plant seeds for each month of the calendar. The seed holds the past, present and future. At the event of Christmas and Holy Nights a seed will be planted for all twelve months of the new year.
Let us explore the twelve signs and symbols and plant the seed in our souls through movement, Self Healing Meditation, Eurythmy Meditation, and more. Through these practises we can influence the coming year by working spiritually in a positive and fruitful
way.

Date and Time
10.00 am – 12.00pm, Saturday 2nd December 2023
Cost
$50

Saturday 2nd December, 10am-2pm
Location
Aurora Australis – Anthroposophical College of the Arts 2 Union St, Kew
For more information
Birgith Lugosi 0448 844 453

TAS Branch: Celebrating the Christmas Conference of 1923/24
2023-12-10 14:00 - 17:00 (Australia/Sydney) | NSW
On the Right Entry into the Spiritual Realm
The Responsibility Incumbent on Us
Tasmanian Members and Friends are invited to join the Tasmanian Branch for an afternoon of conversation and discussion. The theme is the farewell from the last evening of the 1923 Christmans Conference.
Download the lecture

Please bring a contribution to share for afternoon tea

When
Sunday, December 10th, 2023
From: 2:00 to 5:00 pm
Where
Block A Room A
Kingston Linc,
8 Hutchins Street,
Kingston TAS

For more information
Please contact Jane Bradshaw for more information
Rsvp: Connie Nanscawen

Photo Credit: © David Newbatt 2023

Canberra Branch Christmas Festival
2023-12-10 15:00 - 16:30 (Australia/Sydney) | St. Columba Church, Cnr Fawkner & Farrer street,, Braddon, ACT, 2612, Australia
Dear members and friends of the Canberra Branch of the Anthroposophical Society,

You are warmly invited to share in our annual Christmas festival, to be held at Lewis Hall in Braddon from 3pm to 4.30pm on Sunday 10th December. See attached flyer for details.

Please RVSP to Tim Bourke to confirm your attendance to help us plan the event.

The Two Jesus Children
2023-12-17 17:00 - 18:15 (Australia/Sydney) | Online
A pictorial contemplation of the young Jesus,
as differently described in the Gospels
for the 3rd Sunday in Advent

Presenter: Fiona Campbell

This Advent webinar ponders the mystery of the two different portrayals of Jesus in his youth, as described by St Matthew and St Luke. Illustrating the talk with artworks from the great masters, Fiona Campbell explores the polarity of the old and young souls of the two Jesuses, with indications from Rudolf Steiner.
Cost
$20 donation or whatever you can afford, A video recording will be available after the event.
Time and date
5.00pm – 6.15pm AEDT, 17th December 2023
Bookings
Book here!
How to join the webinar
Participants will be sent the Zoom link by email two (2) days beforehand, and then again one (1) hour beforehand.
Please login for the webinar via your Zoom app and not via Eventbrite.

For more information
Please contact Fiona Campbell

About the presenter
Fiona Campbell is a researcher, lecturer, visual artist and arts educator. She has an interdisciplinary PhD on creativity and cognition and also trained as an art therapist.
She has special expertise in the anthroposophic approach to painting and and teaching painting for 25 years.
Fiona is also a member of the Stream of Life Research Studio, where she focuses on her other two specialisations, phenomenology and creative cognition.
You can find out more about Fiona on her website or listen to a ABC Soul Search interview with her about the anthroposophical approach to art.

Image: Trabzon, Hagia Sophia Ἁγία Σοφία © Creative Commons

Twelve Days of Christmas – Holy Nights Contemplations
2023-12-25 19:00 - 2024-01-05 20:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Online
The Creation of the Etheric Heart and the Future of Humanity
and
The Cosmic Communion of the Human Being

Daily Contemplation and Conversational Deepening Online with Jude (Martin) Neeme-Samson and Craig Logan

In each session, there will be three fifteen-minute considerations of the two themes, which will complement each other and set a mood of soul for participants to work with over the ensuing night and day.
Each day will have the nurturing aspect of a retreat for our soul and our spiritual work in the coming year.

When

25 December 2023 – 5 January 2024
7.00 pm – 8.00 pm Sydney time

Bookings
Book here

Once you are registered the Zoom link will be sent two days (23/12/23) before we start. The session will start 7:05 pm and it is recommended that you join the link a few minutes early. The link will be open from 6.55pm. The link is the same one for each session.
For more information
Download the flyer or contact Jude Samson-Neeme

Feature image: The Sistine Madonna, Raphael circa 1512 and circa 151

Save the date! A conference to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Conference
2023-12-27 08:00 - 2023-12-31 17:00 (Australia/Sydney) | The Michael Centre, 37a Wellington Park Drive, Warranwood, Vic, Australia
Recognising and Affirming the Mystery Deed of the Christmas Conference as We continue to Cultivate the Life of the Spirit in our Time

We welcome your participation in this important event to commemorate and celebrate the Christmas Conference, which was held 100 years ago in Dornach, Switzerland.
On this, the 100th Anniversary of the Christmas Conference, it is our deepest wish to gather together a group of like-minded, like-striving souls to raise our consciousness to understand what was placed before humankind 100 years ago so that through this our hearts may be warmed and our thinking enlivened so that we may strive towards the future with Michael strength and Christened heart for the good of humanity.
When

Wednesday 27th to Sunday 31st December
Where
The Michael Centre Wellington Park Dr, Warranwood, Victoria
Program
Download the program here
Register here
For more information
Please contact Helen Vogel

At the Goetheanum
That Good May Become… 100 Years Christmas Conference at the Goetheanum, 26-31 December 2023
The commemoration conference of the General Anthroposophical Society and the Anthroposophical Society in Switzerland has an extensive program of workshops, lectures and performances for those who can visit Switzerland at this time.
FInd out more here
Download the program

O Light Divine,
O Sun of Christ!
Warm Thou
Our Hearts,
Enlighten Thou
Our Heads,
That good may become
What from our Hearts we would found
And from our Heads direct
With single purpose.

Excerpt from the Foundation Stone Meditation

Photo credits: courtesy of Birgith Lugosi

How do I find the Good? A course for young doctors
2024-01-03 - 2024-01-07 | Goetheanum, Rüttiweg 45 4143, Dornach, Switzerland
YIAM Conference 2024
100 years course for young doctors
Goetheanum, Switzerland

How do I find the Good? How can we help our patients in their healing process? Our conference honouring the 100 year anniversary of the ‘Course for Young Doctors’ is inspired by these questions as guiding stars. In the lectures of the course there are exercises and meditations as a guide towards spiritual independence, to learn how to see with the heart and perceive the wisdom of Nature and the Cosmos. We are called to unite the human being once again with this wisdom, through an unshakeable Will to heal and the realisation of Karma. The content of our conference seeks to explore and develop these and other themes from this course.
We, as an international group of young people in diverse fields of the anthroposophic healing arts, have been preparing this conference for three years now, and invite anyone who feels connected to or inspired by the impulse to join! In these Holy Nights between Christmas and Epiphany, we hope to create space for experience, encounter, and inspiration, so that we can find new strength and courage as we carry Anthroposophic medicine into the future.
Along with the rich in-person programme of lectures, workshops, and artistic performances, there will also be an online conference to accompany our conference for those who cannot travel to the Goetheanum. The online conference has come into being as the in-person lectures will not be live-streamed or recorded. Please note that the online conference will be taking place in the middle of the European night, so that those around the world who can not be present in person, can attend during their day time. To stay informed about the online conference, please sign up to our mailing list with the Medical Section here. We want to do our best to make attendance possible for everyone so please get in touch if financial barriers are in the way. Childcare is also something we are working on providing for the duration of the conference.
This is a hybrid event, so Zoom participation is possible for those unable to visit Switzerland.

Program
Download the full program
For more information
Find out more about this exciting conference and how to register.
To stay informed about the online conference, please sign up to our mailing list with the Medical Section here.

The Four Large Watercolors: Seasonal Painting with Van James
2024-01-07 14:00 - 16:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Online
Seasonal Painting themes based on
Rudolf Steiner’s originals of 100 years ago

New Life, Three Crosses, Archetypal Plant and Archetypal Man/Animal will be explored in connection with the festival times of year: Christmas/Winter, Easter/Spring, Saint John’s/Summer, and Michaelmas/Autumn. These were the last four watercolour paintings created by Rudolf Steiner in connection with a deepening of his work in Spiritual Science and the significance of the cycle of the year.
Find out more
Contact Nurturers Studio for more information

12 Portals – A Life in 7 Year Cycles
2024-01-13 15:00 - 20:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Harmony Centre, 11 Beresford St, Mittagong, NSW, 2575
Word Sisters
presents

12 Portals – A Life in 7 Year Cycles
A Series of Workshops and Performances

When & Where
Saturday 13th January
Workshop 3-5 pm, Shared supper 6pm
Performance 7.00pm with shared supper 6pm
Harmony Centre Mittagong
11 Beresford St, Mittagong NSW
Tuesday 16th January
Tuesday Preview and Sharing 7 pm
Rudolf Steiner House, 307, Sussex Street, Sydney

Saturday 20th January
Rudolf Steiner House, 307, Sussex Street, Sydney

Cost
Saturday 13th
Entry by donation
Saturday 20th January
Workshop $25, $20 conc.
Performance $25, $20 conc.

Bookings
Contact: Renate 0408806468
Download the flyers

Mittagong Performance and Workshop
Sydney Performance and Workshop

About Word Sisters
Word Sisters have been creating as a collaborative community since 2017. We are four creative arts practitioners (performers, storytellers, workshop facilitators, poets, and writers) who have a common background in Anthroposophy. We initially met over 20 years ago exploring Steiner’s Speech and Drama methods through workshops in Western Australia. By combining Steiner’s Speech and Drama indications, eurythmy, creative writing and biography work, we devise performances and related workshops. A playful curiosity and phenomenological research approach has enabled us to craft and share two performance/workshop projects.
Dancing Backwards, performed at the ASinA Perth Conference in 2018, and the Adelaide Fringe in 2019; explored the impact of the planets as vowel qualities within our biographies; and 12 Portals, A Life in 7 Year Cycles, refined in Adelaide in 2022 with Dawn Langman, and performed in Perth, December 2022, and due to be shared in Sydney and Mittagong, January 2024. 12 Portals explores the impacts of the zodiac and consonants within life phases 0-84.
Word Sisters each contributes unique artistic strengths and for over five years have met regularly on Zoom. As three members live in Perth and one in Yamba, NSW, we manage our schedules to work physically together, usually in Perth, to develop works through embodied processes.

Read a review of their work

Word Sisters are:
Jenny Hill BA, Dip Ed, M Ed, Dip Speech and Drama, is a professional storyteller with extensive experience in performance, education and community projects. Her present focus is in providing professional development in early childhood education.
Dale Irving BA, Dip Ed, B Ed, M Ed, PhD, is a former public school drama teacher and arts’ educator, who now works with biography consultation after training with Karl-Heinz Finke. She presents courses for the Perth Rudolf Steiner College.
Renate Millonig Dip Speech & Drama (Harkness Studio), BA, Dip Ed, Grad Dip Public Health, Grad Dip Arts, extensive work as performer, director, speaker, trainer and workshop facilitator in mainstream and Steiner-related arts / education contexts.
Rosemary Stevens BA Hons, MA, DCA (PhD) is a published author who teaches creative and professional writing at Curtin University. Her involvement with anthroposophy began in the early 80s as a pioneer parent of the Perth Waldorf School, where she was playgroup leader in the foundational years.

Feature image:Homo signorum, Heinrich von Laufenberg, Regimen, ca. 1450/60

Are Thoresen Visits Melbourne in February 2024
2024-02-01 19:00 - 20:30 (Australia/Sydney) | 2 Union St, Kew, 2 Union St, Kew, Melbourne, Victoria
The Victorian Branch of the ASinA presents
A Program with Are Thoresen

Program

1st February: Hygienic Occultism and the Changes of the Spiritual World after the death of Rudolf Steiner.
2nd-4th February: Christianising the Elemental World and working with the Christ Force in healing through Hygienic Occultism in order to avoid translocating illnesses.
Find out more

Date and Time
7.00 pm, Thursday, 1st February 2024
10.00 am-3.00 pm, 2nd – 4th February 2024
Cost
$35, concession $30
$350, concession $300

Location
Aurora Australis, Anthroposophical College of the Arts 2 Union St, Kew
For more information
Please RSVP to Jenny Meltzer M: 0411 273729 or Birgith Lugosi

Art as a Spiritual Practice - and Why We Need This
2024-02-15 19:00 - 20:15 (Australia/Sydney) | Online
What can art do for us? The Arts are well known as a activity for supporting our health and wellbeing by nourishing us with creativity, music, plays, inspiring films and beautiful pictures. But practised in a structured, disciplined yet imaginative way, art, any of the Arts, can act as meditation does – as a schooling path of spiritual development.
This webinar discusses how essential it is for Anthroposophists to have some form of artistic practice to strengthen and order the soul life, to ‘school it’, so that we have the forces to meet the challenges coming to meet us out of the future – and how to go about this.
The webinar also acts as an introduction to the new v online training, starting in March.
In the act of creating, spirituality and art meet
Rudolf Steiner intended the artistic to be central to the pursuit of spiritual investigation he named ‘Anthroposophy’, just as he believed creativity to be central to what it means to be human. Yet access to the spiritual is not simply a given today. In our materialistic age, the soul needs awakening to its inmost needs, perhaps far more than we realise. The path to the spiritual needs to be actively cultivated with our whole being, not just our head. The arts play a role here beyond the aesthetic.
Becoming artistic is an inner need of Anthroposophy. Without it, Anthroposophy cannot go into the future. If not imbued with the artistic impulse, then Anthroposophy will go short of breath, according to Steiner:

In an inartistic atmosphere it goes short of breath; only in an artistic element can it breathe freely. Rightly understood, it will lead over to the genuinely artistic without losing any of its cognitional character.

This webinar also introduces the Art as a Path of Schooling for the Soul training.
When
7pm AEDT 15 February, 2024
Cost
Entry by $20 donation
How to book
Book Here!

For more information
Contact Fiona Campbell for more information.

The spiritual world lives in the artistic, as a “living, colourful, form-bearing weaving and being’ reality”
Therefore, working with the arts, out of the arts, must become central to our way of engaging with Anthroposophy.

Feature image: OIA, courtesy of Fiona Campbell

Grail Quest
2024-02-16 16:30 - 2024-05-17 19:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Tarremah Steiner School, Kingston, Tasmania, 27 Nautilus Grove, Huntingfield, TAS, 7055, Australia
... a journey into the spiritual science of Rudolf Steiner

Grail Quest is a two-year part-time self development course inspired the the insights of Rudolf Steiner. Program includes biography work, singing, storytelling, craft, visual arts and much more.
Gerry Josephson has been running these life-changing courses for over 30 years.
Enrol now for the 16th February 2024 intake.
When
Fridays 4.30 pm – 7.30 pm
Saturdays 9.30 am to 12.30 pm.
Where
Tarremah Steiner School, Nautilus Grove, Huntingfield
For more information
Please contact Gerry Josephson on 0406788050 or download the flyer

Working with Colour, Out of Colour
2024-03-02 16:00 - 2024-04-06 17:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Online
Painted Space Studio

A short online course
introducing how to work with colour in painting

Anthroposophic approach to painting
How do we experience colour? And what does it mean that form arises out of colour, and not that colour is attached to form? So how do we paint ‘out of colour’ and not form? To answer these questions, we start with Goethe’s Theory of Colour as our foundation. Using immersive wet-on-wet watercolour, we explore the qualities and gestures of each colour, and learn how colours have a life of their own, qualities that express their very essence, when painted ‘out of colour’.
Why Goethe’s Theory of Colour?
Goethe proposed a revolutionary method of approaching the phenomena of colour, one which integrates the observer with the experience. Further, Goethe was concerned with the qualities of colours, which he called the ‘deeds and sufferings of the light’. By immersing our senses in the colours, we come a deep, intuitive relationship with them that connects us more strongly to both the physical and soul worlds.
This course provides a foundation to the approach to painting used in Steiner (Waldorf) schools and to the anthroposophic understanding of colour itself.
Who is it for?

For Steiner class teachers who would like to learn more about the nature of colour as used in the Steiner School curriculum
For anyone interested in learning the fundamentals of the anthroposophic approach to art, colour and painting.

When is it?
2 March-6 April, Saturdays 4pm-5.15pm AEDT
Six weekly sessions plus recording
Cost
$170 AUD/$120 USD
$190 AUD for PD certificate
Bookings
Book here!
For more information
Find out more about this course and others,

About Painted Space Studio
Painted Space Studio offers a comprehensive training program in art, emphasising its potential as a spiritual practice. By recognising art as a bridge to the spiritual, the studio provides individuals with an creative path for harmonising and strengthening their inner being through art.
Painted Space uses the anthroposophic approach to art as its framework, but leads each artistically-striving individual towards the full expression of their own creativity, which goes beyond mere aesthetics and taps into the profound connection between the human spirit and the creative process.
Director: Fiona Campbell

Feature image: Goethe’s symmetric colour wheel with associated symbolic qualities (1809)

The Creative Life of Language Workshop
2024-03-15 18:00 - 2024-03-17 11:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Samford Valley Steiner School, 5 Narrawa Drive, Wights Mountain, Qld, 4520
Heart Fire Centre For Speech And Drama
Presents
An introductory workshop exploring the creatives forces of language

About the workshop

Through movement and Speech we will explore the creative forces of language; vowels as gateway to the soul, consonants as gateway to the world. Our work is based on the integration of Rudolf Steiner’s approach to speech and Michael Chekhov’s acting technique.
Facilitators

Dawn Langman, Katrina Stowe and Nicole Ostini

When

15 March 6pm-8pm
16 March 9am – 4pm
17 March 9am – 11am

Where
Samford Valley Steiner School Hall
5 Narrawa Crt
Wights Mountain 4520 QLD

Cost
Cost for the 3 day workshop $250 (self-catering)

Find out more

Contact Katrina Stowe or download the flyer
Registration close on Sunday 10th March 2024

About Heart Fire
Announcing a new speech and drama initiative inspired by the work of Rudolf Steiner,
Heart Fire Centre for Speech and Drama
Situated in proximity to Pacifica College of Eurythmy, Heart Fire is based in Samford Valley, Queensland and is the initiative of Nicole Ostini, Katrina Stowe and Dawn Langman. Dawn’s life work has been to research and develop an integrated speech and acting methodology based on Rudolf Steiner’s approach to the art of Speech and Michael Chekhov’s, also Anthroposophically inspired, art of acting. Nicole and Katrina are both graduates of the 4-year training developed by Dawn Langman since her arrival back in Australia in 1995. They are both performers and experienced teachers at primary, secondary and adult levels and have been working together with Dawn, over several years now, to lay the foundation for a full and part time training and an artistic ensemble that will continue the research into and development of the integrated speech and acting methodology.
Over the next years we are planning a series of introductory workshops that will provide opportunities for teachers and performers, intending or established, to experience the richness and transformative and health bestowing benefits of this approach. We are also working towards the possibility of a 4-year full-time training sometime in the future.
Introductory workshop
This workshop will be held at Samford Valley Steiner School just outside of Brisbane on Friday evening 15th, Saturday 16th and Sunday morning 17th March 2024. Please see accompanying flyer.
Dawn Langman’s account of Heart Fire’s Methodology
The Heart Fire Centre for Speech and Drama is a fully integrated speech and acting methodology that has arisen out of many years of research into the impulse given by Rudolf Steiner for a renewal of the performing arts of the Word: drama, storytelling and poetry recital.
This impulse has been served by many pioneers over the years. One of the challenges that has faced all of us called to this work has been to develop an acting methodology that could seamlessly integrate with the groundbreaking work of Marie Steiner and her pupils to incarnate a renewal of the art of speech. Called Sprachgestaltung (in English, Speech Formation or Creative Speech) it trains the speaker to channel the divine creative activity of the macrocosmic beings of the stars and planets as it manifests through the sounds of language, the consonants and vowels.
Initially the acting side of the process relied on the already existing talent and /or professional experience of those who first trained with Marie Steiner. The demands of the speech work in those early years were so huge and all-consuming in themselves that the need for a fully articulated acting process equally grounded in the spiritual scientific lawfulness that Anthroposophy provides was not immediately clear. However, in recent years the further evolution of the speech work and the potential that it has to make a contribution to the wider culture, has been challenged by the lack of such a process.
Over the lifetime of my own work and search for answers to these questions, including an initial mainstream speech and acting training followed by my deep immersion in the art of Speech Formation, I was fortunate to discover and train in the acting methodology developed by the great Russian actor Michael Chekhov. He is acknowledged as one of the great actors, and teachers of acting, of the twentieth century. It was his destiny to function in the mainstream world of film and theatre and to translate the spiritual lawfulness of Anthroposophy into language and processes that could inspire and school the actors’ artistic striving whether or not they were consciously in search of the spiritual dimension of their art. His achievement at this level has meant that it has only been more recently acknowledged how deeply his work was embedded in the spiritual scientific principles of Rudolf Steiner.
It was not in Chekhov’s destiny to master the art of Speech Formation. It was his work to lay the foundation of a spiritually scientific acting process. However, he fully recognized and spoke about the role of both speech formation and eurythmy in developing capacities that actors and artists of the spoken word will need for theatre to fulfil its function in the future. In ways appropriate to our evolving present consciousness, it must be able to reveal the spiritual realities at work within our human destinies and evolution, explore the mystery of ‘why we are here and why we suffer’. (Olga’s final speech from The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov.)
The Three Streams:
The Heart Fire methodology consists fundamentally of a systematic exploration of each of the three streams of work that makes possible their thorough integration at each level of the process.
Chekhov’s spiritual/psycho/physical acting methodology: Chekhov’s psycho-physical exercises attune our body/soul/ instrument to be an organ of perception and expression that provides a healthy basis in movement and gesture for accessing the emotional life of the actor and the revelations of the soul and spirit as they manifest in drama, poetry and story.
Speech Formation/ Creative Speech: An exploration of the consonants, vowels, rhythms and other elements of language, leads to the initial experience that words are not just agreed abstract symbols that carry information to our brains but have the power to create events and awaken and refine our deepest life of thought and feeling. Further training transforms us step by step into conscious co- creators with the spiritual powers, through whose Word we and all things are created.
Eurythmy: Through this art of movement the basic elements of speech eurythmy deepen and intensify our work with vowels and consonants. As we progress further, we are introduced to the cosmic gestures that reveal the inner life of the macrocosmic beings of the stars and planets who so intimately weave into the evolving consciousness of human beings as expressed through drama, poetry and story.
The integration of these streams enriches the artistic striving of actors, storytellers and reciters by providing an objective path to dimensions of reality not otherwise accessible.
Please pass this information on to anyone who you think may be interested.
For further information
Nicole Ostini or Katrina Stowe

A Virtuous Journey: Living with the 12 Virtues as a Cycle of the Year
2024-03-21 19:00 - 2024-12-22 20:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Online
Exploring the Virtues
Working with the 12 monthly virtues as an exploration, contemplation and mediation

Rudolf Steiner gave twelve virtues to be worked on for each zodiac. Whilst we have this list from Steiner, he gave very little else directly.
This course takes up his introduction. It will explore each of the virtues more deeply, and what they mean in relation to the zodiac over the cycle of a year. We will be working with a discourse, a contemplative practice of verse and Heart Awareness to bring the virtues to life exploring both the practical and spiritual aspects of each of the virtues.
Find out more
Download the program
When is it?
Starts March 21 with Aries as the theme. The paper and contemplation will be emailed on the 21st of each month related to the virtue and the corresponding zodiac sign. and we will meet online (via zoom) at 7pm AEDT for 1 hour on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month to explore,
Cost
$240 for the year donation suggested.
You can register directly or organize an alternative payment schedule for this upcoming course by emailing me here.
Bookings
Buy tickets

Course leaders
Jude Samson and Craig Logan.
Download the flyer or contact Jude for more information

Three Crosses Painting Workshop
2024-03-24 09:30 - 11:30 (Asia/Kolkata) | Online
Painting the Easter theme
based on Rudolf Steiner’s original of 100-years ago

On the centennial of Rudolf Steiner’s Easter motif, this online painting session will work with the formative colour story of The Three Crosses by Rudolf Steiner and will explore the connection with the festival time of year: Easter/Spring. This was one of the late watercolour paintings created by Rudolf Steiner in connection with a deepening of his work in Spiritual Science and the significance of the cycle of the year in relation to the human soul.
What is it about?
On Saturday evenings in the US and Sunday mornings in Asia, artist-educator Van James will guide beginners, intermediate and experienced artists through this colour-imagination of the mystery of Golgotha as depicted in colour. This is a practical painting workshops including illustrated conversation and discussion meeting on the weekend of March 23/24, 2024.
When is it on?
Sunday 24 March for Asia/Oceania participants
Saturday 23 March for US participants.
Who is it for?
No experience is necessary (have painting materials prepared and ready).
A recording will be available.
Find out more
Contact Nurturer’Studio for more information and registration or download the flyer.

Sponsored by www.nurturerstudio.com

Feature image: Three Crosses, by Rudolf Steiner

The Second Initiation of Lazarus at the Foot of the Cross
2024-03-29 19:00 - 20:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Online
The Stream of Life Research Studio
presents
A Contemplation for Good Friday
‘What works between you and me, woman?’

Join us on Good Friday for a online contemplation on the mystery of Christ’s last words to Mary, mother of God and John, the beloved disciple, as they stood by the cross on Golgotha, in light of the events at the Marriage at Cana.
We begin with a phenomenological art contemplation on the theme, led by Fiona Campbell, followed by a meditation from Jude on Mary and John at the foot of the cross.
Suggested reading: St John Chap. 19
When
7.00pm – 8.30pm AEDT, Good Friday 29th March 2024
Cost
$20 donation or amount of your choice is much appreciated
Bookings
Book here
Zoom Link will be sent by email two days, two hours and ten minutes before the event!
For more information
Download the flyer to share or contact Fiona Campbell or Jude Neeme-Samson
Fiona Campbell

Malaysia Waldorf Teacher Preparation
2024-04-08 08:00 - 2024-04-14 15:00 (Asia/Kuala_Lumpur) | Online
Painting Grade 1 to Grade 6
with Van James

This course is part of the Malaysia Waldorf Teacher Preparation Cycle 2, but we welcome public and international participants. This course will trace the visual artistic development of the child through their painting and work with color in the primary and elementary school years.
The course will include the importance of the threefold human being, multi-intelligence teaching, and understanding some of the latest neurological research as a basis for the importance of education. Wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry watercolour painting of stories and letters, landscapes and maps, figures and naturalistic forms will all be practiced with the intention of experiencing and understanding the purpose and place of art in elementary school education and for adult human development.
This is one of the intermodules for Malaysia Waldorf Teacher Preparation Cycle 2 (Inter Module 4). However, for this ONLINE module, we open up to public and welcome international participants as well.
When is it?
8th – 10th April 2024; 12th – 14th April 2024
9am – 3pm via Zoom (Malaysia time; GMT +8)
NOTE: The workshop is conducted in English. Video recordings with Chinese translation can be provided upon request. Note that it is not a live translation.
Cost
USD 195
The video recordings will be opened for viewing from April 5th to June 30th, 2024.
Registration
Register here

Find out more
Please download the flyer or contact Steiner Education Malaysia.

Feature image: Sunrise, Steiner Training Motifs, by Van James

Working with Colour Chords
2024-04-27 15:30 - 2024-06-29 17:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Zoom online events, Australia
A foundation course in wet-on-dry painting
with artist Fiona Campbell
We explore how colours work with each other and upon each other in harmony, in polarity and as complementaries. It follows the Assenza approach to colour and painting, which is based on Goethe’s and Steiner’s theories of colour.
This fortnightly course also provides you with the foundations of the anthroposophic approach to wet-on-dry painting, where translucent coloured surfaces are continually overlaid with each other, so that new colours and new surfaces arise out of their meeting. From this colour interplay, forms gradually arise.
This online course is part of the Art as a Path of Schooling for the Soul training.
What is the Assenza approach?
Beppe Assenza (1905-1985) was already an established artist when he became inspired by Rudolf Steiner’s work on the nature of colour and his colour theory. Unlike the Wagner and Collois d’Herbois schools of anthroposophic art, he chose to work phenomenologically with colours i.e. out of our lived experience of painting red, blue, yellow, etc. His approach is both free and playful and yet methodological in its exploration that produces an open, atmospheric picture surface. In this way, we train our perceptual faculties while deepening our soul experience of colours in composition.
Who is it for?

For anyone interested in exploring the different techniques under the wet-on-dry umbrella.
For artists, art therapists and Steiner (Waldorf) teachers who want to deepen their understanding of colour (PD certificates available).

This course is core to the Art as a Path of Schooling for the Soul training.
When is it?
27 April-29 June 2024, Saturdays 3.30pm-5.30pm AEDT (10 hours class time)
Five fortnightly sessions plus video recording
How much does it cost?
$230 AUD/$165 USD
$250 AUD for PD certificate
Video recording included in the fee, available for three months.
How do I register?
Register here
For more information
For more information about the course or for any questions, please contact Fiona Campbell

About Fiona Campbell
Fiona Campbell is a visual artist, researcher, lecturer and arts educator. She has an interdisciplinary PhD on creativity and cognition and has been a professional artist and arts educator for more than 30 years.
Under the name Painted Space, she runs a schooling course that combines inner work with visual arts training.
You can find out more about Fiona at Painted Space or listen to an ABC Soul Search interview with her about the anthroposophical approach to art.

If I delve deeper into the characters of the different colours, they show me their dynamic qualities. Out my experience, I can then let the colours guide me.
Assenza

Feature image: New Life, by Fiona Campbell, 2017
Insert image: courtesy of Painted Space

Working with Colour, Out of Colour: A Foundation Course with the Threefold Academy
2024-04-29 18:00 - 2024-05-02 20:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Online
A four-day online intensive
on colour
29 April – 2 May

For more information
Contact Abhinporn Kittipeerapat

The Challenges Facing Agriculture: Ueli Hurter Tour VIC
2024-05-07 11:00 - 13:00 (Australia/Sydney) | The Michael Centre, 37a Wellington Park Drive, Warranwood, Vic, Australia
The Challenges Facing Agriculture
and What Biodynamics Offers
The Biodynamics Centenary Tour
Melbourne visit: morning

Farms and farmers are constantly facing challenges, be it the weather, soil health, cost of inputs/production, fair return for products etc.
2024 celebrates a centenary of the biodynamic movement. It has been 100 years since Rudolf Steiner presented the Agriculture Lectures in Europe, which were the start of what became known as Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture. To acknowledge the centenary, Ueli Hurter from Switzerland, the head of biodynamics globally, is undertaking a speaking tour of Australia in May. Ueli Hurter visits biodynamic farms and can report on their health and success.
Find out more about Ueli Hurter’s Biodynamics Centenary Tour

When is it?
11.00 am Tuesday 7 May
Where
The Michael Centre
37A Wellington Park Drive,
Warranwood 3134
Cost
$30 cash only

For more information
Please contact Steve Kapolice or phone 0407640495

Farmer as Priest on His Land: Ueli Hurter Tour VIC
2024-05-07 19:00 - 20:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Aurora Australis, 2 Union Street, Kew, Vic, 3101, Australia
Farmer as Priest on His Land
The Biodynamics Centenary Tour
Melbourne visit: evening

Farms and farmers are constantly facing challenges, be it the weather, soil health, cost of inputs/production, fair return for products etc.
2024 celebrates a centenary of the biodynamic movement. It has been 100 years since Rudolf Steiner presented the Agriculture Lectures in Europe, which were the start of what became known as Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture. To acknowledge the centenary, Ueli Hurter from Switzerland, the head of biodynamics globally, is undertaking a speaking tour of Australia in May. Ueli Hurter visits biodynamic farms and can report on their health and success.
Find out more about Ueli Hurter’s Biodynamics Centenary Tour

When is it?
7.00 pm Tuesday 7 May
Where
Aurora Australis Anthroposophical College of the Arts,
2 Union Street,
KEW 3101
Cost
$30 for the members of the Anthroposophical Society, $35 for non-members.

For more information
Please contact Birgith Lugosi phone 0448 844 453.

Harmony of Land, People, Community: Ueli Hurter Tour TAS
2024-05-08 - 2024-05-10 | NSW
Bio-Dynamics Centennial Recognition Events
The Biodynamics Centenary Tour
Tasmania May 2024

Biodynamic Tasmania has organised a series of events to celebrate the 100 years anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s agriculture lectures, which in time became known as the birth of bio-dynamic agriculture. These events are part of a suite of events across Australia and New Zealand designed to celebrate the Biodynamics centenary this year.
It has been 100 years since Rudolf Steiner presented the Agriculture Lectures in Europe, which were the start of what became known as Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture. To acknowledge the centenary, Ueli Hurter from Switzerland, the head of biodynamics globally, is undertaking a speaking tour of Australia in May. Ueli Hurter visits biodynamic farms and can report on their health and success.
Dialogue between healing and regeneration: Keynote speaker Ueli Hurter
The celebrations in Tasmania aim to develop authentic dialogue between “healing” and “regeneration” across land, people and community, such that new harmonies may emerge and guide further BD developments into the future.
Tasmania Program
Download the program, which shows the range of activities and public presentations planned for 8-10 May in Southern Tasmania, some of which feature the global head of Bio-Dynamic Agriculture, Ueli Hurter.
*Note – specific event location addresses are supplied during the registration process via Humanitix or by contacting the organisers via the contact details above.
As can be seen in the program above and on the downloadable flyer, there is a mix of smaller group activities (e.g., BD compost making and a presentation/discussion on BD bee keeping with students, parents and interested people at the Tarramah Steiner School), facilitated discussions on a range of BD related topics (e.g., lunar and planetary cycles) and growing edges for BD (e.g., dialogue between Indigenous and BD approaches to caring for land), and more focussed discussions (e.g., Anthroposophy and community; exploring the herbs used for in BD preparations making; etc).
Each of these activities represent different facets of the role BD can/does play in responding to major challenges all of us face, such as climate change, food security and quality, cost of living, and building regenerative communities. These challenges will be the focus of two public presentations by Ueli Hurter on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
Cost
All events attendance/participation require registration so that venues can be adequately prepared. There will be a small registration fee to cover the venue costs for the public presentations. All other events are free of charge.
Registration for events
Wed 8th May -Caring for Country Roundtable – Magical Farm Tasmania (Allens Rivulet)
Wed 8th May – Ueli Hurter public presentation one – BD responses to the climate crisis and social and planetary healing
Thurs 9th May – Bronzewing Botanicals Herb Farm Tour (Allens Rivulet) & Anthroposophy and Community Future Directions Meeting (Raphael Institute – Margate)
Thurs 9th May Biodynamics in schools with Ueli Hurter (Tarremah Steiner School – Huntingfield)
Thurs 9th May – Ueli Hurter-public presentation two – Economic models, challenges and opportunities of building regenerative BD food secure communities
For more information
Visit the Bio-Dynamics Tasmania website or contact Bio-Dynamics Tasmania: Trevor Crowe or phone Cole Bradshaw on 0429 961 125

About Ueli Hurter
Ueli Hurter has been the co-head of the Agriculture Section at the Goetheanum since 2010 and currently sits on the executive board of the International Biodynamic Association. A native of Switzerland, he completed agricultural apprenticeships in Switzerland, Germany and France. He has formerly served as President of the Swiss Demeter association and as Swiss spokesman to Demeter International.
Find out more about Ueli Hurter’s Biodynamics Centenary Tour Australia-wide

Working with Verses and Meditations
2024-05-08 10:00 - 2024-07-03 11:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Online
A Painted Space studio course
8 May-4 July 2024
In this online course, we explore how to work artistically with your favourite verses and meditations. Finding the essence of a verse or meditation, its central motifs and gestures, is key to creating meaningful pictures to accompany any sacred or profound text.
By finding the balance between illustration and self-expression, we bring the words alive, deepening their meaning and effect upon our souls.
What will we do?
Five workshops using mixed media and contemplative practice. Suitable for all levels.
When
10.00am-11.30am Wednesdays,
8 May-4 July 2024
Cost
COST: $200 AUD/$150 USD
Bookings
Book here
Recordings of each workshop will be accessible to participants for three months after the end of the course.
Find out more
Browse the courses at Painted Space Studio or contact Fiona Campbell for more information.

And in remembering does the soul
weave meaning and being together.

Rudolf Steiner

Feature image: Parsifal meets Sigune, courtesy of Fiona Campbell

The Art of Color: A Head Study and Mother and Child Imagination after Rudolf Steiner’s Indications
2024-05-11 - 2024-05-12 | Shan Mei Zhen AnthrArt Center, Taiwan
AnthroArt
presents
The Art of Color: A Head Study and Mother and Child Imagination after Rudolf Steiner’s Indications
As part of the AnthrOArt Painting Program at Shan Mei Zhen we are offering a weekend painting session on portrait and figure painting based on Rudolf Steiner’s indications of the Head Study and Mother and Child sketches for teenagers.
The so-called Friedwart Sketches, given by Rudolf Steiner 100-years ago this year, are the basis for both high school painting exercises and an adult painting training. We will consider the history and makeup of these themes together with a hands-on approach of painting them, as much as possible, “out of the color”. We will likewise see how these sketches are visual meditative verses in color rather than in words. Illustrated slide presentations will be a part of the program and Color Eurythmy will complement the work in watercolor. We will see how the themes are a part of a larger initiative put forward by Rudolf Steiner for the unfolding of “artistic feeling” and universal human development.
Download the flyer
When
Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12, 2024
Where
Shan Mei Zhen, Taichung, Taiwan
For more information
Contact smz.waldorf@gmail.com

Feature image: Head Study, Rudolf Steiner from the Seven School (Friedwart) Sketches

Breathing with the Climate Crisis: Ueli Hurter Tour NSW
2024-05-11 - 2024-05-12 | Rudolf Steiner House, 307 Sussex Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000
Biodynamics Sydney Centenary Conference Sun-Soil-Food
The Biodynamics Centenary Tour
Sydney visit: 11th and 12th May

A series of lectures, discussions and artistic presentations to celebrate the 100 years contribution of biodynamics to science, the life of the soil and cultural life.
The Sydney Centenary Conference has an exciting lineup of international, interstate and local speakers.
Hear how climate change can be mitigated by using (not just storing) atmospheric carbon in the soil to combat greenhouse gases.
Meet experts and people from related fields – nutrition, soil fertility, and social initiatives.
Create networks and opportunities to work together for a common goal.
Find out about practices which have been in use globally for 100 years and have proved their efficacy many times over.
Enjoy cultural offerings – music, drama, eurythmy and art
You can also visit the lunchtime Sale Table and Rudolf Steiner Book Centre, which will be open at all the breaks.
There are also two art exhibitions on the ground floor and the top floor.
Most importantly, you will be part of the living human presence which is so important for the speakers and the conference as a whole.
When is it?

11th May 2024, 9.30am-5.00pm
12th May 2024, 9.30am-9.00pm
Where
Rudolf Steiner House,
307 Sussex Street
Sydney 2001
Cost
$240

Keynote lectures
Sun-Earth-Moon, with Ueli Hurter, 9.30 am, Saturday 11th May
Encounters with the principles and practices used in the worldwide biodynamic agriculture movement, .Can a positive solution be found in a contribution to environmental crises?
A Desert Miracle with Helmy Abouleish, SEKEM Community, Egypt. 1.30pm Sunday 12th May
Muslims, Jews, Christians working and liveing together using biodynamics and government cooperation.
Live stream bookings
Register for lectures by Ueli Hurter and Helmy Abouleish CEO,SEKEM Community, Egypt and others here
The zoom lectures are by donation to cover many of the costs of holding this conference.
For the full program
Visit the Biodynamics Sydney website
For more information
Please contact Deborah Saffir, Daniel Piason or Diane Watkin at 0422447092 or biodynamicssydney@gmail.com

About the Centenary of Biodynamics
2024 celebrates a centenary of the biodynamic movement. It has been 100 years since Rudolf Steiner presented the Agriculture Lectures in Europe, which were the start of what became known as Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture. To acknowledge the centenary, Ueli Hurter from Switzerland, the head of biodynamics globally, is undertaking a speaking tour of Australia in May. Ueli Hurter visits biodynamic farms and can report on their health and success.
Find out more about Ueli Hurter’s Biodynamics Centenary Tour

The Farmer as the Priest of the Land: Ueli Hurter Tour QLD
2024-05-13 - 2024-05-14 | Varied
Bio-Dynamics Centennial Recognition Events
The Biodynamics Centenary Tour
Queensland 13th-14th May 2024

QLD Biodynamics has organised a series of events celebrating the 100-year anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture lectures, which in time became known as the birth of bio-dynamic agriculture. These events are part of a suite of events across Australia and New Zealand designed to celebrate the BioDynamics centenary
To acknowledge the centenary, Ueli Hurter from Switzerland, the head of biodynamics globally, is undertaking a speaking tour of Australia in May. Ueli Hurter visits biodynamic farms and can report on their health and success.
Find out more about Ueli Hurter’s Biodynamics Centenary Tour
Queensland Program
The Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th May events on the program below include two public keynote presentations by Ueli Hurter the global head of Bio-Dynamic Agriculture.
As can be seen in the program, there is a mix of community and biodynamic activities. Each of these activities represents different facets of the role Biodynamics can/does play in responding to major challenges all of us face, such as climate change.
These challenges will be the focus of two public presentations by Ueli Hurter on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th May.
Download the QLD program
Cost
Open the members of the Anthroposophical Society and the general public
All events attendance/participation require registration so that venues can be adequately prepared. There will be a small registration fee to cover the venue costs for the public presentations. All other events are free of charge.
For more information
Please contact Rob Birse or phone 0431 895 168 or 0480 231 171.
