Mellie Uyldert

Along her books Mellie Uyldert frequently advocates relation among man and nature, gardens, mystical beings, natural life as the way for a better life.^[1] "Water lily pond " by Monet, 1899.

Mellie Uyldert (born on May 31, 1908 in Blaricum – May 10, 2009 in Bilthoven) was a Dutch woman writer, alternative healer, occultist and astrologer. Uyldert made success with her about 30 esoteric books becoming a national reference in the Netherlands and a popular worldly author from New Age. Of a character being considered as conservative, peculiar, poetic, eccentric and for as much as very praised author with more than a million books sold,^[2] on the other hand she also was a controversial figure, namely in her mother country, because of unsettling claims thus drawing quite antagonism.^[3][4] Uyldert used to be a celebrity of occultism on Dutch television in the nineteen sixties and seventies, her publications elaborate about fairy tales, herbal medicine, stones, metals, health, gnomes and she wrote poems.

Biography

Mellie Uyldert was daughter of Marie Calisch, a teacher, and Emil Uyldert, both vegetarians sympathetic of the movement back to nature called Chaste Life.^[5] In 1912 her father Emil deserted the family going to the United States and leaving for Mellie’s mother the task of raising their daughter.^[6] At eighteen years old she became interested in astrology having her first lessons with a freemason called Mr. Ram in Hilversum.^[7] In 1928 she went to rendezvous of the Dutch Philosophical Society ("Nederlandse Vereniging voor Filosofie") but at age of twenty-first she left the philosophy for definitively engaging in her lessons of esoteric sciences such as theosophy and a Indian style astrology.^[8] In the same year 1928 she began teaching astrology,^[7] in 1934 she published her first book, the vegetarian cookbook Manual for the modern kitchen (Handleiding voor de moderne keuken)^[5] and in 1942 she opened giving courses on herbs and lectures.^[6]

From around 1947^[5][9] she began writing in the "De Kaarsvlam" ("The Candle’s Flame"), a bimonthly magazine produced in both English and German for some years by own, and years later then published by Mellie Uyldert Foundation. Also by several years she journaled for the "Onkruid" a widely read Dutch New Age magazine as well as wrote to the magazine Surviving the right Ecological Movement ("Overleven van de rechtse Ekologische Beweging").^[10] Meanwhile she was teacher at naturopathic institutes such as the Academy of Natural Treatment (Academie voor Natuurgeneeswijzen), and "De Kosmos" in Amsterdam. However in 1984 she became discredited by a booklet, which accused her of alleged racist theories. Following these events Onkruid magazine ended its relation with her.
In sequence Uyldert went away to Kalmthout in Belgium, where eleven years before she had established the Oasis Mellie Uyldert Foundation, which was a center directed for natural therapeutic treatments.^[8]
At a country house, belonging to her foundation, Uyldert continued to write books, teaching courses, organizing workshops and giving lectures up to 96 years old. Afterwards she lived her last years in the "Leendert Meeshuis", an anthroposophical nursing home in Bilthoven, until at the age of 100.^[3]

Literary work

Mellie Uyldert by 2008 registered about 30 books with a total circulation around one million and translations in German, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Danish.^[10]
Uyldert reveals that the major interest over her work came when the World War began, what returned the people’s attention to spiritual issues. But in fact also dates from the nineteen sixties kept up the popular involvement into her environmental writings, because was the period of a belief in a new, peaceful, romantic world accompanied by numerous protests against the emergent and global mechanized world, was the New Age.^[6]

Then, in her beginning, she soon finds out esoteric astrology claiming it as a base of all sciences and regularly citing the East as source of ancient wisdom. According to her, people has only a short free will, most of time the celestial bodies rule their destinies.^[7]
Commonly she focuses on some aspects of physical and spiritual diseases regarding them as consequence of negligence on ancient knowledge and of the estrangement between man and nature. For instance she asserts that Chinese have been rules by 6000 years for which place a house should be built because the soil must provide good energy.^[5]

As for herself, she alleges to remember something from her past lives and having psychic abilities since was a little child although, she states, "the important it is the understanding coming from within, clairvoyance is just a trick".^[5] However that performs esoteric settling for her writings about herbal medicine and nutrition^[10] where she argues the influence of nature spirits over the plants.^[11]

Uyldert proceeds making incursions over healing, mystical, cultural and magic properties of metals, stones, colors, besides their influence over the religions and traditions.^[12][13] She delivers her own interpretations of folkloric tales, human behavior and many subjects merging all particularly with her astrologic knowledge. Sometimes producing very questionable assertions she seems balance the issue with a constant element in her works which is the presence of many mystical verses and bucolic poems like those in her book "Het Levensritme" (The rhythm of the Life).^[14] Ultimately she affirms that her life is dedicated to rescue the contact between the occult world and the people.^[7]

Books

• 50 Horoscope forms (50 Horoscoop formulieren)
• Heartily - a collection of articles of the Onkruid magazine (Van harte - een bundeling van artikelen uit het tijdschrift Onkruid)
• Amnesty International annual Report, 2003 (Amnesty international Jahresbericht)
• Astrology I: Cosmic association (Astrologie I: Kosmische samenhangen)
• Astrology II: Aspects (Astrologie II: Aspecten)
• Astrology III: Medical Astrology (Astrologie III: Medische Astrologie)
• Earth's living body (Aarde's levend lichaam)
• Beings and forces of metal, 1977 (Wezen en krachten der metalen)
• Heal yourself (Genees uzelf)
• Herbs in the kitchen (Kruiden in de keuken)
• Hundreds of medicinal herbs (Honderd geneeskrachtige kruiden )
• Inspiration from life - autobiography, 2002 (Leven uit inspiratie een autobiografie)
• Lexicon of Medicinal Herbs (Lexicon der Geneeskruiden)
• Love (Liefde)
• Manual for the modern kitchen, 1934 (Handleiding voor de moderne keuken)
• My heart is on the Other side (Mijn hart is aan de Overzijde)
• Occult powers of gemstones, 1972 (Verborgen Krachten der Edelstenen);
• Occult Wisdom of Ancient Rhymes (Verborgen Wijsheid van oude Rijmen)
• Occult Wisdom of children's games (Verborgen wijsheid van kinderspelen)
• Occult Wisdom of Fairy Tales (Verborgen Wijsheid van het Sprookje)
• Plant Wisdom: Allies, Friends and Helpers in Your Garden, 1980
• Plant’s Souls, 1974 (Plantenzielen)
• Stars, people, herbs, 2005 (Sterren, mensen, kruiden )
• Symbolism in The Lord of the Rings, 1974 (Symboliek In de ban van de Ring)
• The Language of Herbs, 1980 (De Taal der Kruiden)
• The psychology of the Christianity (De psychologie van het Christendom)
• The rhythm of the Life, 1977 (Het Levensritme)
• The solar year, (Het zonnejaar)
• The Symbolism of the Winter Solstice (De Symboliek van de Midwintertijd)

References

1. ^ Mellie Uylder, Plant Wisdom: Allies, Friends and Helpers in Your Garden, 1980. ISBN 9780722505489.
2. ^ Astrodomein, Mellie Uydert’s Natal Chart , 2009. parcially translated in Astropost Blog, 2009.
3. ^ ^{a b} Joyce Hoen, Memorial, 2009. Solsticepoint Productions, Tributes to Astrologers. Accessed 2010.
4. ^ Herman A.O. de Tollenaere, Lively debate on Anthroposophy in Leeuwarden (The Netherlands), 1997. Accessed 2010.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} Eva Jansen, Interview with Mellie Uyldert - 75th birthday, 1983.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Kruidwis blogspot. Archives, 2009. Accessed 2010.
7. ^ ^{a b c d} Elizabeth Hathway, Interview with Mellie Uyldert, 1999. CHTA Astrology (Center for Humanistic and Transpersonal Astrology). Accessed 2010.
8. ^ ^{a b} Mellie Uyldert, Mellie Uyldert foundation. Accessed 2010.
9. ^ Astro databank. Accessed 2010.
10. ^ ^{a b c} Nico van den Bos, Mellie Uyldert Horoscoop en korte Biografie (Mellie Uyldert horoscope and short biography), 2008. Astrologie Zeelan.
11. ^ Mellie Uylder, The psychic garden (Plantenzielen, 1974). ISBN 0722505485.
12. ^ Mellie Uylder, Magic of Precious Stones, 1981. ISBN 0855001380.
13. ^ Mellie Uylder, Wezen en krachten der metalen, 1977 (Beings and forces of metal). ISBN 9060302125.
14. ^ Mellie Uylder, Het Levensritme, 1977 (The rhythm of the Life). ISBN 9060302257.

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Name	Uyldert, Mellie
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Date of birth	May 31, 1908
Place of birth
Date of death	May 10, 2009
Place of death