2026 Soundings Article Proposals Due March 1

An Invitation for all Members and Friends of the Lyre Association of North America: A REMINDER

The LANA Soundings journal for 2026 is planned to be a special edition focusing on the sequence of Raphael Madonna paintings and related images originally assembled by Dr. Felix Peipers who consulted Rudolf Steiner in 1908 about creating an enlivening, curative therapy for the treatment of children in need of soul care.  Steiner recognized and wrote about the healing powers inherent in these Madonna images of Raphael, and for more than a century, these images have been effectively used in a variety of therapeutic and hygienic settings. 

Of note to friends of the lyre is the increasingly common accompanying use of the lyre in conjunction with the showing of this sequence of images. 

For our 2026 Soundings journal, we wish to do a close examination of many facets of our work with the so-called Madonna Sequence. We would like to feature articles on what the Madonna Sequence is as well as the different orders of image presentation, focusing on the five-pointed-star-like movement of the images in relation to one another. We would also like to trace the history of lyre music accompanying the showing of this sequence, and finally, turn to the details of how both images and music can be presented as an artistic whole for both therapeutic and hygienic purposes.  We also welcome contributions from those who have worked with this sequence and would like to share their personal experiences. In addition, we intend to publish a number of different settings of music written to accompany the showing of the images.

The invitation  to contribute an article of substance to this featured topic for the 2026 edition of our Soundings journal was originally published in both our Advent Lyre Notes and in our year-end LANA Blog. This announcement is being sent again to all our members and friends as a reminder. 

We are asking to receive a Notification of Intention to contribute by March 1st from anyone interested, to include a proposed topic or title to be treated. The deadline for article submissions is May 1st.

With thanks in advance for your consideration and interest to help us create a comprehensive resource on this important topic of concern for our time!

–The LANA Publications Team