02 Schnaith EN

Spirituality in Everyday Care
Rhythms and annual festivals:
The human being between
heaven and earth
Eva-Maria Schnaith
Anthroposophic Contributions
to Inclusive Social Development
Booklet 2 · EN

CONTENT
FOREWORD
STARTING POINT________________________________4
SPIRITUAL LIFE AND BEING HUMAN______________6
INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS
ON SPIRITUAL LIFE____________________________ 10
CONCRETE VEHICLES FOR
SPIRITUAL LIFE IN EVERYDAY CARE___________ 12
ANNUAL FESTIVALS – SELECTED MOTIFS______ 16
CONCLUSION__________________________________ 21
SOURCES______________________________________ 22
Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to present the second booklet in this
series in English translation.
Eva-Maria Schnaith’s contribution on Spirituality in
Everyday Care illuminates an important aspect of
community building: How do we cultivate a conscious
approach to time and to human, cosmic and
natural rhythms? How can we bring these rhythms
together in artistic harmony and resonance so that
forces can be released for everyday life?
This is a creative task that needs to be shaped depending
on the given context. Eva-Maria Schnaith
discusses it against the background of her experience
and practice in Central Europe. However, her
descriptions can be viewed as examples that may
inspire creative approaches anywhere in the world,
using different forms, images and narratives.
I hope this brochure will inspire you to create spaces
of resonance that allow everyday life to breathe
between heaven and earth.
With warm greetings,
Dr. Jan Göschel
Managing Director and Member
of the Leadership Team
Anthroposophic Council for
Inclusive Social Development
3

STARTING POINT
The task of accompanying and supporting people
with additional needs is multifaceted – as varied
as individual expressions of humanity.
You my soul, take heart to
use your own strength.
Steiner, 1999, p. 54, transl. MS
The extent of support offered is based on individual
needs. These needs vary depending on age and
context (early intervention, kindergarten, school,
home, work), and range from necessary practical
support in the household and daily hygiene to help
with bureaucratic tasks, relationship support, social
life, leisure activities, art and culture, work and
learning. From the perspective of anthroposophy,
the spiritual life is also an important aspect of the
life world of people with additional needs. I define
spiritual life as all consciously shaped moments
that allow children, young people and adults to
experience a spiritual dimension in their life, whether
as a part of themselves or in the form of divine or
spiritual forces in the world (such as the creative
forces in nature). It is impossible to clearly define
spiritual experiences in words – they defy definition:
They must be experienced.
Image by Sandra Bilger
The following questions arise in the context of
(co-)shaping a spiritual life:
What needs do the people in question express?
What experiences do they bring with them?
What experiences can and do we want to enable
them to have, (including) from the perspective of
anthroposophy?
There can be no formulaic answers to these questions
– they require an attitude of curiosity and openness
in everyone involved. It is important to consider the
personalities involved in each individual case, as well
as what is offered by a given institution or support
situation. The zeitgeist in which the individual
context is embedded also plays a role. Though the
UN’s CRPD does not specifically mention the topic of
religious practice or spirituality in its guidelines on
lifestyle for people with a disability, the concept of
self-determination is fundamental.
The significance of a cultural and spiritual home
Of course, the cultural and religious context in
which spiritual life takes place is just as important.
In Lebanon or Nigeria, what is needed and offered is
different than in Switzerland. This brochure is based
on my experiences in Central Europe, in the northern
hemisphere and in a culture shaped by Christianity.
My examples come from these experiences. I
encourage you to translate the general principles
I am attempting to illustrate from my experience
to your own cultural and religious contexts and to
reflect on how individual and communal spirituality
can also be shaped in a completely different cultural,
spiritual and geographical context.
Orientation from the anthroposophic perspective
This brochure is an attempt to offer practical
orientation from an anthroposophically oriented
perspective. It is written for support persons and
families who are new to anthroposophy and would
like to understand the background of elements
that are already incorporated, as well as for longtime
professionals who would like to incorporate
the prevailing guiding principles such as autonomy,
self-determination and diversity into the spiritual
tasks involved in accompanying others, and to bring
new creativity to their life.
To this end, the following chapters will include a few
concrete suggestions for practical application.
However, these thoughts are not meant to replace
your own engagement with spiritual themes, for
yourself and for those you are accompanying.
This brochure follows four main topics:
• Chapter 1: Spirituality and being human
• Chapter 2: Introductory perspectives
on spiritual life
• Chapter 3: Concrete vessels for
spiritual life in daily care
• Chapter 4: Annual festivals – selected themes
• Chapter 5: Conclusion.
The following considerations are shaped by my own
experience and knowledge. They are meant to inspire
further engagement with the topic of spirituality in
everyday care.
4
5

SPIRITUAL LIFE AND BEING HUMAN
In every individual human biography, there are
occasions which inspire questions that lead beyond
everyday life.
Such “wake-up calls” might include:
• the miracle of a birth (“Where did you come from,
since you weren’t here before?”)
• the experience of dying and death (“Where are
you now? Where are you going? What is your
body? Who were you, really?”)
• special life circumstances or crises such as
illness, unemployment, separation or falling in
love, etc., and the questions of meaning that
accompany them (“What does this mean? What
now?”)
• important encounters with other people that
we experience as groundbreaking or even
life-changing
• feeling moved in and by nature (“amazement
and awe at the creative forces that are made visible
in these natural phenomena”)
• the experience of impairment or disability, for
both those experiencing it and those around
them
Being moved by such situations offers the possibility
of new, profound experiences. The German singer-songwriter
Konstantin Wecker puts it this way:
“I believe there are things that are fleeting and things
that are eternal. We have to find what is eternal; we
already know what is fleeting. Stupidly, we hold fast
to what is fleeting. The eternal lives within us. And
that is what we have to find. And I believe that if we
focus more and more on the eternal, even if the only
result is that we realize the eternal is now—it is a
constant now, not a past or a future—then we will
increasingly lose this huge, existential fear of death.”
(Bauch 2001, p. 99, transl. MS)
These experiences offer us both opportunities and
challenges, as they take us out of our comfort zone
of “knowledge.” Especially as active professionals,
therefore, we need comprehensible explanations in
addition to our own engagement with the topic. Below,
we will outline some of these explanations from
the perspective of anthroposophy.
Living in the rhythm and orientation of time
We human beings live in rhythms, both in our bodily
processes and in our soul states. Rhythm is a structured,
fluctuating fabric of repetition and change,
continuity and variation - it contains movement.
Deep connection with rhythms
In our body, we experience rhythm in our various organs
(clearly noticeable in our pulse and our breathing),
but also in the way we are integrated with the
great rhythms of the moon (i.e. the four-week cycle
of menstruation, the changing of the tides, etc.) and
the sun (day-night rhythms of waking and sleeping,
seasons).
This deep connection between human beings and
everything rhythmic is reflected in the way we engage
with time: We cultivate both repetition and
variety. For example, we distinguish between work
days and weekends and holidays. We also live within
different soul qualities: There are times to laugh
and times to cry, times for activity and times for relaxation,
times for being alone and times for being
with others, times of dependence and times for independence,
etc.
These different qualities give us orientation in time.
We can cherish the treasures of the past (a memorable
encounter, a vacation), experience anticipation
(about a birthday, Christmas, etc.), and shape our
lives. This supports the development of trust in our
own self-efficacy and in “existence.”
Anthroposophic understanding
of the human being
As human beings, we ask ourselves questions like:
Who am “I?” Where do “I” come from? And where am
“I” going? We can understand the “I” as the core of
an individual’s internal being that has a relationship
with the eternal/divine, but whose existence is also
dependent upon the “earth” or the world and which
can develop through relating with the world. (In the
first brochure in this series, Andreas Fischer delves
more deeply into understanding this aspect of the
human being.) The word “religion” (re-ligio) comes
I think different religions are different doors to the
same house. Sometimes I think the house exists,
and sometimes I don’t. It’s the great mystery.
Steve Jobs, Apple founder (Isaacson, 2011), transl. MS
from Latin and can be translated as “re-connecting.”
Inherent in it is the idea that individual human beings
have their origins in the divine-spiritual. In his
book Theosophy, Rudolf Steiner chooses the following
words: “The ‘I’ lives in the body and the soul, but
the spirit lives in the ‘I’. And the spirit within the ‘I’
is eternal. For the ‘I’ receives its nature and significance
from that with which it is connected.” (Steiner
1990a, p. 50, transl. MS) During our earthly lives—
in a state of separation from our spiritual origins—
many people feel a (conscious or unconscious) impulse
to actively reconnect with the spiritual world
– they experience themselves as seekers.
The longing to connect to our origins
Different religions and cultures have found various
images for us as beings between “heaven and earth”,
which can be found in myths, creation stories, religious
texts, etc.
But evidence of our engagement with these questions
can also be found right up to the modern age
in the fine arts, literature and philosophy, as well as
in pioneering thinkers from completely unrelated
fields (see Steve Jobs quote on page 7).
Human beings long to connect with their origins in
the spiritual world, and if we do not offer opportunities
to those we support to feel at home in the
spiritual world, we may make this “reconnecting” difficult
or even prevent it. Or, if they already have this
connection with the spiritual, as described by some
people with autism, for example, we reduce them to
a purely pragmatic existence, prevent shared spirituality,
and thus perhaps increase their loneliness.
The following citation by Domenig Christian Gaegauf
relates to this:
“I say that we, people with disabilities, are ‘superficially
distorted’, as it is only on the surface that we
appear different. Beneath that, if you look at us with
an open heart, you will see a whole human being
with a spirit, a soul and a body.”
(Domenig Christian Gaegauf, Langenbruck, 2019,
written with FC, transl. MS)
Freedom and individualization in everyday care
In recent decades, cultivation of religion or spiritual
life has changed radically. For many of us, it has
become important to choose our own religious or
spiritual path and practice – often a path that leaves
behind traditional ways and seeks something new.
Turning traditions inside out
In the 1920s, a great upheaval of old traditions was
taking place all over Europe, among other places,
and religious/spiritual life was only one part of
this upheaval, which also included education, arts,
medicine, fashion, understanding of economics, etc.
This tendency increased radically through the experience
of the two world wars, in two directions: Both
in questioning everything, researching more deeply
and daring to push boundaries, and in looking back
and yearning for the familiar and a feeling of safety.
In regard to spiritual life, the singer-songwriter and
poet Konstantin Wecker expresses the break with
tradition as follows:
6 7

“For the next century, we must rediscover spirituality.
We must not believe that we will be saved just because
we parrot dogmas. We must discover it within
ourselves. And that is difficult – more difficult than
following commandments. For I have to develop and
represent my morality anew each and every day.”
(Bauch, 2001, p. 112, transl. MS)
Freedom of thought means freedom from dogma
Clearly, the topic of individualization and self-determination
in regard to spiritual life affects many
people. Rudolf Steiner calls for absolute freedom of
thought and therefore freedom from dogma in relaying
spiritual experiences. He even goes so far as
to say that in the future, religious groups will be superfluous
and will be replaced by a special culture
of meeting one another. “All free religiousness that
develops in humankind in the future will be based on
the fact that the image of the divine will be recognized
in every human being – not only in theory, but
in lived experience. Then, there will be no religious
compulsion – there will be no need for religious compulsion,
because each meeting between two human
beings will be a religious act—a sacrament—in and
of itself….” (Steiner, 1990b, p. 16f., transl. MS)
Creating choices
In the context of support and bearing in mind the
guiding principles of freedom and self-determination,
it would be “safe” to say, “religion/spirituality
is a private and personal matter – it would be better
not to offer anything in that direction than to force
anything on someone and interfere in their personal
freedom.” But if we reflect further on the questions
of dependence and abuse of power, it becomes clear
that offering nothing involves just as much exercise
of power as offering forms and rituals. It seems to
me that providing (concrete) options, keeping the
ongoing process of reflection alive among us as a
means of constant correction, and asking questions
will take us further: Does what we are creating meet
the needs of the people we are supporting? What do
we need to change/learn/let go of?
SUMMARY
If we assume that those of us who are guiding and
those who are being guided are contemporaries, and
therefore are similarly evolved in terms of religion
and spirituality, we understand that we are all standing
on uncertain ground.
There are people in each group who prefer to lean on
the familiar, others who want to try new things, and
some who have no interest at all in spiritual questions.
In this context, we seek meaningful forms together
for this moment and this exact context – a
great and timely challenge.
Picture by Franziska Knettig
8
9

INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS ON SPIRITUAL LIFE
There is a fairy tale, The Golden Rider, from the
medieval spiritual community of the Cathars in
southern France, whose imagery contains many
echoes of the human being straddling “heaven
and earth.”
This golden rider, son of a count, “as beautiful as the
sun, as pure as gold, as strong and brave as Samson”,
has a great, flying horse. This horse has the
gift of clairaudience at night – it can understand all
of the animals that speak during the night. Three
times in the fairy tale, when the princess is stolen
by the Lord of the Night, the winged horse bids the
young rider to sleep. However, in order for the horse
to help during the night, there is an important condition:
The horse must be sure to receive enough
“nourishment.” So each offer of help is preceded by
the same dialogue: “Golden rider, do you love me?”
“Of course I love you, my great flying horse! You have
always served me faithfully and have saved my life in
battle many times!” Before the first rescue attempt,
the horse asks for faithfulness or love, the second
time it asks that it never be traded for gold or silver,
and the third time it asks the rider to ensure that it
always has enough oats and hay.
The spiritual in us needs nourishment
For me, this winged horse which resides in the
sphere of night consciousness stands for what is
spiritual in us – some call it our personal genius, our
guardian angel, our higher self or ‘I’, etc. In order
for this horse to become active, it needs our love
and faithfulness and it needs nourishment. And for
me, this translates as: I nourish my capacity to be
clairaudient, to be able to cultivate connection with
the spiritual in me by “faithfully”, i.e. regularly cultivating
my relationship with the winged part of myself
(for example, by practicing an attitude of listening
or mindfulness.)
A challenging task
It is a great challenge for a team in daily care to
“faithfully” implement what was once decided upon –
until it is renegotiated. This goes for established development
goals, measures and agreements, among
other things. In terms of shaping a spiritual life, one
could say: If I question traditional forms and vehicles
too early, they cannot unfold their full potential;
if I question them too late, the execution becomes
self-perpetuating and is in danger of becoming hol-
low and destructive. I find this a challenging task.
More concrete questions in shaping a spiritual life
include:
• How are offerings for children different from
those for young adults or adults?
• How do we deal with our own insecurities and
the need for authenticity, especially in spiritual
questions? How do we accommodate them?
• How do we find forms that both take the individual
into account and are replicable so that we
can all grow into them?
• What does it mean for people who come to us
from other religions and for their families to experience
the traditional cycle of the year in our
particular context?
• How do we respect and acknowledge the rituals
of other religions and cultures?
• How can we involve carers and companions who
are not interested in (existing or potential) vehicles
for spiritual life?
• Mindfulness, awe, wonder: What words can we
find that make it comprehensible?
A question of attitude
One approach to spirituality is to embrace an attitude
that includes a willingness to encounter the
spiritual in every moment.
It is a kind of radical reversal of existence: I raise
the world “on this side” to new spirituality through
my awareness that everything that we encounter has
been created, by allowing it to come into being anew
in each moment. As a vision for the future, Steiner
says of this “so that the laboratory bench becomes
an altar.” ‘Mindfulness’ is a key word for taking this
phenomenon into account in everyday life, as are
‘reverence’ and ‘wonder.’ “And I believe that meeting
is a sacrament, I am firmly convinced of that. For a
real meeting, you need to be on an equal footing and
have a lot of respect, not a know-it-all attitude. […]
I very much hope that more and more people will
be open to this kind of meeting. Then it’s not as important,
I think, how I appear on the outside. I have
autism, others have dark skin or are old or Muslim
or whatever. Basically, it only matters whether I can
become quiet and in tune with this being of light,
this substance.” (Marianne Stärkle, Beitenwil 2015;
written with facilitated communication, transl. MS)
Only a human community that fosters
and cares for the spirit, can ultimately
offer our earth a future.
Domenig Christian Gaegauf, August 6, 2017, written with FC for the
World Congress for People with Disabilities, Yekaterinburg, transl. MS
SUMMARY
The attitude mentioned above can shape our encounters in social professions. We encounter human beings
who puzzle us. We have the opportunity to turn inwardly and with real interest toward their “innermost being”
and ask: “Who are you? Where do you want to go? What do you need right now from me/us?”
We won’t receive answers, but we may receive insights and ideas. In children’s conferences, biography evenings,
etc., this shared effort to understand the other person can lead to a sense of their individuality. And
from there, a coherent idea of what needs to be done can emerge. This is an artistic and spiritual act that can
succeed—or not—and that we can practice and cultivate as the core of our profession.
10 11

CONCRETE VEHICLES FOR
SPIRITUAL LIFE IN EVERYDAY CARE
In all religious/spiritual traditions, there are rituals
that are performed through personal or vicarious
(e.g., by a priest, shaman or spiritual healer)
perception or action, often developed in ancient
times.
These rituals include elements such as music, dance,
trance states, lights, paintings, robes, prayer flags
and chains, but also the incorporation of water, fire,
earth, air, plants and animals. Rituals represent and
bring rhythm to specific “sacred” or “holy” times, to
beginnings, endings, transitions and cycles.
A variety of expressions
Religious worship can be understood as a “visible
choreography of the spiritual”, a meaningful
sequence of ritual acts, often enriched with certain
symbols. Examples of this include the Western
Christian mass and the Buddhist or Hindu puja, celebrated
with various elements such as candlelight,
incense, water, (wilted) flowers, and ashes or clarified
butter, as a ritual of devotion.
Forms of religious worship given by Rudolf Steiner—namely
the children’s service, the youth service
and the service of offering—are practiced in some
anthroposophic contexts such as Waldorf schools,
schools for additional educational needs or establishments
of social therapy.
Prayer and meditation are also ancient forms of
spiritual life.
Steiner characterizes prayer as a space where we
can experience how “…this awareness of something
greater within ourselves is essentially the first illumination
of the inner experience of God within our
soul”, and he regards this knowledge of or turning
toward this “something greater within us” as the developmental
forces of our ‘I’.
(Steiner, 1984a, p. 169, transl. MS)
He describes meditation as follows:
“… if you meditate and allow these words to live in
your hearts, you will experience a confluence with
a higher spirituality – a higher power will stream
through you. You will live in it […] and this Christian
prayer is no different in origin than meditation.
But meditation is only thought, and through the
thoughts of the great leaders of humanity, we attempt
to achieve harmony with the divine streams
that permeate the world. The same thing is achieved
in prayer, but through the feelings instead of thinking.”
(Steiner, 1983, S. 10f., transl. MS)
Conscious knowing
Rudolf Steiner emphasizes that in our modern times,
and especially in Western cultures, the path from
belief to knowledge is necessary, i.e., spiritual practice
should go hand in hand with conscious knowing.
This process of becoming aware is bound to
language that can express spiritual truths in words,
and in order for this to happen, language must be
released from its customary usage: It must be used
in a new way, and to some extent created anew.
We have many sayings (meditation phrases and
verses, mantras) from Rudolf Steiner himself, both
for specific professions and for individuals, including
mantras that can support those accompanying
others in challenging situations, such as through
death or in great need.
Structural elements in everyday care
The following section follows the chronological
structure of daily life and offers ideas for the cycles
of the day, week and year.
Daily rhythm
During the course of a day, we arrive at specific
thresholds that we cross either consciously or unconsciously.
In my experience, the thresholds between
day and night and night and day are especially
worth noting consciously and treating and shaping
with attention. While morning introduces the qualities
of waking consciousness and freshness, complex
demands, work or organization of the day,
community pursuits and the specifics of each day,
night requires us to let go of our consciousness and
therefore also our control – sleep requires trust (in
the spiritual world) and surrender – an “entering into
isolation.”
Subtle observation and agreement
The ease of transition from one to the other varies
from individual to individual; it requires subtle
observations and agreements on which routines and
Picture by Chöying Phurtag
rituals support which goal, and whether they are
needed at all. Psycho-hygienic moments, such as
keeping a journal or doing daily reviews can coincide
with spiritual experiences: I can experience meaning
if I look at individual events within a larger context.
“Celebration” is a thought that can be added to the
concept of support. We celebrate the morning’s
freshness, the stillness of the night, the starry heavens,
the gathering of the day’s harvest in the evening
etc. The ways to celebrate are numerous: singing,
stories, fairy tales, poems, verses, lights, gestures,
painting, writing, music, listening to nature, visualizations,
and much more.
With all these ideas it is important that we keep asking:
Who are they right for? We can choose creative
ideas that are familiar to us as a starting point, but
we then have to move on and consider them in relation
to the person we are supporting.
12 13

Two weekly verses from Steiner’s Soul Calendar
Points of awareness
Mealtimes are further prominent moments in the
day. They can call our awareness to the time of day
(breakfast and lunch may differ from the evening
meal), to the provenance of the food – plants and
animals, the elements of water, light, earth and
warmth – and to the people who helped to prepare
it, and awaken a sense of gratitude.
The week
Many people distinguish between workdays and
holiday (for instance Sundays in the Christian tradition,
Sabbath in Judaism or Friday in Islam). When we
assist other people, we need to ask how we can let
them experience the different qualities of the weekdays.
Again, there are many ways to enable awareness and
enable experiences, from simple signals such as rising
at different times in the morning to qualitative
questions (What is the inner quality of a particular
Sunday, for example, and how can this be expressed
in a ritual? What characterizes Saturday as the day
preceding Sunday and as the end of the working
week?), down to practical questions regarding clothing,
food and room decoration. There are no universal
answers to these organizational questions, but
we can ask about the needs of everyone involved
and listen to the qualities of the different days of
the week. Once a decision has been made on how
to proceed, it is important to perpetuate a particular
impulse because only then can it be really experienced,
observed, discussed and evaluated so that a
new “yes”, “what next” or “no” can emerge.
Experiencing the cycle of the year
Many anthroposophic organizations (including kindergartens)
like to call awareness to the time of year,
for instance with Thanksgiving celebrations, seasonal
nature tables and songs. This requires a relationship
to the course of the year as well as the
finding and implementing of suitable and sustainable
creative ideas.
The conscious fostering of natural/cosmic rhythms
can help people feel embedded in a wider whole.
The Soul Calendar
At the beginning of last century, Rudolf Steiner composed
52 verses to describe how we relate to nature
in the course of the year. He regarded these verses as
a way of experiencing week after week how outer nature
affects the human soul and how our relationship
to ourselves, to the world and to the spirit changes
with the annual cycle. By putting these experiences
into words, he created the “Soul Calendar”. We briefly
introduce this calendar here since it plays a role
in some anthroposophical contexts. In his foreword,
Rudolf Steiner describes its purpose:
“What presents itself in nature in the alternation of
summer and winter becomes the rhythm of our outer
and inner life. Great mysteries of existence can reveal
themselves to us, when we learn to relate our timeless
rhythm of perception and thought to nature’s
rhythm of time. The year then becomes the archetype
of human soul activity and a fertile source of
true self-knowledge.” (Steiner 1991, p. 9f., transl. MS)
Incidentally, the German writer Hermann Hesse included
the Soul Calendar verses with the literary selection
he sent to soldiers in action and to prisoners
during the First World War – for me an indication of
their profound and soul-strengthening content.
The effect of the seasons on our feeling life
I chose two verses (see box, translation on p. 18 in
this document) to illustrate how our inner self-experience
differs at the end of September (directly after
the fall equinox on the northern hemisphere – first
verse) from earlier in the year, in the week around
June 24 (directly after the summer solstice on the
northern hemisphere, second verse).
The connection between inner experience and nature
experience is clearly apparent here. In summer
it is often easier for us (to varying degrees) to devote
ourselves to the outdoors. We enjoy the light and
Third week in September
Now I may to myself belong,
And shining shed my inner light
Into the dark of space and time.
All nature draws to sleep;
Soul depths shall waken
And, waking, bear this glowing sun
Into the cold of wintertide.
Steiner, 2004, verse 25
Sich selbst erschaffend stets
Wird Seelensein sich selbst gewahr;
Der Weltengeist, er strebet fort
In Selbsterkenntnis neu belebt
Und schafft aus Seelenfinsternis
Des Selbstsinns Willensfrucht.
warmth, maybe the water, and the long evenings
outside, and we find introspection, mental work,
self-reflection etc. more difficult.
Rudolf Steiner expresses this movement in the St.
John’s verse of June 24: I leave myself to seek and
find myself in the light and warmth of worlds. At
this time of the year, we are less conscious, more
absorbed by the senses and the beauty of nature.
Then, as fall approaches, we gradually return to
ourselves. We may belong to ourselves and realize
that nature, including our own inner nature, “draws
to sleep”. Now we can either give in to this, enter
hibernation (some people are so sensitive to these
influences that they experience a depressive mood
St. John’s mood
The shining beauty of the world
Compels me to set free from depths of soul
My life’s God-given powers
To wing their way in the worlds,
And to forsake myself
And, filled with trust, seek still myself
In the light and warmth of worlds.
Steiner, 2004, verse 12
Der Welten Schönheitsglanz
Er zwinget mich aus Seelentiefen
Des Eigenlebens Götterkräfte
Zum Weltenfluge zu entbinden;
Mich selber zu verlassen,
Vertrauend nur mich suchend
In Weltenlicht und Weltenwärme.
in the fall), or we can transform the summer’s light
that we have absorbed into inner light and warmth.
If the verses of the Soul Calendar, when they are read
or used creatively, meet with inner resonance, they
can help carers and (adult) companions to find a
deeper connection with nature and with themselves.
Simple parameters such as inner and outer, above
and below can enable people, even if they are new
to these verses or have no previous philosophical
or anthroposophical knowledge, to immerse themselves
in the inner movement between soul and nature
or spirit that can then lead to self- and world
knowledge.
SUMMARY
A wealth of ideas is available to us for creating spiritual practice. It falls to us to familiarize ourselves with
them so that we can decide together with the people we support what would be right at this time, for us and
the culture of our organization. All of these ideas ask for inner activity, which we try to develop out of freedom
and insight (into our task in social pedagogy and the needs of those we support).
14 15

ANNUAL FESTIVALS – SELECTED MOTIFS
Celebrating nature festivals through the year can
be an important element of cultivating spirituality.
With the growing diversity of the people who
live and work together in support-oriented communities,
these festivals also increasingly mirror
diverse cultural traditions.
The sky is moving closer to the earth –
we find ourselves within ourselves – ‘spirit birth’
The examples below are taken from western Christian
traditions because they currently (!) prevail in
my own work context. Rudolf Steiner describes repeatedly
how, in the history of humankind, the same
spiritual motifs express themselves in different traditions
and religions.
The relationship with nature described below reflects
the situation in the northern hemisphere. The
influence of nature on the celebration of festivals
will be quite different in the southern hemisphere.
Wherever we are on earth, we have to actively establish
a connection with nature, because that does not
happen “by itself” – as has been indicated in chapter
3, in the section entitled “Experiencing the cycle of
the year”.
Michaelmas
Sept. 29
Advent
winter
Christmas
December 24 – January 6
Epiphany
Shrovetide
The course through the year
The festivals of the year can be linked to the progression
of the sun. We shall begin our passage through
the year on the first Advent Sunday, when we start
preparing for Christmas. In Advent the sun stands
very low in our part of the world – outwardly this is
a time with little light. We can “illuminate” it, however,
by bringing light into our homes (advent wreath)
and souls (inner mood, anticipating Christmas). The
Christmas tree also meets this need for more light,
as does the inner childlike (not childish!) joy in the
birth of Christ. The light shines both in the star of
Bethlehem that shows the way to the Magi, and in
the angelic light surrounding the place of birth. During
Shrovetide, which follows Candlemas on February
2, the purifying aspect of light, the power of fire,
is used to burn away winter.
The importance of nature
Then nature slowly starts to become lighter. As sunlight
increases, we experience the Holy Week leading
up to Easter and then Easter itself. We witness
renewal and growth in the plant world especially,
visible in many new shades of green and nature’s
germinating. How closely the Easter festival is con-
nected with the course of the year is apparent from
the fact that it moves with the constellations in the
sky. In Western church calendars, Easter is celebrated
on the first Sunday following the full moon after
the vernal equinox.
Relationship to weather
Around Ascension our attention is drawn away from
the greening in nature and turns to the blossoms.
In their very form and in the way they turn towards
light, blossoms reveal their close connection to the
sun and to the weather situation that includes the
sky, clouds, wind, rain, and warmth. Our devotion
to the forces of nature around us almost culminates
at Ascension, which is portrayed as an event in light
and clouds. Pentecost, which follows next, has more
to do with individuals, their mutual understanding
and the way the spirit is working amongst them.
Devotion to the outdoors
On June 24, when we celebrate the birthday of
John the Baptist, the mood of midsummer prevails
as we devote ourselves to the outdoors, the bright
sunlight, and the world of the winged creatures of
fall
St. John’s
June 24
June 24 June
summer
Whitsun
full moon
Easter
40 days in between
Ascension
spring
10 days in between
16 17

summer (butterflies, beetles, crickets, fireflies etc.).
However, this festival also initiates the transition
to the introverted season, as St John calls to us to
“Change your hearts and minds”. The St. John’s fire
has a transformative quality, as has the power of the
sun in midsummer that, in a profound process, lets
wilting blossoms mature into fruit.
Festivals and seasons
We celebrate Michaelmas on September 29, when
the fruit has absorbed the outer sunlight and transformed
it into maturity, red colour, sweetness. According
to an old tradition, the potato fire at Michaelmas
was used to light the fire in the hearth at
home where it was kept burning until Easter.
While the seasons – spring, summer, fall, and winter
– correspond to the seasonal festivals, they always
follow slightly later. Today, we are no longer
firmly embedded in the course of nature through the
year (cf. Soul Calendar): We celebrate Christmas on
December 24 or 25, Easter as a movable festival on
the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the
spring equinox, St. John’s after the solstice, on June
24, and Michaelmas on September 29, again just after
the equinox.
The following diagram provides an overview of the
festivals traditionally celebrated in the Christian year
in relation to the course of the sun and the seasons
in the northern hemisphere.
Whether and how annual festivals are celebrated depends
on the inner orientation of an organization,
as described in their guiding image, for instance. A
future-oriented approach would offer people with
assistance needs a choice and the possibility to consciously
say “yes” or “no” to a place of residence, depending
on if they can agree with its guiding image.
Participation in the celebration of festivals needs to
be a free choice.
Selected highlights from annual festivals
“As signs of remembrance of time, festivals direct
our thoughts and feelings toward the past. Their
meaning awakens thoughts in us which connect us
with everything that used to be sacred to our souls
in the past. Understanding the deeper meaning of
such festivals, however, also inspires other thoughts
in us that direct our gaze to the future of humanity,
which for us means to the future of our own soul.
Feelings are evoked that inspire us to live ourselves
into the future and the ideals accompanying our will
gradually strengthen us to master our future tasks.”
(Steiner, 1984b, p. 30, transl. MS)
Celebrations of annual festivals currently cultivated
in many anthroposophically oriented organizations
are caught between tradition and renewal. It would
go too far to list all the traditions here that are still
fostered and explain their respective background.
We will therefore restrict ourselves to a few examples
taken from the Christian tradition, with ideas of
how to celebrate them, not only in the conventional
way but extended by Rudolf Steiner’s research into
the spiritual background of festivals.
Picture by Philomena Heinel
Christmas – from spirit birth to earth winter
We can experience the essence of Christmas by
thinking ourselves into a birth process and contemplating
the miracle of the being that was not with us
before: this can fill us with reverence and wonder.
Questions quietly arise: Where do you come from?
What do you need from us to enable you to pursue
the impulse that has led you to us?
Steiner connects this special birth event with every
individuality:
“The Christmas thought rises like a mighty pillar of
light within the Christian world experience so that
we will eternally remember our spirit origin and gain
strength from the thought: We have come from the
spirit into the physical world.” (Steiner, 1992, p. 15,
transl. MS)
Sleeping earth
In the northern hemisphere, we can link this to nature
by reminding ourselves that Christmas falls in
a time when nature has outwardly died down but
when subtle preparations for the coming spring are
already underway inwardly or under the earth: almost
an image of conception. Steiner expresses this
by saying that the earth “sleeps”, that the “earth soul
has entered” the earth body, the sky moves closer to
earth as it is covered in mist, low cloud and snow.
We discern two main gestures that we can work with
creatively in ever new ways: the birth process in our
soul, which is rooted in the spirit, a delicate inner
event – and the germ-like quality in the winter’s
night and coldness, an invisible, concealed process.
We can seek for inner images of this that we can realize
outwardly as ways of celebrating into which we
can immerse ourselves.
Characters in the Christmas story
The characters in the Christmas story can be a rich
source of inspiration for understanding what happens
at Christmas. Some organizations perform
Christmas plays whose characters are riddles for us:
Mary in her blue and red garment; Joseph, often portrayed
sitting under a scrawny tree, sleeping/dreaming;
the shepherds who, because they live close to
18 19

CONCLUSION
nature, recognize the greatness of this event (how?)
and who kneel before the child; the Magi, kings with
knowledge of the stars, guided by the stars on their
way; the animals - ox, donkey, and sheep. Some
painters even include Poseidon, god of the sea, and
Terra, goddess of the earth, in their depictions of the
birth. What is the meaning of these figures?
Whitsun – the spiritual human being
Rudolf Steiner adds a new facet to the Whitsun festival
by relating it to humanity’s (future) destination of
becoming capable of freedom and love.
“[…]For us human beings and for our future development,
the Holy Spirit is therefore the spirit of the development
toward human freedom, toward the free
human soul.” (Steiner 1988, p. 34, transl. MS)
For Steiner, to celebrate Whitsun means to focus on
each unique individuality and to use this as a basis
for community building. We find this pictured in
many old paintings where the disciples are sitting
in a circle as the Holy Spirit (often depicted in the
form of a dove) descends on them. Flowers of the
daisy family, whose blossoms are made up of many
individual petals, can be a simple image of a whole
being formed of individual parts.
Awareness of diversity
Engaging with selected biographies can offer an opportunity
for discovering a trace of the spirit in a human
life. Steiner even describes as our future task
to sense ever more clearly what connects us with
the people we meet. With children, we could sit in
a circle and consider how each of us is different – a
task of the future guided by the thought of inclusion.
Celebrating Whitsun offers much opportunity
for new thoughts …
Michaelmas – courage for knowledge and deed
“The trees are turning bare, leaves wither; the creatures
that throughout summer fluttered through the
air as butterflies or filled the air with their humming
as beetles now withdraw. Many animals enter hibernation.
Life forces vanish. Nature, whose activity
helped us through spring and summer, was active
in us through spring and summer, now withdraws.
We are thrown back to ourselves. Now that nature
leaves us, courage of soul must awaken. We realize
once more that Michaelmas must be a festival of
courage of soul, strength of soul and soul activity.”
(Steiner, 1990c, p. 85f., transl. MS)
A festival that continues to play a major part in many
organizations is Michaelmas, which is celebrated on
September 29. For Steiner, Michaelmas is intimately
connected with the spirit of our time. He points out
that potential can unfold in humankind today that
was previously not available, and mentions forces of
courage in particular, which are complemented by
Forces of (self)knowledge and targeted will:
• courage to face the “evil” or (in Western mythology)
the “dragon” within ourselves
• courage to create, as the formative force between
polarities, the middle rather than being
caught up in either-or thinking: balancing the
scales
• courage to face ugliness – in addition to beauty
• courage to see the spirit in matter, including in
natural-scientific research (a relevant topic today
given our often disrespectful treatment of
animals, plants, water and ultimately other human
beings)
• courage to experience living and dying as polar
processes, both within us and outside, and to
withstand them. There is a clear connection with
fall here.
Michaelmas thoughts
Four images can help us to translate the Michaelmas
thought into visible and tangible reality:
• dying nature and the opportunity it creates for
us to rise from it spiritually (the aspect of fall)
• the image of scales and threefoldness: as human
beings we create balance between polar forces
• the image of courage that looks the “dragon” in
the eye and conquers it by recognizing the spirit
in nature and matter
• iron, which is an image of the power of the ‘I’
and therefore of the human strength of courage,
is represented by the iron in the blood and in the
world.
SUMMARY
Our ability to celebrate festivals raises us above
everyday life and can connect us with the spirit
in ourselves and in nature around us – as well as
with the people with whom we have the fortune
to create and celebrate festivals.
From the anthroposophical understanding of the
human being follows the necessity of a spiritual
life. Shaping and fostering this spiritual life whilst
respecting self-determination, participation and
diversity is an interesting challenge.
This brochure provides guidelines, not ready-made
solutions. Everyone involved in a community is a
co-creator of suitable forms. The fact that this brochure,
although it calls for diversity, focuses on the
renewal of western Christian traditions is due to the
history of anthroposophical institutions and the author’s
own experiences. The aim in each case can
only be to shape, individually and collectively, the
forms and vessels of spirituality as it lives in everyday
life with a view to traditions and new developments
and in accordance with the needs of the individuals
involved in each case. The ongoing inclusion
of the most diverse elements of spiritual life will be
an interesting creative process that requires openness
as well as the readiness for profound inner engagement.
20 21

SOURCES
Bauch, Günter (Hrsg., 2001): politisch nicht korrect. Konstantin
Wecker im Gespräch. EV- Döll-Verlag, Bassum. ||| Isaacson, Walter
(2012, 8. Auflage): Steve Jobs. Die autorisierte Biografie des
Apple-Gründers. Btb-Verlag, München. ||| Fink, Dagmar (2001,
2. Auflage): Der goldene Dragoner. Märchen und Gedichte, ausgewählt
von Dagmar Fink, illustriert von Bettina Stietencron. Verlag
Freies Geistesleben, Stuttgart
Steiner citations in order of appearance
Translator’s note: Page numbers following Steiner citations refer
to the German editions used by the author. However, all citations
from Rudolf Steiner’s books, with the exception of the Soul Calendar
verses, have been newly translated for this brochure. The
list of books below includes existing English translations where
available.
Steiner, Rudolf (1999): Mantrische Sprüche, Seelenübungen
II, 1903–1925. GA 268 Rudolf Steiner Verlag Dornach/Schweiz
Steiner, Rudolf (2015): Mantric Sayings: Meditations 1903-1925,
Soul Exercises 1903-1925. GA 268, translated by D. Fleming,
SteinerBooks ||| Steiner, Rudolf (1990a, 31. Auflage): Theosophie.
Einführung in übersinnliche Welterkenntnis und Menschenbestimmung.
GA 9, TB 615: Rudolf Steiner Verlag Dornach/ Schweiz
Steiner, Rudolf (1994): Theosophy. An Introduction to the Spiritual
Processes in Human Life and in the Cosmos). GA 9, translated by
Catherine Creeger, Anthroposophic Press Hudson NY. ||| Steiner,
Rudolf (1990b, 8. Auflage): Was tut der Engel in unserem Astralleib?
Wie finde ich den Christus? Aus GA 182, 2 Einzelvorträge.
Rudolf Steiner Verlag Dornach/Schweiz Steiner, Rudolf (2014):
The Dead Are With Us. GA 182, translated by D.S. Osmond. Sophia
Books, Forest Row. ||| Steiner, Rudolf (1984a, 1. Auflage):
Pfade der Seelenerlebnisse. GA 58 und 59, TB 622. Rudolf Steiner
Verlag Dornach/Schweiz Steiner, Rudolf (2006) Transforming the
Soul, vols 1 and 2. GA 58 and 59, translated by P. Wehrle. Rudolf
Steiner Press, Forest Row. ||| Steiner, Rudolf (1983, 14. Auflage):
Das Vaterunser. Eine esoterische Betrachtung. Sonderdruck aus
GA 96. Rudolf Steiner Verlag Dornach/Schweiz Steiner, Rudolf
(2005): Original Impulses for the Science of the Spirit: Christian
Esotericism in the Light of New Spiritual Insights. GA 96, translated
by Anna Meuss. Rudolf Steiner Press, Forest Row. ||| Steiner,
Rudolf (1991): Wahrspruchworte. GA 40. Rudolf Steiner Verlag
Dornach/Switzerland Steiner, Rudolf (2005): Original Impulses
for the Science of the Spirit: Christian Esotericism in the Light of
New Spiritual Insights. GA 96, translated by Anna Meuss. Rudolf
Steiner Press, Forest Row. ||| Steiner, Rudolf (1988, 3. Auflage):
Pfingsten, das Fest der freien Individualität. Sonderdruck aus GA
98 und 118. Rudolf Steiner Verlag Dornach/Schweiz Steiner, Rudolf
(2022): Nature and Spirit Beings: Their Activity in Our Visible
World. GA 98, translated by Christian von Arnim), Rudolf Steiner
Press, Forest Row ||| Steiner, Rudolf (1992, 4. Auflage): Wie kann
die Menschheit den Christus wiederfinden? GA 187 Steiner, Rudolf
(1984): How Can Mankind Find the Christ Again? GA 187,
translated by Gladys Hahn, Anthroposophic Press, Hudson NY |||
Steiner, Rudolf (1984b): Das Ereignis der Christus-Erscheinung
in der ätherischen Welt. GA 118. Rudolf Steiner Verlag Dornach/
Switzerland. Steiner, Rudolf (2008): The Second Coming of Christ.
GA 118, translated by D.S. Osmond, C. Davy, revised by Matthew
Barton. Sophia Books, Forest Row ||| Steiner, Rudolf (1990c, 7th
edition): Der Jahreskreislauf als Atmungsvorgang der Erde und
die vier grossen Festeszeiten. Five lectures given in Dornach from
March 31 to April 8, 1923. GA 223. Rudolf Steiner Verlag Dornach/Switzerland
Steiner, Rudolf (1984): The Cycle of the Year as
Breathing Process of the Earth. GA 223, translated by B. Betteridge
and F. Dawson. Anthroposophic Press, Hudson NY.
Published by
Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development
Editor: Dr. Jan Göschel
Ruchti-Weg 9
4143 Dornach
Switzerland
+41617018485
info@inclusivesocial.org
inclusivesocial.org
This publication is based on a German original:
Schnaith, E.-M. (2019). Spiritualität im Begleitalltag. Rhythmen
und Jahresfeste. Der Mensch zwischen Himmel und Erde. Rubigen,
CH: Anthrosocial (formerly: vahs).
Printed in cooperation and with the kind support of Anthrosocial.
www.anthrosocial.ch
Translation from German by Tascha Babitch and Margot Saar
ISBN: 978-3-9525371-7-6
22 23

THE AUTHOR
Eva-Maria Schnaith
born 1960, lives in Freiburg, Germany. Qualified
music teacher, teacher for special educational needs,
and adult educator; worked from 1986-2004 in the
residential part of Haus Tobias, a centre for children
with special educational needs in Freiburg, Germany;
for 18 years lecturer at HFHS (school for anthroposophic
special needs education) in Dornach, Switzerland.
Since 2019 Eva-Maria Schnaith has been
working at Buechehof, a centre for social therapy in
Lostorf, Switzerland.
ISBN: 978-3-9525371-7-6