In 1912, in his very first eurythmy lessons, Rudolf Steiner describes the consonants as a reaction to external influence in contrast to the vowels that weave within and reveal this inner being.

W (Aries, Mars)

«Doctor, you haven't told me how to do the W yet.» "Yes - W" was the somewhat hesitant answer, "W, that's so deep, you can't really do that!"

Gathering all courage, I asked: «But we have so many important words with W: wind and wave, wood and water, world, woe, wisdom, will and wither, all question words, I have written down a lot more.» - "Well, then do a very long U for every W."

S (Scorpio, Mars)

Rudolf Steiner took a stick (a very large carpenter's pencil) and led it upwards in an incredibly energetic, I would say radiant, movement. “And there you have an S, namely when you feel your arm and this staff as one.

S always means moving and shaping together with an object. The archetype of the S is the person who leans on a thyrsus rod. And now consider how different your S-movements have to be, depending on the object, that is, the piece of the outside world that you have in your hand and whose character you have to move with it or give yourself shape. "

R (Taurus, polar sign to Scorpio-S)

Rudolf Steiner also spoke about R, about this being carried away - when the wind carries away. Of course, neither he nor I could pretend or try to do it in the small room. Dr. Steiner emphasized very clearly, however, that one had to try again and again to «catch the moment where the step changes into the run».

R is now neither calming nor stimulating, but neutral and reinforcing and should therefore be made and practiced every time after a longer sequence of sounds as shown beforehand. Because "it brings all of the preceding into a correct relationship with what is already there".

That was the literal sentence that has to be thought about a lot.

Lory Maier Smits from her lessons with Rudolf Steiner, September 1912, GA 277a
Image on the right: Satyr with thyrsus and panther skin supports a drunken Silenus. 1st century BC.