In the Rune-Workshop the following types of sculpture are being made :
– Sculptures of a name in eurythmical gestures
– Sculptures of the star constellations
Sound sculptures
The activities of the planets cause moods in our soul, which are grounded in the inner organs that they make in us. In the tree types beech, maple, oak, ash, birch, elm and cherry their activities express themselves; each of these types of tree and hence wood are connected to one of the planets. The moods in the soul that they provoke, can be experienced as the sounds of the vowels of our speech, being the colours in the cosmical language that has formed us until in the bone and flesh.
In the sound sculptures has been tried to approach the vowel sounds as separate sound spaces; the type of wood being used has helped to find the ultimaste shape. There has been tried to approache the form gesture of the inner space through the inner experience of its working (in the life forces). This work, which is subjective in itself, for colored by the soul of the maker, aims to make the sound workings (in this case vowels) out of fore-felt and thought out shapes, appliable in a conscious way, by using specific materials. Through this has been aimed to strive for a soul-filled objectivation, so that the cosmical sound effects can be applied in a directive way, and the connection to the spiritual realities canb be restored. Out of this form and sound research by means of sound sculptures these forms have been applied in different instruments with movable back blades, to be able to approach these vowel sounds through the inner sound shapes of the instruments. These are in constant development.
STAR and SOUND
Everyone is built up of the sounds that work out of the spheres of stars and planets. These sounds are sung to us during pregnancy, and out of them we form our being. The sounds fade down in us and become finally recognizable in the features of our posture. They are imprinted in our bodies as the letters of the cosmic Word, that are to be found everywhere in nature in crystals, plants and animals, but that come into a grand composition within the human posture.
Every human has one or more of these letters, expressed in the form of its gestures, which he represents in particular. These are his, inherent to his own being, and are bound up closely with the personal fate he has to undergo on earth. These form-gestures, impelling the sounds of the letters, we find back in an objective way in the movements of the planets towards each other and in the forms and positions of the zodiacal star images at the time of birth.
The sounds that emanate from the spheres of planets and stars, called the harmonies of the spheres, are deaf and dumb for the present consciousness of man. To make them sound again, string instruments have been developed that posses the inner construction taken from the form-gestures of the star images; sonic sculptures have been developed that attempt to approach the vowel-like sounds, impelled by the planets. By means of the inner sound spaces of these instruments the attempt is made to render the cosmic Word audible again.
In order to again experience in music the specific harmonies of the spheres for a person, a form of astrosophy has been developed, with the aid of the tools of anthroposophy (the fourfold human body), by which the individual fate of a man can become visible, and the ramifications of this in his temperament, constitution, specific soul-configuration and individual world vision, as well as his possibilities to develop in soul and spirit. Out of this a method has been developed to bring the specific sounds of the cosmic harmony at the moment of birth to sound in music and rhythm (years of spiritual research have been spent to come to these conclusions, which have been written down in a series of theoretical books and musical theatre plays, as well as a number of compositions on this basis). Both vowels and consonants as sonic spaces and principles are presently applied in lyres and violins that are constructed on personal requests based on personal prevalence and mostly read from the horoscope. These are made out of one or more of the seven types of wood from trees that each represent a particular planetary effect through its inner qualities; these are: cherry-tree, elm, birch, ash, oak, maple and beech.
When one makes tones and intervals sound in a space with loose small particles, these will move into places where there is the least movement of air. Thus geometrical figures arise, forming a negative print of the sounds that brought the space into vibration (so-called Chladni figures). Every sound, tone, interval creates a specific form in matter. Thus one can imagine how by organizing sounds all earthly forms are created (note: the forms appear at places where there is the least sound).
For the construction of the Rune instruments and sonic sculptures it worked the other way around. It was tried to imagine which form as a space or working principle creates an intended sound. Thus imagination becomes servant to the ability of sensing the forces that produce certain sounds, and experience them afterwards. This especially, while the sounds of the words, the letters, do not work geometrically in forms, but rather in chaos i.e. dynamic, working out of sense rather than mere effect. This is a difference between soul- and spiritual level. Thus one has to become active in soul and spirit to condense the sense-filled sonic forces into form-principles. Going this direction it becomes possible to find the way back to cosmic forces through experience, because one is enabled to open up new inner organs.
Sound sculptures of the innerly experienced planet processes
Cherrywood sound sculpture
Base part hollow
38 x 17 cm
Word sound: ‘Ay’
Elmwood sound sculpture
hollow extremities
30 cm high, 36 cm wide
Word sound: ‘Ee’
Birchwood sound sculpture
23 x 18 x 12 cm
Word sound: ‘Ah’
Ashwood sound sculpture
76 x 17 cm
Word sounds: ‘U – O – Ee – A – Ah’
Oak wood sound sculpture
41 x 24 x 10 cm
Word sound: ‘A‘
Ahorn sound sculpture
opposedly hollow
28,5 x 26,5 cm
Word sound: ‘O’
Beech wood sound sculpture
Hollow; open at the top
57 x 13 cm
Word sound: ‘U’
Sound sculptures of a name
Besides for vowels there can be made sound scupltures for any speech sound, which when hit at specific places, make resound thos word sound sounds. Much has to be developed still with this.The sculpture below has been made on the request of a attendant for an epileptic patient whom he wanted to get better into reality. On the base of his horoscope was made a rhythmical poem in images. First the rhythms were beaten on the sound sculpture, and next recitated. According to the attendant, who did this every evening, it was one of the moments in the day that the patient was really present with his consciousness.
Sound sculture of the name Ruben (beech, birch)
Sculptures of a name in eurythmic gestures
The art form of Eurythmy expresses the word sounds with the body in gestures. These gestures one can find back as well in the growing human embryo and in each growing plant and animal. It is also possible to make sculptures which bring these gestures to an expression. This is sonic and form research with which has happened only little until now. Underneath follow soms sculptures of names in eurythmic gestures. In them there has been considered the personal horoscope of the bearer of that name for the type of wood chosen.
Name sculpture ‘Ebba’. high 34 cm x wide 24 cm x deep 20 cm. Outside elm wood, inside cherry.
Name sculpture ‘Bram-Wendela’. 41 x 17 x 21 cm. Beech, birch, foot of ash wood.
Name sculpture ‘Guntram-Luitgard’ in the shape of Thor’s marriage axe. 26 x 17 cm. Elm wood in foot piece of acacia.
Name sculpture ‘Nicolaas’, 9 x 17 cm. Terracotta.
Landscape sculptures
If one places sculptures in a landscape, growing nature around it will direct itself to these. For instance a cubic-shaped sculpture will prevent a tree to grow into a point at his crown; a forth striving gesture lets him grow along with his gestures. This is because the elemental beings which cause the growth, will direct themselves to the physical shapes which especially man has put down there. Hence one can influence the landscape by putting peculiarly placed sculptures in it. These for instance can dissolve tension in the life world by guiding the life forces into a new direction. This can occur when an old building gets a new building, for instance an organic one, at the side. A sculpture that can express and direct the life forces, may take away that tension. If one wants to stimulate the growth of trees or plants in a specific way, this may be by a gesturing sculpture. And if one wants to stimulate or direct the forces of life paths in a landscape (leylines), this can also be done with a sculpture in specific gestures. Within our projects of landscape healing we do this mostly with clay models, which we put down at spoecific sites and have them absorbed and later on dissolved in nature. These models are only meant as gestures in order to come to a communication. Fixed sculptures in wood, stone or metal are much more durable. In this as well there is much that still has to be investigated. The Rune workshop can on request and in consultation with you come to the development of specific sculptures in your garden or landscape which comes up to one or more of these issues.
Garden sculpture ‘Piéta’. Ment to be made in more that a man’s height gestures. Clay model and design.
Sculptures out of the star images as active forces
The star images, within and without of the Zodiac, each represent a group of Angel beings that work out an idea of the divine plan. As a group they also work in a formative way to the Earth and to man, and as such have each to do with a specific past in our body as such they can be interpreted. Besides this as being an idea of the divine plan to be realized, they have an aspect that is more directed towards the future, being that of development: they represent the ideals we want to realize to come into development ourselves and realise those ideals of the devine plan in and all through us.
The form gestures of the star images as they stand at the sky tell us what they can bring forth upon the Earth. Accomplishing these in an in-felt way (compassionate) gives insight in their workings through doing. This has been worked out in the Rune workshop as a project of research. The sculptures out of these, of which still many are in development, give an in-living insight in their deeper will activities. The ornaments in gold and silver that have been designed after these star image sculptures, in their gestures show in the physical what we inwardly have to accomplish with the soul and life body to be able to realise their activities in and through us. The effects of these ornaments are of growing consciousness and directiveness of the will in e certain direction, which the bearer will notice after wearing it for over a longer or a shorter period.
Star images as form gestures;
Models of sculptures in wood, clay and wax of the star images North and South from the Zodiac
Part of the study ‘Ways and Forms of Love; From a cosmos of wisdom to a cosmos of love.
By Nicolaas M. de Jong
Introduction
The star images can be seen as the archetypes of the creation of man and the Earth. Each form principle can be traced back to one of the star images. There are 84 of them; that is rather in accordance with the amount of cards of the small arcade, stemming from Egypte; the tarot cards out of the Hermetic initiation science.
The northern star images (viz. north of the Zodiac) all have to do with the development of man and his consciousness all through the culture periods, and connected with what the vernal point of spring brings down from them upon the Earth (that point moves slowly backwards through the Zodiac). The southern star images have more to do with the vegetative activities and the organs that we have got to that aim. The Zodiac inbetween is the belt for the rhythmics; through this belt move the sun, moon and the planets, which helps to bring the starry workings to the Earth.
“In the Beginning was the Word . . .”; that Word, containing the archetypal intentions of the created, can be found back in the star images and the language that these represent. Thus this is the cosmos of wisdom as a start, the thoughts of the gods (Angel hierarchies) in images. The point is to learn to understand this language. To this aim, through an inner connection, the following sculptures have been developed. These have been arisen meditatively and with the wisdom of what plays through the hands (and will later later on, when these are being worked out in wood, still be more nuanced, and can also be changed). If one starts observing through and out of the heart, where dwell the feelings, one can try to understand their language. The mythological stories and pictures, being images that are connected with the star images, can help a stretch in that direction, because these are stories that stem from the mystery cities and deeds (if rightfull being understood) that can tell us something anbout the backgrounds. In the embryonal development of man these can also be found back.
We are meant to develop further the thoughts of the gods, through which we can choose in freedom for the development of love. The star images therefore represent our ideals, that we take down to the Earth out of our descent from our star (everyone has his own star as a domestic place). So we know those thoughts behind the star images from the inside, have lived in and with the gods that arose these, before we came to the Earth. Out of those ideals we form our body; these surround us as so-called phantom forces (non-materialized substance forces), and with more realisation they will take on shape until in our bone structures (the bones are very crystalline in structure, which can alter strongly with changing activities). When we realise those ideals, we encounter all sorths of resistances in us and around us; the ideals namely are being woven in our invisible bodies of life and formative forces, and these work out there as passions and drives; we have to explain us with these by growing up, learn to recognize them and through a constant work on ourselves, transform and purify them, so that the ideals can become more and more visible for us. We try to transform our resistances that are connected with these. Learning to do what can make realising those ideals through the transformation of our habits and resistances, is called the developing of a virtue. We weigh out a circumstance and a deed as an answer to it with our conscience, dwelling in the heart, and then in according with the development of the good, can execute the ideals in the given circumstances. We then develop good habits concerning that ideal; that is the development of a virtue and therewith we transform our habitual life, and also our life body. Besides this we also can help to transform the objects and beings with which we connect us., by helping these to enfold the germs for development in it, which are ideals in germ, and thus bring these to a fulfillment. Thus we can develop the cosmos of love out of that of wisdom (the starry sky, being manifested upon the Earth) all through ourselves.
To this aim in the following will briefly be indicated:
– The mythological background
– The connection with the development of mankind
– Where we can find back the star image within the human body
– The ideal with which it is connected (if necessary the coherence with other star images and its place in the sky), as well as the way in which this initially may work out as a drive.
See for further outworkings of the star images as a language “Cosmobiology’ and ‘Science Otherwise’ (the latter in preparation to be translated in English), RUNE-books, Bergen, The Netherlands; 1986 and 1998. Also W.F. Bohm, ‘Erde, Mensch und Kosmos’ parts 1 – 3 (Earth, Man and Cosmos, Verlag die Kommenden, Freiburg i. Br., Germany 1956. For a deepening in the way of working as a schooling method, see “Astrosophy and the Grail”, RUNE-books 1999.
Star map out of the Zodiac. The eclips (Zodiac) is in the middle.
Because the forces of the star images are being transposed via the vernal point of spring and the movements of the sun, moon and the planets theough the Zodiac, the maps have been made out of the Zodiacal belt as the centre.
Some northern star image sculptures:
The DRAGON, DRACO
Position: This star image lays curdled around the North Pole of the Zodiac (that is fixed) as a star line with as its head a triangle. It therefore covers each zone of the Zodiac except for the Scales. Its tail lays in between the Big and the Littl Bear (Dipper). The head ends in Hercules.
Mythological: The dragon that watches over the golden treasure (occurs in the sagas of many a people).
Human development: It represents man being directed towards the Earth that upon the Old Moon (a previous, watery stage of the Earth) was an animal-like being oriented horizontally in his physical body and therefore dreamed in his consciousness. The drive to become on Earth through incarnation causes the spinal chord, that within the young child is stil directed horizontally. Only the spirit can make it raising up, as awakeness and the faculty of compassion (in-feeling) between picturing (later on thinking) at the one side, and wanting at the other side. Within the animal realm we see the reptiles make a first gesture of upraising. The bilaterality of thinking and willing for instance comes good to an expression in the Brontosaurus, an extinguished giant reptile with a double row of plates along his horizontally oriented spine.
The upraisal in man is being achieved through that the large brains (Big Bear) and the small ones (Little Bear) clasp the spinal chord; and in these brains our soul can get hold and our spirit, our ego can become conscious of itself along the impressions from the extern world that can become to an image (against the cortex of the large brain) and impressions from the life activities of the own inner world (little brain). In the starry sky the Big and Little Bear show this as an act by clasping the tail of the Dragon (spine).
Where in man: Spinal chord with crumbling bone formation as vertebrea; these are being initiated during the embyonic development. They are pointed threefolded, as a reflection of our threefolded being after body, soul and spirit, with willing, feeling and thinking as its soul functions.
Ideal: The repeated will to incarnate, so that we all through the vegetative and animal stage as we were initially, can develop us through the becoming as a man into Angels of different order, starting with spirits of freedom and love, through which we also can help to transform the Earth and thus can help to redeem the dragon (the counter-active Angels that have offered themselves to this aim).
As a drive: The archetypal drive to want to live upon the Earth, so as well the survival drive with threatening danger. The differentiation of this drive can be found in the starry sky in the other snake images (Hydra, Hydrus, Snake’s Tail and Head, connected with the Snake Tamer, Ophiochus).
The movement of incarnation, out of a bulb pointing downwards, has stayed back as a gesture with the Asuras, the darkness beings that have stayed behind upon the sun, that nowadays want to split up the ego of man from above, from his consciousness (in the brains) as the Sorat-impulse. All three ‘evils’, viz. counterworking forces can be found back in the star image sculpture of the Dragon;
Head: luciferic (develish) forces of insight
Middle: hardening, materialising and therewith dispersing tendencies of ahriman (satan), who has no soul
Tail: incarnation movement, that from above wants to penetrate in that kundalini forces that raise up along the spine and here replace the ego (Asuras can only develop further through a being with an ego, a soul and a life body, so man) (Sorat is also called the anti-christ).
The LYRE, LYRA
Place: Between the Swan and Hercules, underneath the Dragon’s head, in de zone of Sagittarius.
Mythological: Orpheus, messenger of Apollo the Sun god, played so beautifully his nine stringed lyre, that even the plants and the inhabitants of the underworld were touched to tears by it. When his beloved had to go to the underworld, he was so full of sorrow that he descended to it by himself.
Human development: The lyre is the archetype for the human soul which plays upon the body and calls forth the workings of destiny in it, so that a man can form his biography. These workings of fate lay stored in the digestion-limb system; the first lyres, and nowadays still good violins, have intestine strings on them, with which is being indicated that there is a clear knowledge about the activities of the fate and the digestive organs. The swings of fate lay stored as silenced willing gestures in the body’s tissues (especially in the proteins of the muscles). The original lyre as the Egyptians still knew has no head, but a bended neck, and the strings connected to the belly. Likewise plays the human soul upon the organs and intestines by means of the nerve system, particularly the part of it called autonomous, which is connected with the little brains (the Small Dipper). So the Lyre is closely connected to the human nerve system; the fixed tones that brings forth a string instrument are reflections of astral activities, which occur in the feeling as intervals. Inwardly it has to do with the knowledge about the fate in order to be able to develop by it. This fate is being indicated by the positions of the Sun, Moon and the planets at the sky at birth of a person; this is taken along with us as stilled sounds and likewise the inner Lyre is been put down in us, upon which base one can resonate along with the harmonic vibrations and happenings, or not.
Where in man: The autonomous nerve system that is active until in the intestines and organs.
Ideal: The encounter with companion people and the world to be able to develop oneself. This out of a basic faculty of sympathetically moving along, of resonating, but with the possibility of growth of consciousness.
Working out as a drive: The letting flow along as a sympathetic gesture with each mood and event in the stream of people in which one enters or stands.
The Eagle, AQUILA
Position: Inbetween Equius and the Delfin at the one side, Scutum and Snake’s tail ath the other side, under the Arrow, alongs the Milky Way, on the broder of the zones of Waterman and Capricorn, standing right above it.
Mythological: Zeus sends from the Olympos his eagle to have it eating out the liver of Prometheus, that had stolen the ego-fire from the gods and as a punishment to this was chained to the rocks (imagining the human ego being fesseled to the physical body). At night the liver grew again.
Human development: The Eagle is connected with the forces of spiritual man, to be developed by man. These forces are called differently as intuition, and therewith it is the youngest, 7th child of Andromeda (human soul) and Perseus (the ego). The liver is the organ that with the composition of the bodily proteins keeps together and regulates our fate (proteins are coagulated sound musters, that the elemental/thought beings express until in substance, that are being stored in our muscles as stilled fate, coagulated thoughts; when coming free, these quell forth as willing impulses). The liver is our future organ, and with the eating out and growing again of it is put into an image that we take with us all the talents being developed to the sun (Zeus’ aagle flying to the Olympos) and that we leave them there behind as our higher ego, spiritual man force to be able to develop further upon the Earth again the ideals and the talents that can be formed out of these that we do not yet have (Christ as well left behind His spirit man at the sun when he incarnated in Jezus of Nazareth). Every 7 years we transform our physical body with new substances, and the liver plays an important role in this; the building up takes place mostly at night.
In the sagittarial culture period there is made a start of this spirit man development of man.
Where in man: The glands near the sexual organs and side-kidneys (suprarenals); regulate the sexual hormones and thus are connected with the wil.
Ideal: Transformation of the earthly through connecting with it. The shape of the star image, a bended, transformed cross, indicates this.
Working out as a drive: Searching for grip in the earthly.
Some Southern star image sculptures:
PHOENIX
Position: Connecting to the Flood Eridanus, underneath of the Sculptor, besides the Tucan and Crux, and above The Little Water Snake, at the borders of the zones of Waterman and Pisces.
Mythological: The bird that after his life burns itself and resurrects from the ashes in a rejuvenated way. This occurs in four stages. The star image stands at the end, the source of the Flood Eridanus. This is the archetype for the hereditary flow over 42 generations, in which a people is embedded. In this way each human passes over his personal attainments via the hereditary flow to the folk soul, which is an Archangel. This rejuvenates himself with these forces as qualities, and in this way he resurrects like a phoenix from the ashes of his people (the dead, decomposing human bodies).
Human development: Christ has preceded man in heredity (His earth becoming was prepared 42 couples of parents; see the Gospel of Matthew to this), and resurrected from it, just like a phoenix (conquering the Net, star image Reticulum). Man renews himself because he can observe from out of his ego, can judge about his observations (test these morally) and as well do. Therewith he transforms the Earth and himself, and carries his earthly achievements and the qualities taken from matter with him into the more refined realms of spirit, of life and of soul (as a first step of development follows the etherised Earth).
Where in man: The transformed, etherised physical body out of the individualised phantom body in which the star forces are being woven in as ideals, but not yet conscious and spiritualised in itself.
Ideal: The spiritualization of the earthly through the own force; the lighting through of matter out of insight and acting force.
Working out as a drive: Making evaporate, a tendency to make everything airy (‘The unbearable lightness of existence’).
Little Water Snake, HYDRUS
Position: Under Phoenix, likewise quelling forth from the source of the Flood Eridanus, between Reticulum and Octans, in the zones of Capricorn and Waterman.
Mythological: A snake has to do with desire; a water snake with the desire for the life world and its activities.
Human development: A sensitive organ for unclear and hardened food remnants is our appendix; in future this can help us to learn the way in the life world, when this is even more troubled by all the demons that seize upon it and do their jobs.
Where in man: The appendix as the future organ with which we can live under messy and impure circumstances. Upon the future Jupiter-Earth we will be surrounded by noisy demons that develop out of our present-day machines. Problably the appendix will later be working as an immunity apparatus and observational organ in that troubled life world; give there the distinguishing faculty in the fallen ether world (of superfluous electromagnetical pollution and set free nuclear forces). The rat has a very large intestine part at the site of our appendix; it hides in it an enlargened immunity apparatus.
Ideal: Living in and between the impure in order to be able to transform it and drag it with in the own transforming purifying process.
Working out as a drive: Attraction to the unfinished, delight, desire for life workings.
The WHALE, CETUS
Position: Under Aries and Pisces, above the Flood Eridanus and Sculptor. The heart of it is the variable pulsating star Mira.
Mythological: The sea monster that tries to swallow Andromeda (the human soul, being chained to the rocks, viz.the human body). The biblical story of Jonas tells that he is being swallowed by a whale, which means to say that he followed an initiation road in the life world, wherewith he was being enveloped by a large and warm being, an Angel – so he did not go this road completely by himself.
Human development: Revelations out of the spiritual world before the human ego fully has been awakened (as in the oracle of Delfi). Therefore stem many prophesies from it (messenges from the spiritual world that have not been worked through by the ego), and guruism. This may cause the human soul (Andromeda) to get lost or be swallowed, for she needs light and equilibrance to be able to find her way in the life world.
Where in man: The warmth cover of the ego around the body; the ego that in the will is working from the outside.
Ideal: A willing to foresee the future in order to be able to anticipate to it.
Working out as a drive: Making suppositions and presumptions, be it based or not.
A book with the provisional or finished models can be ordered via [email protected].
As well can be ordered jewelry after the star image sculptures.
All the sculptures described above can be ordered. In dialogue arise the better designs.
ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTOR
Nicholas Marius de Jong, a Dutch writer, composer, sculptor and astrosopher, has come to the construction of musical instruments after a search for the sense within and behind the living; at first via the scientifical way of approaching in the common biology, where however he saw life being killed and cut up in small pieces. Later on, being guided by his own inner experiences within nature, within himself and in human interactions, he has applied himself to the observation of life processes within nature and within himself, out of which he developed an objective method of observation that starts with the singing together of the life processes. This in accordance with the third step of Goethian phenomenology; there where can be experienced the inner guidance in the creational process that forms the base for the phenomena. In astrology he found back in static images the huge cosmical forces and workings behind life. With the help of Anthroposophy he has made these cosmical tools appliable step by step along imaginary language, musical workings (within the four human bodies) and plastic formative forces. To this he has made astrology in an anthroposophical way accessible for the modern consciousness; he calls this astrosophy. These outworkings, experiences and schooling ways to experience he has at the one side put down into more theoretical books, at the other hand he works these out in music theatre plays, in which players and spectators can move and do along innerly with the cosmical forces that lay behind. In that way they can use them as self research as well as into the natural realms. He gives courses and workshops to get in contact with the natural beings behind the phenomena, and help to cure them within etherical landscapes, if requested.
The developed scholing methods into the life world include as well the fourth step of Goethian science, in which the sense as a willing gesture within oneself, within other beings and behind phenomena can be observed. He works this out in clay modelling as well as in sculpture.
For his compositional work, as well by questions from the surroundings, he has applied himself to the construction of musical instruments that have as a starting principle the cosmical sounds that have sung man together from out of the starry worlds, and that now have become silence for our ears that have been directed towards the physical world. He tries to make them resound again through using the gestures of the Zodiacal star images as base for the construction of the instruments. He uses his instruments in his own astrosophical research as well as in therapy and in scholing. Many steps of development have been accompanied by a question of someone and the following interaction.