Michaelmas Minus Michael

An Online Course
with Eugene Schwartz

Three Lectures and Four Slideshows
Saturday, September 21 through Sunday, September 22
$100.00

Three Lectures and Four Slideshows
Saturday, September 21 through Sunday, September 22

$100.00

Your school may soon be celebrating the Festival of the Archangel Michael, but what if you don’t believe in the existence of archangels — or even of angels?
Rest assured that you have plenty of company. Between the older independent Waldorf schools and the newer public Waldorf schools, it is likely that a majority of teachers may pay lip service to the Michaelmas Festival as a Waldorf tradition, but do not believe that Michael or his Dragon nemesis are real. The growing number of schools that describe their September 29th event as "The Festival of Courage" or ignore it altogether is indicative of this agnostic relationship to Michaelmas. And along with the nebulous manner that the festival is presented to students and parents, how much is it even discussed in faculty meetings?
In these three lectures, Eugene Schwartz contends that the Archangel is not only "real" in himself, but also underlies the reality of the Waldorf movement.
Eugene's first lecture approaches Michael as a cosmic, "hierarchical" being whose genesis precedes that of the Earth itself. Unique among his heavenly brethren, Michael bonds himself so deeply to humankind that he has had a direct and powerful effect on world history and culture, a narrative that is central to the second lecture. The third lecture explores Rudolf Steiner's teachings about Michael's tasks and aims since 1879 and the urgent need to create an educational methodology that can foster Michael's transformative work on earthly life.
Whether you are a Michaelite or a Michagnostic or simply Michsugana, Eugene Schwartz's lectures will provide some provocative and inspiring perspectives on the Michaelmas Festival and the mission of Waldorf education. Learn more about Eugene Schwartz.

Your school may soon be celebrating the Festival of the Archangel Michael, but what if you don’t believe in the existence of archangels or even of angels?
Rest assured that you have plenty of company. Between the older independent Waldorf schools and the newer and larger public Waldorf schools, it is likely that nowadays a majority of teachers may pay lip service to the Michaelmas Festival as a Waldorf tradition, but do not believe that Michael or his Dragon nemesis are real. The growing number of schools that describe their September 29th event as "The Festival of Courage" or something along those lines is indicative of this agnostic relationship to Michaelmas. And along with the nebulous manner that the festival is presented to students and parents, how much is it even discussed in faculty meetings?
In these three lectures, Eugene Schwartz contends that the Archangel is not only "real" in himself, but is also the foundation of the reality of the Waldorf movement.
Eugene's first lecture approaches Michael as a cosmic, "hierarchical" being whose genesis precedes that of the Earth itself. Unique among his heavenly brethren, Michael bonds himself so deeply to humankind that he has had a direct and powerful effect on world history and culture, a narrative that is central to the second lecture. The third lecture explores Rudolf Steiner's teachings about Michael's tasks and aims since 1879 and the urgent need to create an educational methodology that can foster Michael's transformative work on earthly life.
Whether you are a Michaelite or a Michagnostic, Eugene Schwartz's lectures will provide some provocative and inspiring perspectives on the Michaelmas Festival and the mission of Waldorf education. Learn more about Eugene Schwartz.

If the weekend we have set does not work for you, you may
arrange your own custom dates at an additional charge.
Go to the Registration Form to see how this is done.

Register Here

The Lectures

Lecture 1
Michael in Heaven

Michael is an Archangel, but what exactly is an Archangel? And for that matter, what is an Angel, not to mention the seven other beings whose totality is known as the "Hierarchies"? This is a subject given very little attention in Waldorf training institutes, and almost no attention in Waldorf schools themselves. In this lecture, Eugene will explore Michael’s role in the interplay of hierarchical beings, Earth evolution, and the creation and further development of humanity. This lecture will be of special importance to anyone involved with early childhood.

Lecture 2
Michael in History

As one of a small number of hierarchical beings who have names — and the only spiritual being who bears the title of a Saint — Michael clearly evinces a closer relationship to humankind and the Earth than most of the the Heavenly Host. Rudolf Steiner has spoken of the "Michaelic Ages" in which the archangel has played an especially powerful role in guiding world history. Indeed, we live in such an age, and Michael stands ready to provide abundant guidance.

Lecture 3
Michael in Hiding

North American Waldorf education is undergoing profound change in the Twenty-First century. Rudolf Steiner, the creative spirit who originated the Waldorf method, has been denounced by many of the schools, and the Archangel Michael, the spiritual being most connected to Waldorf schools, is being redacted. How do we go forward? Eugene examines the spiritual necessity of this painful transition, and provides a clear guide to the steps that Waldorf practitioners must take to aid Michael in his future tasks.

The Slideshows

Slideshow Part One:
The Old Masters

Michael's close connection to humanity has been the inspiration for myriad painters and sculptors to picture his deeds, from his heavenly battles before the Earth's creation to his apocalyptic tasks in the Earth's final days. Eugene has curated a unique collection of Michael images and provides helpful commentary in this recorded slideshow.

Slideshow Part Two:
Modern Artists

Twentieth and Twenty-First Century artists, no longer bound by the iconography and conventions of the past, have interpreted Michael and his deeds in a provocative and sometimes startling manner. We will look at work by mainstream sculptors, anthroposophically-inspired painters, and Waldorf school students. In certain respects, this slideshow may be the most revelatory segment of this weekend workshop.

Slideshow Part One:
The Old Masters

Michael's close connection to humanity has been the inspiration for myriad painters and sculptors to picture his deeds, from his heavenly battles before the Earth's creation to his apocalyptic tasks in the Earth's final days. Eugene has curated a unique collection of Michael images and provides helpful commentary in this recorded slideshow.

Slideshow Part Two:
Modern Artists

Twentieth and Twenty-First Century artists, no longer bound by the iconography and conventions of the past, have interpreted Michael and his deeds in a provocative and sometimes startling manner. We will look at work by mainstream sculptors, anthroposophically-inspired painters, and Waldorf school students. In certain respects, this slideshow may be the most revelatory segment of this weekend workshop.

Register Here

Michaelmas Minus Michael is one of the Catalyst Courses.
In addition to creating the WaldorfOnline Courses for Grades One through Eight, during the past decade Eugene Schwartz has also created many streaming online courses. With the same breadth and depth that the WaldorfOnline Courses approach the Waldorf curriculum, Eugene's courses explore the challenges, trials, and triumphs that individual teachers and the Waldorf movement face in the twenty-first century.
In the past, each course was available only once a year. By popular demand, we are now making all of the courses accessible in two ways. Each course will be featured once a year at the reduced fee of $100. And each course will be available for streaming all year long on our new Catalyst Courses web page. For those who wish to choose their own dates for course participation, there will be a surcharge.
New courses will be offered in the 2024-25 school year. To view all our presentations, visit The Catalyst Courses web site at: iwaldorf.net/catalyst.html

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