Wilhelm Pelikan

Wilhelm Pelikan (3 December 1893, Pola, Croatia – 17 November 1982, Arlesheim, Switzerland) was a German-Austrian chemist, anthroposophist, pharmacist, and a practitioner of anthroposophical medicine.

Early life and education

Wilhelm Pelikan was born to a German-Austrian father and a Dalmatian mother. He spent his early childhood in Galicia.

According to the International Association of Anthroposophic Pharmacists, Wilhelm Pelikan studied chemistry in Vienna and Graz. He was called up for military service in 1916, but was discharged shortly after due to lung and cardiac problems.

During this spell of illness, Pelikan was introduced to anthroposophy through the work of Rudolf Steiner, and his book Knowledge of the Higher Worlds. In 1918, he attended one of Steiner's lectures in Vienna and subsequently became his student, dedicating his life to anthroposophical pursuits.^[1]

Career and contributions

Pelikan initially worked in Vienna's gold and silver refinery before being invited by Eugen Kolisko in 1919 to join the research institute Der Kommende Tag in Stuttgart. At the institute, he engaged in anthroposophical research, contributed to academic lectures, and presented at the East-West Congress in Vienna. In 1922, he began working in the newly established laboratories of the Institute of Clinical Medicine in Stuttgart, focusing on the preparation of metal mirrors.^[1]

Following the dissolution of Der Kommende Tag in 1924, Pelikan became the head of Weleda in Schwäbisch Gmünd, and continued to be for 40 years. Under his leadership, Weleda developed a range of anthroposophical medicines.^[2]

Development of medical gardens

Together with biodynamic gardener expert Franz Lippert, Pelikan established a medicinal herb garden on Weleda's grounds and later expanded to Wetzgau, cultivating over 200 species of medicinal plants.^[1] This initiative became a foundational part of Weleda's production of natural medicines.

Anthroposophical Society and Weleda initiatives

Pelikan also fostered the Schwäbisch Gmünd branch of the Anthroposophical Society, and began to allow it to hold meetings on Weleda's premises in 1935. The branch was later named the Raphael Branch.^[1]

In 1948, he joined the editorial team of Weleda Korrespondenzblätter für Ärzte and organized numerous conferences for medical professionals, pharmacists, and others in related fields. He also conducted Goethean studies on metals and medicinal plants, contributing to the understanding of plant biology in anthroposophical terms.

Later years and research

After retiring in 1963, Pelikan continued his research with support from Christa Krueger-Woernle. In 1965, he and his wife relocated to Arlesheim, where he worked with the Science Section of the Goetheanum and remained active in the Anthroposophical Society. Pelikan also explored topics in astronomy, published a study on Halley's Comet, and collaborated with mathematician Georg Unger on plant growth statistics, releasing a scientific paper in 1965.

Pelikan's work was influenced by earlier anthroposophical botanists like Gerbert Grohmann, whose volume The Plant introduced readers to the anthroposophical view of plant nature.^[1]

Works

• The Secrets of Metals, Lindisfarne Books, Revised edition (2006), ISBN 158420043X
• Healing Plants: Insights through Spiritual Science, Mercury Press (1997), ISBN 0929979648
• Healing Plants volume 2, Mercury Press (2012), ISBN 1935136046

In German

• Der Halley'sche Komet: Vom Geistig-Wesenhaften der Kometen-Natur, Philosophisch-Anthroposophischer Verlag am Goetheanum, (1985).