Rudolf Steiner recognized the stories of the Kalevala as having the clearest pictures of an earlier phase of human soul development. He also said that in addition to telling us much about the particular experiences of life in Northern Europe, the stories also offer insights into humanity's earlier time on Earth as well as glimpses of our future development. Steiner went so far as to say that he believed the Kalevala would become as important in the future as the stories of Ancient Greece have been in the past.
The Kalevala is used in the 4th grade curriculum in Waldorf Education.