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Alan speaks in a very symbolic and esoteric manner in some parts of his books. Although they can be read anthroposophically, passages speaking of Atlantis, archangels, gods, etc. do not need to be taken literarily to be meaningful. The more you read, the more you will realize he uses many different religions to express ideas in a symbolic manner and not in a religious manner. His writings are not religious. In some places his writings are meant to refer to religious events in a historical way. In some places he is using religious figures (from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, Ancient Roman and Greek Religions, etc.) in a symbolic manner. However, at no point is he promoting a specific religion or speaking from a religious point of view.
I have kept the writing as close to one-hundred percent original so you will also find that he speaks of Australia often and some spelling or manners of speaking may be cultural. Any words I have changed are presented like this: <word>.
Also keep in mind that these books are written by a Waldorf teacher with decades of experience who also studied with a Steiner student himself, so he speaks to an audience that is dedicating their lives to the Waldorf method without exception.
Because of this, all of his views are not reflected in the Earthschooling curriculum and not all of them may be ones you want to embrace or are able to use. In all of Alan Whitehead’s writings the opinions are his own and may not align with Earthschooling or Waldorf Books. In some cases, we will be updating some of these chapters in the future with additional and/or updated information.
Ultimately, however, as I read through these passages I find I can distill wisdom from even those paragraphs that do not resonate with me.
We invite you to read with an open mind and heart and with eagerness to learn and discuss…
HIGH OCTANE H2O
Energy Resources – Class 12 – Middle Lesson
So, to the last Science unit of some 56 detailed by Golden Beetle Books for the 12 years of schooling – and to the beginning of their independent science journey. We’ll start with another beginning, a long time ago.
“In the beginning was the Word…” begins the John Gospel. Liberally interpreted this ‘Word’ could be the voice of god, not in the form of language, but as pure sound. Many creation myths tell of this omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent voice echoing around the yawning vaults of a vacuous universe. Rudolf Steiner elaborates on this, speaking of the specific creation beings, the thrones, as invoking existence with an act of supreme Will. Here they created themselves in the process – now there’s a chicken-and-egg conundrum!
The Thrones are nominally the Spirits of Will, or Power. In the context of this 3-week Energy Resources unit, they could be called the Spirits of Energy. As in most subjects, clarity is enhanced by time-traveling back to the origins of things. With energy, this is to the primal source of All Being, to the Beginning itself. Again in Steiner terms, this is Ancient Saturn. Here we encounter a globe of pure energy, of fire, or spiritual heat at least. By spiritual is meant the legion Laws of heat (not the mere tangible expression); such as heat rises, heat expands and so on. So energy and fire are synonymous, in both spiritual and natural science.
To fast-forward in evolution to the time humanity harnessed this force, we arrive at the pre-history civilization of Ancient Persia – meaning ‘Fire Land’ (the Eastern equivalent is the Ancient Khmer kingdoms of South-east Asia). This was an era of ‘inventions’, one which superseded lotus-eating Ancient India, where everything was so laid on and laid back, that the maya-obsessed habitués didn’t even need to cook their food.
In fact the use of fire for a multiplicity of uses, from cooking to ceramics to heating to smelting to fighting…! Is a singularly human achievement, of post-Persian ages specially, all human communities have had command of this powerful energy source. Curiously not a single animal, in all those so-called millions of years of evolution, can make or even manipulate fire. Is this then the true line in the sand that divides the animal from the human kingdoms – culturally at least!
Class 12 is the Gemini year of the Educational Zodiac, beginning Cancer in Class 1. The Persia-Khmer civilizations were under the cosmic aegis of the Twins; this being the (northern hemisphere) vernal sign during their fire-wielding hey-day (5067 to 2907BC).
In considering the foregoing, how apt then for this lesson to be programmed in Class 12, when the subliminal resonance of the genesis of energy exploitation particularly dwells in the Tiger souls of the 18-year-olds (18 is 1+8=9, the Number of Persia). The mastery of fire certainly required hand faculty, which is the Steiner nominated “quality” of Gemini. The upper limbs are the anatomical region – in any astrological viewpoint – the Gemini. These allow the human being to express divine will, as opposed to the earth will of the lower limbs; and will, as we recall, is analogous to fire, or energy.
Persian legend, such as that of Aladdin, and the Phoenix, is populated by fire stories. Indeed the “16 sacred fires”, or magic, of the Zoroastrians is the power base of such eminent Persians as the three Kings. The shepherds brought love to the Christ child, the Magi, power.
Energy Resources is taught as a middle lesson; of the four middles it is the 4th, Industrial. This speaks, again subconsciously, to the Physical Body of the four ‘bodies’ taught in Spiritual Science. The physical body is itself a will expression, being crated as it was on Old Saturn – again only the laws thereof. Of the three Industrial strands of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Industries – relating to will, feeling and thought – Energy is, aptly, a Primary-Will Industry. Even the types of people who choose to work in the primary industries – farmers, miners, foresters – tend to be will, rather than, say, concept oriented.
Energy Resources is the last of the five units in the Primary Industries high school strand. These began in Class 8 with Timber Technology (see my book La Pleroma); then the Mining Industry in 9, and Agricultural Science 10 (both in A spiritual Science); followed by Maritime Science in 11 (earlier in this book). Although mankind id not harness fire in the technical sense before Persia, much earlier they had command over natural energy forces. For instance, due to rampant astrality, we destroyed the ancient continent of Lemuria by manipulating the volatile chemical environment to the point of ignition – then incinerated the whole she-bang, including ourselves! Both anthropology and Steiner agree that at this time, there were only a handful of humans left on earth.
That hard lesson was forgotten many millennia later when, again due to humanity’s congenital and collective ‘sin’ (the word used in the Noah story – this time the astral dominating the incipient ego), we aroused the displeasure of Poseidon, god of earthquakes and tidal waves, to raise his hand in wrath against we terror-struck Atlanteans. According to Steiner, our command of natural energy gave us the power of growth in plants, and the convenience of calling up a whirlwind to transport us about – not to mention harnessing the germinating power of seeds for various uses. Today’s energy advance seems pitiable in comparison.
Not a great deal of time should be spent on these hoary musings, as in the context of the students’ recapitulation of evolution, as mentioned in earlier articles, 18-year-olds have at last reached their own era, the 20th-21st Century. Consistent with this modern consciousness is the fact that most technical breakthroughs in Energy have occurred in this hundred years; a few being the use of petrol in the internal combustion engine, atomic energy – and solar power even.
So when detailing the 12 Energy Sources, the heart of this lesson, research and practical work should be concerned with the modern era. This could include comprehensive vocational information, obtained from a wide variety of industry sources. The teacher might write away, a few weeks prior to the lesson, to companies, tertiary institutions, government agencies and so forth for information, courses, pamphlets, posters, visiting opportunities, and more.
It is vital (in every unit taught in Class 12 actually), to provide the broadest menu of employment possibilities for both maids and beaus about to board the good ship Vocation for its maiden voyage. The moral complexion with which one invests this lesson could help decide whether a student chooses to work in the nuclear or solar power industry.
Speaking of Solar Power, this is the first of the 12 Energy Sources. To those with vision and environmental integrity, it is an area crying out for research and investment. The power source of course is free, ever-generous Sol himself; but the infrastructure required to capture this perfect, clean energy is often prohibitive. Sunny Australia is one of the best countries in the world to develop solar power As this is a science lesson, the technical basis for each of the 12 Energy Sources should be described. Maybe each student could research one for a class presentation (saving the teacher lots of preparation!)
Number two is Wood; this is really materialized sunlight, and has been the principle energy source of most civilizations right up to recent times. ‘Wood’ includes most plant products burnt for heating and cooking, and even for some industrial uses, like ceramics Others are peat and ordure, like camel dung. Where would one slot the thousands of Egyptian mummies inexcusably burnt in steam trains in the 19th Century? Well, the bandages at least are plant material I suppose!
When plant matter is metamorphosed over eons in the darkness of earth, it becomes Coal (and oil, more later), the third Energy Source. The invention of the coal-fired steam engine drove the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century. It also choked its cities and citizens. Coal is still widely used in power generation and steelmaking, but its dominance in most human-scale energy use was overtaken by Oil, its brother fossil fuel, the fourth Energy Resource.
If the 19th Century was the Age of Coal, and the 20th the Age of Oil – what then the 21st? Some see a future in Nuclear energy, the 5th Energy Resource (detailed in the earlier article on Atomic Physics). Others agitate for a shift to the safer ‘alternatives’. A colleague of mine programmed a 3-week Alternative Energy afternoon block lesson for his students in anticipation of this trend to the clean and green. And very cleaver – if not spectacularly efficient! – were some of the wind, water, sun, and human energy creations.
But back to oil; past cultures used many oils to support their simpler energy needs, like whale oil, bees wax and paraffin. Maybe alcohol-based fuels, like methylated spirits should be included here. They are after all manufactured form plant material, via a sugar fermentation process.
The many petroleum oil products should be canvassed, whether the black gold was pumped straight out of the earth or refined from shale. Jet airliners have a different oil requirement – kerosene – than container ships, which ply the seven seas on diesel. The latter, due to minimal refining, being incredibly polluting. But in a weight-to-power ration, ships are still the most energy-efficient way to transport large cargo.
Human and Animal energy generation, the 6th Energy Resource, shouldn’t be neglected; though it has its limitations, in this unit at least, as a serious scientific consideration. Today the human sits in the air-conditioned cab of a bulldozer while it effortlessly moves tons of earth to make a road. In China, thousands of people do the job of heavy machinery, with endless lines of toilers taking the mountain to Mohammed in simple wicker baskets. At least it keeps people in work! Even in my early childhood, equine energy was common; our milk, bread and ice being delivered house-to-house by horse and cart.
Water Power, the 7th Energy resource, is efficient only in selected areas, like tidal estuaries and racing rivers. Here electricity is generated by the kinetic energy of water forcing its way through turbines to the transformed into mechanical energy, which lights up the bulbs in kitchens from Nimitabel to Nome. One of the greatest water power generation enterprises on earth is right here in Australia, the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electricity Scheme.
This audacious engineering project of the 1950s not only supplies a large percentage of east Australia’s electricity, it redirected the eponymous Snowy River to flow in the opposite direction, into the arid inland. This created, through extensive irrigation, a cornucopia of fruit, vegetable and grain growing. A guided tour of the Snowy Scheme (or equivalent) would be an excellent Energy resources excursion. Water is also the source scientific visionaries are looking to for providing its locked-up hydrogen which may one day – like solar, cleanly – drive the world’s cars.
Who knows, the enthusiasm for the new energy idea canvassed in this unit may lead to one of your students being the creative spirit future generations thank when filling up the family car with the garden hose! High-octane H20 indeed!
Wind generated power, the 8th Energy Resource, is as old as sail. Some countries, especially in prevailing wind areas, like Denmark, Spain and the Great Plains of the U.S., have built banks of huge windmills…not windmills really? Fans perhaps? Whatever, they always employ the timeless symbol of the etheric body – and its air element – the 3-pronged star, like a Mercedes Benz logo, similar to a plane propeller – that’s it, they’re propellers! No, they don’t propel anything, they’re rather impelled. So they must be wind power impellers!
Gas is the 9th Energy Resource; again this is not new, my humble dinners as an infant in the 1940s were lovingly cooked on an Early Kooka gas stove. However the potential for natural gas, which Australia has in abundance, is far from being fully exploited. Cars that run on LPG are far cleaner than petrol – and just as powerful; yet curiously no production model is produced, all having to be converted after leaving the factory.
Then there are other forms of gas, again scandalously under-utilized, like methane. This can be obtained from rubbish tips or other sources of decomposing matter, like sugar can slashings – or cows’ flatulence!
In the light of such alternatives to petrol, the class debate will probably slide into the interesting but not so scientific area of conspiracy theories regarding multinational petrol meglomerates unconscionable suppressing new-age technology; the many sensible but less profit-creating alternatives to their own polluting products.
Another interesting area for future research is the 10th Energy Resource, Earth Thermal power. This again has a long history, at least in communities which live near hot springs and geysers. The possibility of drilling very deep ‘pipes’ down into the body-heat of the intensely not inner earth is not mere fantasy. Water is then dropped down to become steam, which generates electricity. Obviously, this would be more feasible in some places than others, depending on geological conditions; but like solar, thermal is a clean and inexhaustible energy supply.
With the quantum advances in Chemistry, the 11th Energy Resource, over the last two centuries, this particular form of power generation has multiplied in many directions. When certain substances combine, or are subjected to change of some kind, they release energy, like gunpower.
Another chemical cocktail is the notoriously unstable nitroglycerin – another dynamite. Then there’s Semtex, that seemingly innocuous grey putty daring commandos stick on their target ships or bridges just prior to blowing them to oblivion.
But to reluctantly return to commercially relevant energy; there is even synthetic petrol. This could in most cases replace the natural variety; through the plentiful supply of fossil oil would force this option well into the future. The Germans in WW II, in the spirit of necessity being the mother of the Fatherland’s invention, developed synthetic petrol; they had virtually no access to normal oil supplies. “Oops, I forgot about fuel!” apologized a red-faced Fuhrer to his General Staff. As if!
This simple oversight helped turn the tide of the war, as the ersatz fuel froze in the Wehrmacht’s tank’s fuel tanks in the winter assault on Russia; leading to their defeat. Chemical energy is also the basis of many batteries, again not a big slice of the world energy pizza.
So that’s 11 of the 12 Energy Sources that our 3rd Millennium civilization is, or will be, dependent upon. These are a far cry from the first source of energy, the Voice of God, or The Word. But maybe this will enter world karma in the future in the form of the Power of sound, the 12th. This enigmatic Energy Resource had made brief appearances in history, usually in some esoteric context, like the destruction of the walls of Jericho; or the lifting of great boulders from the valley to the cliff top in old Tibet using a similar system.
Sound has been used in modern times as well, sometimes for evil ends; as in sophisticated weaponry which curdles the enemy’s viscera when subjected to certain phonic frequencies. This of course is a betrayal of The Word, the ultimate power in the universe. Hence sound energy is best shelved until spiritually-informed researchers, schooled morally as well as technically, can bequeath to humanity an energy source to benign that we might only have to plug our stove into the soughing of the wind to cook our dinner!
Until that happy day, the best financial investment may still be shares in an oil company – but for an investment in clear conscience, why not support a morally safe energy resource like solar, wind or water?
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