‘Spiegelogie’ and the ‘Fanclubspel’

Spiegelogie and the Fanclubspel were founded in the early nineties in the Netherlands by Willem de Ridder. He got his ideas mostly of Arnold Patent, who introduced the ‘Universal Principles’ and the ‘Mutual Supportgroups’ in America. From only advertising by word of mouth the existence of this play was spread in the Netherlands and also Belgium. The exact number of fanclubs are not known because everyone is free to start one. This free component, free to start one and no further costs, are pinpointed in every description of the Fanclubspel. There is no official institute where to register. However now a days there is a website from the ‘Support Network of the Netherlands’, a non-profit organisation, where people can find some contacts if they want to joy a fanclub. At a rough estimate there are about five hundred active fanclubs in the Netherlands and Belgium, with six up to then participants.

www.fanclubs.nu

In 1999 “Het Handboek Spiegelogie” (“Manual for Spiegelogie”) was published. Willem de Ridder wrote this book first as a result of his discourses on Spiegelogie by several Dutch businesses. Reading the book is now one of the only requirements to join a fanclub, and one thing is for sure, 36.000 copies of the book are published since 1999. A listening book containing four cd’s is just been published. In his own storytelling way, Willem de Ridder tells about Spiegelogie, his experiences and new insights in what he calls the universal principles of life.

manual for Fanclubplay

“Spiegelogie” is a wordplay where the meaning of mirror, reflectivity and psychology are intertwined. The ‘other’ is in Spiegelogie seen as a mirror to become aware of and to reflect on the subjective self. The Fanclubspel is a practice or game, ‘spel’ is the Dutch word for play or game, where this mirroring principle is practiced and played with.