Copyright Alan Whitehead & Earthschooling: No Part of this book, post, URL, or book excerpt may be shared with anyone who has not paid for these materials.
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…
PHYSIOGNOMY OF THE ASTRAL BODY
Humanity is broadly divided into four types, physical, etheric, astral and ego. These of course can interweave into a multi-strand fabric with different races and individuals so that a dominant ‘type’ can be hard to detect. It will be there, nevertheless. In many cases, however, the dominance of one of the four ‘bodies’ will be unmistakable, leading to cartoonists, novelists and other perceptive students of human nature being able to accurately stereotype a particular people or type of person by deftly drawing, writing, or describing just few telling features.
This is certainly the case with one sub-race, the Semites, who express the third creation principle, the Astral Body, very strongly indeed. The typical depiction of the Jew or Arab being completely drawn from half-moon shapes – the astral curve – is well-known to all.
We are speaking only generically of course, the individual being always in accord with his/her own unique features configuration.
If the curve-Semites are predominantly astral, then yellow-skinned Oriental people tend more to the etheric-triangular in nature, with the block or brown races more to the physical body-circle dominant. The general incarnadine-colored Western physiognomy is of course largely square ego dominant. Naturally, none of the above suggest a value judgement; the author’s position being in complete accord with Matin Luther King who so famously proclaimed the most important message of the 20th Century – to paraphrase: “I want my children to live in a world where they are judged, not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Amen to that!
Individuals, whether Semitic or not, who have a dominance of curves in body and face, or ‘S’ lines to be more precise, tend to astrality (or ‘soul’) in their nature than more, um, straight-laced folk. The rounded, watery whole-body form, often tending to the pleasantly plump or even overweight, confirms this.
In the path of the soul through life, there is even a specifically astral period, the seven years between 14 and 21. Again, in general terms at least, the curve is the dominant shape in adolescents; making them more beautiful than at any other time of life. The astral contribution to human (and even plants and animal) physiognomy is, among others, one of beauty. Venus is the Roman expression of the astral body; hence teens are also experiencing their ‘Venus’ 7-year period – an embarrassment of beauty, it would seem! (Infants Moon, primary Mercury).
From the whole race to the whole person, to the 7-year life stage, we at last arrive at the head. Here we see that, as mentioned in an earlier chapter, the astral area in profile is the second quarter from the front; right on top of the head, in fact. This raised feature is common in ‘pointy heads’, as accountants and their ilk are uncharitably known! After all, the astral or tone ether is also called the ‘number’ ether.
The astral region from the front of the had is the third band, that which runs vertically from the lower jaw (on each side of the face), across the cheeks, through the eyebrows to the hairline, then across the parietal lobes of the skull right down to the back of the head.
A deep vertical cheek crease in this region is the ‘Mars’ line, that of innate aggression; seen often in tough businessmen. When only a dimple, it is rather of Venus – the endearing mark of the romantic!
These two bands across the parietal (predominantly astral) region, when large, so crating a wide head top, are areas of artistic sensibility. This is especially so of the visual arts, painting being, as Steiner informs us, the ‘art of the astral body’. The opposite is the flat-sided so-called axe-head, one of intellectual rather than artistic disposition.
The horizontal astral band is the lowest third of the brow, just above the eyebrows. This is the area of Sentient Soul, ‘semi-transformed astral body’. We see this feature, especially when heavy and protruding, in many primitive people who rely on sentient soul talents, like tracking, for survival.
If the mouth is essentially a physical body feature, and the nose etheric, then the eyes are the quintessential astral organs (the ears being the ego equivalent). Of course, in each of these four, mouth, nose, eyes and ears, there are agon sub-sets of the four bodies, their role being to determine the individual’s unique countenance and expression.
The eyes, in this study at least, include the eyebrows. Within this astral context, the eyebrows are the archetypal organs of culture; the cruder they are, the less intrinsically cultivated their owner.
As with most features in the head, the 3-fold soul is vertical, with the brow related to thinking, the face to feeling, and the jaw to will. The body expresses rather in the horizontal. This is so of the eyebrows, with their physical area being the first quarter in the center, the etheric the second, the astral third, and the forces of the cultural aspect of the ego emanating from the fourth quarter near the aptly named temples.
A raise or peak in the third quarter of the eyebrow indicates a capacity for imagination in cultural life – clowns often emphasize this in their face make-up. A dip in the same area suggests the opposite, the owner usually being unable to form colorful mental images. Thick eyebrows are a sign of vulgarity, fine the opposite.
One raised eyebrow – especially in the astral third quarter – is skepticism. High eyebrows indicate trust, low eyebrows rather the opposite – do it in a mirror and see! People with one or other of these features permanently, not as mere temporary expressions, are in that particular soul condition all the time.
A wide eyebrow is breadth of cultural appreciation, a short rather of aesthetic specialization. Eyebrow color relates to hair color earlier (fire, light, etc.), but in the cultural rather than the thinking realm.
The artistic nature of the curve is indicative of the relative purity of astral expression, especially in the eyebrows; fine, arched half-moons being known as ‘angel brows’. Any kind of departure from this ideal denotes human fallibility in some way. For example, straight eyebrows belong to the materialist, straight and angled down towards the center, as seen in American comic-book superheroes, suggest earthly power. The opposite, the curving, arching upward brows are a sign of in-streaming light, as expressed in the T movement in eurythmy. A swelling in the fleshy area below the eyebrows and above the eyes, especially in the third quarter astral, is love of the world. This is the higher equivalent of love of man, (or partner, child, etc.), as found in an equally comely swelling above the top lip; again, in the astral third quarter.
Now to some astral-eye features: yet again the artistic nature of the curve determines the equality. A smooth curve in the top eyelid indicates compassion, another angelic quality. When this cure is obstructed by an angle in the third quarter, there is a tendency to cruelty. My infant son used to say of this, “I angry my eyes!”.
Again, this is not a value judgement, as many dentists have this to facilitate in their cruel-to-be-kind vocation. The hooded top lid almost covering the iris is reticence; the same feature in the bottom lid is rather calculation: with the fully revealed iris being, naturally, one of candor. Wet eyes (or other unnatural excretions, like runny nose, dribbling or incontinence) are a sign of the astral body – its element is, after all, the liquid – being excessive in some way; conditions often associated with emotional instability.
Pleasant moist eyes, however, are those of empathy, dry eyes rather those of indifference. Wide-open, often child-like, eyes are an indication of innocence, or in the extreme, gullibility. Whereas slit eyes are an expression of suspicion. How often have we heard the phrase, ‘he narrowed his eyes in suspicion”? A large iris is amenability, the opposite, hypersensitivity. A large pupil is intimacy, with pinpoint pupils rather those of isolation (no-one can see in!).
Eyes with a deeply inscribed top lid fold are those of the poetic soul, the flatter the top eyelid, the more pedestrian its owner.
Glazed eyes lack consciousness, bright, sparkly eyes the opposite. Flat eyes, common in policemen, are far-sighted; while rounded-lens folk prefer the company of books amore than vistas. This near-far, flat-bulging eyes condition is a physiologic (known to all optometrists) as well as psychic one. The large, bulging eye is garrulousness, its opposite belonging to those of few words!
All speech has an astral foundation. For example, the obsessive giggler is a person whose astral body resembles froth, lacking soul substance. The humorless bore is one rather whose astrality has hardened, a state inimical to its nature. Lower eyelids that look like bags of water are, aptly, those of speech fluency, or loquacity, common in television presenters. A flat area here is inhibited speech.
If these lid bogs are also darkly colored, it is a sign of soul exhaustion. Dark color in this iris is soul depth, pale or washed out the opposite, the so-called “fisheyes”. Blue eyes, whether in a child or adult, are a sign of a dominant astral body; this gives us a choleric child and a sanguine adult. Blue-black hair is essentially astral, as is wavy hair. These relate respectively to image in life and soul in life; the hair always an expression of life forces, as it is. A dark ring around the iris is soul control, an indistinct edge, vice versa. Conflicting (or ‘Mars’) curves in the two opposing eyelids is a sign of soul conflict, most often between a person’s aggressive and compassionate tendencies. This is common in Mongolian people, a traditional martial race. A white rim on the lower eyelid is a sign of the initiate, as Steiner himself displayed. A rid rim is the opposite, a person whose visionary life is predicated rather by the earthly.
Eyes too wide apart are those of the neurasthenic, whereas just pleasantly wide apart is a sign of good character. After all, we’ve all heard the saying, “I don’t trust him; his eyes are too close together.”.
Well, there’s some truth in that. In any case, eyes too close is a sure sign of the paranoic.
Lower eyelids pushed upwards from the center denote a perennial form of hysteria, common in teenage girls. The opposite from the hysteric eyes, those that droop downwards bloodhound-like, as in the actor Raymond Burr, is rather self-control. Straight eyelids are hardness of soul, beautiful S curves, the opposite. A dip in the third quarter of the top eyelid is the mark of the cardinal error of the astral body, as invoked in the Lord’s Prayer, temptation; whereas one in the tear line is the lower second quarter is misery of soul.
As explained earlier, the upper and lower eyelids and mouth accord to the complementary forces of the spirits of Form and Harmony, with astral features being in the third quarters on the top, and the second quarter on the bottom.
Now to some general astral features: elbows extended, as found in many nurses, indicate a strong stomach, the abdomen being of course the mansion of the ‘soul’ body. Those who hold their elbows tight against the boy in prissy fashion, typical of aesthetes, are the ones most likely to faint at the sight of blood! In fact, the cheek pouches – the ‘squirrel factor’! – are the stomachs of the face. When extended, they denote someone who love bodily comfort, a phlegmatic (water-abdomen) quality. The hollow cheeks of the abstinent are naturally the opposite.
A jutting lower lip, especially when wet, is aggressive speech; hence a compressed lower lip is considerate speech. A very full lower lip indicates overt sexuality, when thin, a lack of interest in sex – which happens naturally to people as they age. The pouted mouth is one of petulance, while the wide mouth belongs to a person who is naturally generous; again, we find this in the vernacular. Of course, the opposite of both pertains, namely the relaxed mouth of conviviality and the small mouth of selfishness. Here is an example of how we can employ physiognomy to our advantage (though of course we shouldn’t!). If there are two lines at the soup kitchen, with one server having a small and the other a large mouth, then …!
Clear facial skin is purity of soul, while blemishes et al indicate inner disturbances of various kinds – depending on their location of course. For instance, an unsightly prominence under the second quarter of the bottom lip is ruthlessness; as seen in many politicians.
A sharply-edged lip rim is articulate speech, and indistinct edge being rather the opposite. Tight or thin lips, again more common in the aged, indicate repressed (or controlled) feeling life – the fuller or fleshier the lips, the more soul expressive. If in excess, over-full lips are a sing of emotional abandonment!
Large canine (astral-carnivore) teeth send an unambiguous message of the attack or combative nature of their owner’s soul; while an unpleasant rise in the third quarter of the top lip (known as the Big Bad Wolf curl), in the area directly over the canines – indeed reveling them! – is lasciviousness, or lust. Elvis Presley cultivated this look to set the girls screaming! Highly colored lips suggest a feminine soul (even in men); this is accentuated of course by lipstick.
Naturally red lips are common in children, who are, in developmental terms somewhat hermaphroditic or even effeminate – in a natural sense of course.
An upward angle in top lip and nose is an indication of the third ‘error of soul’ in Kamaloca – wish. Little girls (again naturally) often have this – ‘When you wish upon a star …’ – sorry!
A bluish complexion is a sign of ill-health, an indication that the ether body is struggling to overcome astral forces invading areas where they don’t belong. Babies turning blue, usually due to a lack of oxygen, the etheric gas, is both common and alarming.
A harp-like concha in the ear, as we see in Rudolf Steiner, is the area of sensitivity to tone. An ill-formed concha, increasing in many people as they age, is of course the opposite. In general, women have more finely sculptured conchas than men.
To conclude: amateur anthroposophical physiognomists, when inspecting someone’s baby, invariably sagely observe –
“Hmmm, your child has a beautiful tone ear.”
Well, so s/he might, as all babies have this feature. Because of the spiritual implications of tone and its anatomical expression, the nearer the person to his/her supersensible origins, the more perfect the ear modeling. Hence, all babies have near-perfect ears, while many if not most old people are auricularly deformed, in the concha area especially, indicating a diminishing of tone sensitivity.
The best ears I’ve ever observed in the elderly belong to classical musicians, speech teachers, and eurythmists – check it out!
If the unbalanced astral body expresses through an excessively wet mouth, then the opposite is also the case, as Rudolf Steiner describes in Oxford in 1922.
“When sadness becomes habitual, the sorrowful person goes about with a dry mouth, with parched tongue, with a bitter taste … The very young child growing up in the company of the adult is an imitator, modeling himself entirely on the physiognomy of the adult.”
FROM: Sacred Faces: A Study of the Human Being in Light of Steiner’s Spiritual Science
Four Kingdoms Companion volume to: Sacred Places Minerals & Land; Sacred Fauna Botany; Sacred Fauna Zoology
Important Earthschooling Notes
Copyright Alan Whitehead & Earthschooling: No Part of this book, post, URL, or book excerpt may be shared with anyone who has not paid for these materials.
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.
END NOTE
Alan has presented dialogue in his writings in an expressive form, where he tries to capture the accent of the person he was with to give his writing more authenticity and to allow the reader to “be with him” in his experience. In no place in his writings is he using expressive language to make fun of or demean the speaker. So, as a person with a linguistics and anthropology degree I find this enriching and informative to me as the reader. Thus, we have made the decision to leave all expressive writing in its original form.
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