The World of Ita Wegman

Dear Readers,

There are areas of anthroposophy that Rudolf Steiner was involved in from the very beginning—education, agriculture, and the visual arts, for example. Then there are areas where a particular individual shines: in religion, probably Friedrich Rittelmeyer; in the performing arts, Marie Steiner; and in medicine, Ita Wegman. Ita Wegman uniquely and single-handedly determined the first, second, and probably third step in her life’s work. In so doing, she gave us the opportunity, in celebrating her 150th birthday, to be reminded of this legacy, this promise: “we go forward.”

With warm greetings from the editorial team,

Wolfgang Held

Deepenings

The World of Ita Wegman

Peter Selg

She was a born cosmopolitan—arriving via Java, the Netherlands, and Berlin to Switzerland, where she studied in Zurich and practiced medicine in Arlesheim, near Basel. From her base in Arlesheim, her Clinical ...

Thank You, Ita Wegman

Michaela Glöckler

The spiritual foundation of anthroposophic medicine: winning back the staff of Mercury. During the 1923 Summer School in Penmaenmawr, Ita Wegman posed the fateful question to Rudolf Steiner about a medicine akin to the ...

Spotlights

Over-Interpretation

Andreas Laudert

At school, we practice interpreting texts—in the school of life, we learn to read people: how do I interpret gestures, looks, or words? Pure perception becomes all the more important lest mere speculation guide our ...

Musings

Inner and Outer Deeds

Ita Wegman

Ita Wegman’s address at the opening of the Arlesheim Clinic extension, one hundred years ago (1926). When human beings, who adhere to a worldview in which the suprasensory plays a role, undertake to do something, then ...

Freedom Philosophy and “Race”

Maria-Sibylla Hesse

In his latest publication, Albert Schmelzer takes an objective and well-researched examination of concepts often criticized in the Steinerian oeuvre. Using Steiner’s biography as a guide, the emeritus professor from the ...

News

The Door is Open

Leo Smyrnov

Nagomari, Georgia. News from the Georgian Youth House. Life at the House of Youth of Peace in Nagomari is developing rapidly, sometimes faster than we ourselves can fully grasp. From June to December 2025, the care of ...

The Future Shapers

Editorial Team

Dornach, Switzerland. A young people’s initiative. To have an optimistic look into the future, with everything that’s happening in the world right now, is not easy. Younger people in particular can’t help but wonder how ...

Closing Thoughts

Ita’s Hands

Adam Blanning

As we celebrate Ita Wegman’s 150th birthday, we will look at photographs, at her letters and writings. But what if we also think of Ita Wegman’s hands? What were her hands like? Were they large or small, strong, soft, ...