Michaelmas, 2025

Today is Michaelmas, otherwise known as the Day of Courage. It is the time in the year when the cooling forces of autumn sober the party of summertime growth. It is also the harvest time. In most Waldorf schools, stories are told, songs are sung, and a pageant features the Archangel Michael taming the terrible dragon. Although “Michaelmas” is historically celebrated in western cultures, it is a recapitulation of many dragon taming myths from history. These include Indra taming the dragon from India, Marduk taming Tiamat from Babylon, Ra taming Apophis from Egypt, and more.

At Waldorf schools, a festival is generally held celebrating the cosmic event and the coming of autumn. The students and families gather as a battle between Michael (or St. George) and the dragon ensues. Michael’s sword is forged from the meteoric iron having fallen during the Perseid meteor showers in August (a yearly occurrence). Drums pound as they foes deal each other blows ending with the peak moment: Michael tames the beast. The celebration continues with apple cider, dragon bread, and hearty soup. Everybody engages in games requiring courage, like slack-line walks between trees, sack races, and more. In some cases, bagpipers also appear (that might be autobiographical).

Why is Michaelmas important?

From a seasonal point of view, the chilling winds and withering forces of autumn tame the potentially intoxicating bliss of summer. When the weather is warm, the sun is shining, and the birds are chirping, life is so easy and joyful. Think about this – as an adult, consider how easy it is to fall in love in the joy of summer. Many who later regret it would say, “But, it felt so good at the time. Everything was perfect.” Except, it wasn’t necessarily, you just didn’t see it because you were so focused on the surface. Like that, summer draws us strongly into the sense world which, while nice, can cause us to lose sight of deeper realities.

The cooling, withering process of autumn sobers that quality. After the free formlessness of summer, after vacation is over, we have to go back to school and work. We have to get back into the routine and form. For some, it sucks, but it is necessary. Life, like nature, has forms and rules that we must heed in order that we continue growing and learning. Michael and the sharp point of his sword bring us back into this necessary form. Just as the falling leaves let us see the true shapes of the trees again, so too does autumn start bringing us back to our inner selves.

Who is Michael, the hero of Michaelmas?

Michael is a being or a symbol representing that which is higher, more courageous, and universal within the human soul. You need not be religious to appreciate the symbolism of Michael. One need not believe anything to realize how necessary these qualities are for modern human life.

Look at the world today and you will see how necessary a universal outlook is. We live in a globalized society more interdependent than its ever been. Michael represents a human consciousness that transcends tribe, race, and nationality. His swords points us to the reality of a shared future, something we as a species must embrace as we march forward together. No longer can we dwell in racist, nationalist, tribe-centric attitudes if we wish to manifest a world that works for everyone. Never before has the adage, “Think globally, act locally,” become more pertinent.

Michaelmas around the world

The mythos of Michaelmas, reflected seasonally in outer nature, is not new. It goes back about 1600-1700 years, although knowledge of Michael goes back much further. The Jews knew of him – the name “Micha-el” is a Hebrew name – and the Quran also mentions him.

Traditionally, Michaelmas was celebrated in the Middle Ages to celebrate harvest time. He is also associated with St. George, a Christian saint said to have tamed a vicious dragon, saving a land from his ravages. St. George later became the patron saint of England and the country of Georgia, who also bears his name.

The Meaning of Michaelmas Today

I said above that Michael represents what stands, “higher, more courageous, and universal within the human soul.” Having already explained the “universal” part, what of the other two? Courage is needed today in many ways. Obviously, it’s important when standing up to injustice, speaking out against the grain of society, or taking risks to pursue one’s destiny, etc. However, the courage that stands above all the others is the courage to look within oneself. To face the self is always scary because it threatens the earthly ego; the outer-I is afraid of the inner-I.

This is the source of modern materialism. Anything will suffice to distract us from this fearful inner work, and temptations abound, for ours is an age of darkness. I don’t mean evil, per se (though there is that), but our destinies are not immediately clear. The story of Percival gives us an indication. Here is a total fool who clunks around in rusty armor, the laughing stock of the knighthood. Percival dimly feels something calling him, but he does not know his purpose. He has to discover it through experience, much of it challenging.

Most of us are like that, too. In older epochs, humans would sit in ceremony or receive their fortunes from the Sybil. Some today still go to astrologers and psychics, but these things rarely satisfy the modern soul who wants to know itself from within itself. Most of us no longer want to be told who we are from some outer authority. We want to find it for ourselves, for then we really OWN it. Yet, this path takes tremendous courage.

Autumn of the Soul

This inner path is the path which Michaelmas, standing as the herald of the darkening season, calls us to. Autumn brings longer, colder nights and shorter days that we must now bear. The modern age, likewise, is an autumn to the soul. Humanity has come through stages of soul-childhood and now it’s time to grow up. Thus, modern life calls us to seek and find an inner light to illuminate our path, to take the Percival path of forging our own way through the dark forest. We are capable of such, but we must be willing to trust what speaks to us from within us. Good luck on this journey. Happy Michaelmas, 2025.