Epistle

Greetings friends – Besides our Sunday Communion at the Christian Community Church here in Chicago, we also have services on Tuesdays & Thursday mornings. Not many folks come out on the weekdays, unless it falls on a Feast Day, so it’s essentially an offering for the Beloved Dead, & for the Beings of the Spiritual World. These intimate times are my favorite & I often serve at the altar on these days.

Today’s Gospel reading was from Ephesians 6: 10-20 – the last part of the last chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, authored by Saul who after his Damacus experience became Paul the Apostle.

I work closely with the synoptic Gospels. But I admit I have not spent much time with Peter & Paul who tend to prick my feminist sensibilities. But this Michaelic letter attributed to Paul set me on fire – It speaks directly to what we are facing now, especially in light of the up-coming Solar eclipse this Saturday 14 October 2023 – The 1st New Moon after the Autunmal Equinox.

When I got home, I picked up my bible & started reading Ephesians, where we are told in the first verse that it was written by “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (1:1)

This book is an epistle, meaning it’s a letter. And Paul wrote this particular letter, addressed to the Church in Ephesus, while he was being held captive as a prisoner in a Roman jail! .

Ephesus was once part of Greece, which today is near the western shores of modern-day Turkey, where the Aegean Sea meets the coast of Ionia.

The city was famous in its day for the Ancient Mystery School & Temple dedicated to Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, which was burnt to the ground by an arsonist on 21 July 356 BC, the day Alexander the Great was born.

Rudolf Steiner speaks about the connection of Ephesus & the Temple of Artemis with the burning of the 1st Goetheanum in the ‘World History in the Light of Anthroposophy’ lectures he gave in the evenings during the Christmas Conference. We have referred to these lectures many times here on RR. They offer many occult clues that are very insightful, especially now 3 months before the 100 year anniversary of the Christmas ConferenceWhen Steiner opened the New Mysteries of Anthroposophia to the world.

~Sigmund Gleismüller

Patmos an Island in Ephesus is where St. John the Divine wrote the Gospel of John, & the Book of Revelation thru the inspiration of Mother Mary, who lived with him there, & continued to inspire him after Her Assumption. Lazarus-John, who was ‘The Disciple whom Jesus Loved’ died many years later in that same place.

~Matthias Grünewald

From John 19:26-29, we hear: 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.”

Before going to prison, the Apostle Paul spent 3 years in Ephesus, speaking boldly, leading daily discussions, & doing extraordinary miracles by the power of God (Acts 19).

I would like to share what I heard read from the altar today by Rev. Jeana Lee:

Ephesians 6: The Armor of God

Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 6, 10-20 Translation by Rev Craig Wiggins

“What it comes to in the end is this: Let his strength and might flow through you in order to serve the Lord. Put on the full armor of God that you may withstand all the well-aimed attacks of the devil. For what we face is not a fight against blood and flesh, but against spirit-beings, against Archai, against Exousiai, against cosmic powers whose darkness rules the present time, against beings that are themselves powers of evil in the heavens and on the earth.

Therefore take up the God-given armor, so that you can withstand the evil on the day that it reaches its climax. You should stand there as those who follow everything through to the end.

Stand upright and gird your loins with truthfulness.

Strive for righteousness and balance in your judgement. It will shield your middle like a breastplate.

Shoe your feet with the readiness to proclaim the gospel of peace to all you meet.

Have faith in God that will provide you with a shield with which you can quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Think about the mystery of Christ’s deed of salvation that will protect your head as a helmet.

And grasp the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God in your speaking.

May this armour protect you in all your supplications and prayers, when you, at the right times, lift up your souls to the spirit and, in wakefulness and with tireless effort, make your intercessions for all who would know Christ’s healing power.

Take me, Paul, into your prayers as well, so that when I open my mouth the strength of the Word may be given me and I may courageously and openly expound the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am a messenger in chains.”

May we put this powerful Michaelic imagination to work for ourselves in the world!

~hag

10.10.23 – “Speaking with the Stars”: In the dawn twilight look for dazzling Venus (occult Mercury) in conjunction with Regulus – the Heart of Leo the Lion. Bella Luna in her waning mood will also be visible in the dome of the morning sky!

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Today 10.10 begins the 16 day Hindu Festival for the dead Shradh Ekadashi. Offerings are also made to Vishnu ‘one who is everything and inside everything’ known as The Preserver within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma, the Sustainer & Shiva, the Destroyer.

680 – Deathday of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of Mohammed, beheaded by the forces of Yazid, led by the son of Caliph Muawiyah, who Rudolf Steiner tells us was reincarnated as Woodrow Wilson.

1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 30,000–50,000 in the Caribbean.

1913 – President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike, completing major construction on the Panama Canal.

1957 – The Windscale fire results in Britain’s worst nuclear accident

1973 – U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with evasion of federal income tax

1980 – The 7.1 Mw  El Asnam earthquake shakes northern Algeria, killing 20,633 and injuring 80,369

The 1st New Moon after the Autumnal Equinox – Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse

GLOBAL EVENT:Annular Solar Eclipse
LOCAL TYPE:Partial Solar Eclipse in Cahokia Mounds State Historic SIte, Illinois
BEGINS:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 10:32 am
MAXIMUM:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 11:57 am 0.634 Magnitude
ENDS:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 1:27 pm
DURATION:2 hours, 55 minutes

All are welcome to meet on the inner planes during any part of the duration of the Solar eclipse – which Spiritual Science tells us is like the releasing of a safety valve – allowing the unbridled astral urges of the adversarial forces living in humanity, which are normally held in check by the spiritual beings working in the rays of the Sun, to instead surge out to infect the cosmic spaces, including our beloved dead & the unborn. (More on this soon)

We are all set for the Michaelmas Speaking with the Stars retreat 13-15 October 2023 at Cahokia Mounds – a sacred Mississippian Indian site in Collinsville, Illinois, called by the ancients: Sun City.

Annular solar eclipse total phases composite panorama during Totality , moon covers the sun’s visible outer edges to form a “ring of fire” shot using mylar solar film , very rare natural event Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned. A total eclipse , An annular eclipse , A hybrid eclipse, partial eclipse

Save the Dates for Community Workings

October 14Annular Solar Eclipse
October 21-22Orionids Meteor Shower Predicted Peak
October 23Venus at Greatest Western Elongation
October 28Full Hunter’s Moon and Partial Lunar Eclipse

All Souls Festival – Election Day 7 November 2023

Community Prep-Stir / Bon-fire

Celebrating: The Festival of the Dead, & Martinmas

7 – 9 pm at the Lucchesi-Archer-Ginsberg domicile

Please Bring a jar for the prep

RSVP Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

The reprise of the 2017 Great American Eclipse Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse

Stay tuned for details about a Retreat for this Solar Eclipse Event in Fort Worth, Texas

Begins: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 12:22 pm
Maximum: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 1:41 pm 1.005 Magnitude
Ends: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 3:01 pm
Duration: 2 hours, 39 minutes
Totality: 2 minutes, 34 seconds

Lunar Eclipse Sep 18, 2024

Workbench

Dear Friends – If are to enliven our Festival Life, which can often feel like an unactualized commemoration, we must apply the New Mysteries of Spiritual Science to the Seasonal Round. The future is calling up in us the power to co-create a Michaelmas Festival that has significance for humanity in our present age. As the Autumn Harvest-Tide advances, & the trees begin to bare their skeletons; Natura transforms into the wise Winter Hag. Persephone, a maiden no more, becomes Queen of the Underworld.

The Easter Resurrection ever sprouting, seen in the innocent Youth & the fertile Mother, must be now be cultivated within.

As we take in & redeem the decay, we must also conceive of how the Soul of Earth contracts inwardly. The far-flung field, becomes the Masonic Workbench, the inner forge, en-couraging us to hone & shape the Cosmic Iron of the Stars on the altar of our hearts into our sword of Michaelic thinking. Consecrating the Foundation Stone at the center of the labyrinthine womb of The Mothers! It is within this Honeycomb Womb/Tomb that we must cultivate the New Sun, reborn at Winter Solstice.

As we do this Great Work thru our own personal inner development, we also cultivate outwardly our Communal Social Life – Investing in a community that can only become living thru tolerance, interest, mutual respect & unselfish Love.

Our heart-thinking living as a social reflection will unite us with the ‘ever present help of the Spiritual World’ waiting to meet us in the Reverse Ritual which we can apply in the co-creation of a Michaelmas-Tide, as the complement & continuation of the Easter-Tide.

Fostering unity in the 3-fold community.

Dear friends – During this Michaelmas Season, let us courageously unite, so that we can heal & redeem social organizations – consciously reweaving the web – freeing ourselves from the corporate spiders that seek to sting & enslave us.

Freedom thru discernment. Mutuality thru shared goals. Equity thru human rights.  A marriage of Spirit & Matter. A New Civilization where Science, Art & Spirituality Unite – exemplified in our Festival Life.

An alchemical evolution in the retort of our Soul Forces of Thinking, Feeling & Willing.  Windows into the cosmic course that reveal & resolve the Riddles of the Universe. Out of the union of Wisdom & Love we can act creatively, uniting our human willing with Divine Willing.

The harvest time does not let us recline – we must be active. ‘Relaxed with pep’ – reviewing the seasons behind us, giving thanks for the blessings received. Listening to what comes next…

As I mentioned in the last essay Michaelmas as Movable Feast, the 8 Sabbats on the Wheel of the Year correspond to the phases of the Moon – with the Autumnal Equinox relating to the Last Quarter phase of the lunar cycle. This is a time when we completly change direction. We experience a Reversal. We flip from equal light into the waning darkness. Exposing the 8th Sphere.

As a society we are in this disseminating phase – a real crisis phase. We know it’s time to move on to something new. It is time to re-evaluate everything!

We have now, at this time, an initiatory opportunity to Meet the Mysteries of the Unmanifest – which can lead us into true renewal.

And the New Moon Solar eclipse of 14 October 2023 is a cosmic sign from the spiritual world – a ‘Key Call’ for those who have ears that see, eyes that hear, & hearts that think…

~hag

The 1st New Moon after the Autumnal Equinox – Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse

GLOBAL EVENT:Annular Solar Eclipse
LOCAL TYPE:Partial Solar Eclipse in Cahokia Mounds State Historic SIte, Illinois
BEGINS:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 10:32 am
MAXIMUM:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 11:57 am 0.634 Magnitude
ENDS:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 1:27 pm
DURATION:2 hours, 55 minutes

All are welcome to meet on the inner planes during any part of the duration of the Solar eclipse – which Spiritual Science tells us is like the releasing of a safety valve – allowing the unbridled astral urges of the adversarial forces living in humanity, which are normally held in check by the spiritual beings working in the rays of the Sun, to instead surge out to infect the cosmic spaces, including our beloved dead & the unborn. (More on this soon)

For those who would like to gather in person I will be facilitating a Michaelmas Speaking with the Stars retreat 13-15 October 2023 at Cahokia Mounds – a sacred Mississippian Indian site in Collinsville, Illinois, called by the ancients: Sun City. We will gather to co-create ‘a New Group-Soul United in Christ’ thru Art-Acts, & other experiencial activities to collectively build a cogititive imagination for healing, working with Sophia-Michael-Christ, embracing all worlds with Love & Light. We will be employing the ‘Woodhenge’ zodiac site, as well as Monks Mound, & the Mississippi River trail…etc…Space is limited contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

~Roland Ruocco

RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated
(with added titles) by Roy Sadler
MICHAELMAS II
Spirit Sunlight’s Dawn
v27
To penetrate my depths of being
arouses longing, ardently divining,
that I, self-contemplating, find
I am the gift the summer sun’s bequeathed
that lives in autumn mood as warming seed,
a spring of strength empowering my soul.

It is the first verse of the Soul Calendar’s second half of the year, its turning point. The soul’s attention now turns inward, longing to know herself. The summer’s gift can be compared to each night’s sleep when higher beings implant a moral purpose. The verse is like a morning prayer as the soul awakens with the inspired will for the spirit’s Christmas birth: the spirit-germ of the self is a reflection of the Michael being whose fiery will expressed itself last week.

MICHAELMAS
Michaelic Firepower
v26
Natura, in the being of my will
I bear your soul of motherhood
and in my will enkindled firepower
my spirit impulses are tempered, steeled,
that feeling of the selfhood formed from them
bear I in me.

(I sent Hazel last week a synopsis of the Michaelmas conference i enjoyed in my English home town, and a little reflection of part of my biography. She put it into the comments of her ‘Forged in Star-Fire’ post.)

8 October 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: The Draconid meteor shower is ramping up this evening to a peak tomorrow morning. The Draconids owe their name to the constellation Draco the Dragon, and are created when the Earth passes through the dust debris left by comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The comet takes about 6.6 years to make a single revolution around the Sun.

~hag

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1793 – Deathday of John Hancock, the first man to sign the historic document, was a Freemason.

1852 – Deathday of Franz Graffer – His memoirs Kleine Wiener Memoiren, are the source for the Comte de St. Germain‘s appearance in Vienna…

Great Fires of 1871 - Devotion to Our Lady

1871 – Slash-and-burn land management, months of drought, and the passage of a strong cold front cause the Peshtigo Fire, the Great Chicago Fire & the Great Michigan Fires to break out

Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany - Wikipedia

1939 – World War II: Germany annexes western Poland.

Days of Rage | 1960s: Days of Rage

1969 – The opening rally of the Days of Rage occurs, organized by the Weather Underground in Chicago. The Days of Rage demonstrations were a series of actions taken over a course of three days by a counterculture-era group ‘Students for a Democratic Society’. The group planned the October 8–11 event as a “National Action” built around John Jacobs’ slogan “bring the war home”. The resolution read, “The Elections Don’t Mean Shit—Vote Where the Power Is—Our Power Is In The Street”. It was adopted by the council, prompted by the effects of the 1968 Democratic National Convention protest activity in August.

Solidarity | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica

1982 – Poland bans Solidarity & all other trade unions.

The 11 biggest myths about Israel-Palestine - Vox

1990 – Second Intifada: Israeli police kill 170 Palestinians & wound over 100 near the Dome of the Rock.

Why the Department of Homeland Security Was Created


2001 – U.S. President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security.

Kashmir earthquake: Broken city, broken promises - BBC News

2005 – The 7.6 Mw  Kashmir earthquake leaves 86,000–87,351 people dead, 69,000–75,266 injured,& 2.8 million homeless.

2nd person dies from Ebola in Congo's city of Goma - ABC News

2014 – Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person in the United States to be diagnosed with Ebola, dies.

Annular solar eclipse total phases composite panorama during Totality , moon covers the sun’s visible outer edges to form a “ring of fire” shot using mylar solar film , very rare natural event Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned. A total eclipse , An annular eclipse , A hybrid eclipse, partial eclipse

Save the Dates for Community Workings

October 14Annular Solar Eclipse
October 21-22Orionids Meteor Shower Predicted Peak
October 23Venus at Greatest Western Elongation
October 28Full Hunter’s Moon and Partial Lunar Eclipse

All Souls Festival – Election Day 7 November 2023

Community Prep-Stir / Bon-fire

Celebrating: The Festival of the Dead, & Martinmas

7 – 9 pm at the Lucchesi-Archer-Ginsberg domicile

Please Bring a jar for the prep

RSVP Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

Lunar Eclipse Mar 25, 2024

The reprise of the 2017 Great American Eclipse Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse

Stay tuned for details about a Retreat for this Solar Eclipse Event in Fort Worth, Texas

Begins: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 12:22 pm
Maximum: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 1:41 pm 1.005 Magnitude
Ends: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 3:01 pm
Duration: 2 hours, 39 minutes
Totality: 2 minutes, 34 seconds

Lunar Eclipse Sep 18, 2024

Michaelmas as Moveable Feast

Listen to ‘I Think Speech’

Dear friends – What would it be like to re-think the Michaelmas-Tide as a Moveable Feast like Easter?

When living into the Festival Life in the Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation, many occult realities are waiting to be unveiled, renewed & applied. One such open secret which we have been exploring here is the connection between Michaelmas & Easter.

The goal of the Michaelmas Festival is to be reborn at the time of death. And the maxim of Easter is that we must die to be reborn.

Michaelmas which has been called a Festival of the Future, that we are co-creating NOW, is celebrated on the fixed date of 29 September – the Feast Day of St. Michael & All The Heavenly Hosts.

But we also know that it is a Season – a Tide – that begins with the Perseid Meteor Showers – bringing in the Cosmic Iron needed to fortify our blood – the antidote to the luciferic forces of Summer’s expansion, at the end of August.

We are entering now the next phase: The Draconid Meteor Showers radiating from the Dragon’s Eyes – the stars Eltanin & Rastaban – in the constellation Draco.

Then in late October we encounter The Orionid Meteor Showers taking us into the All Souls Season.

~Umbra Perchiazzi

Recognizing this Michaelmas-Tide has brought many powerful Festival experiences.

“Life after death
Life before birth
Only by knowing both
Do we know eternity”

~ Rudolf Steiner

We know that Easter-Tide: The Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost events are Moveable Feasts – determined by a cosmic alignment: The 1st Sunday after the 1st Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox.

~Umbra Perchiazzi

What will it do for our experience to bring in the cosmic connection of the alignment of Sun, Moon & Earth to Michaelmas? To include a contemplation of the timing of the New Moon after the Autumnal Equinox..? Something long time RR contributor Steve Hale has suggested over the years.

Because of the meteoric activity, which brings a cosmic clearing on all levels, I had not felt a strong urge to reverse the Easter alignment & apply it to the Michaelmas Season.

But this year I noticed that the first New Moon after the Autumnal Equinox on Saturday 14 October 2023, will be a Solar Eclipse!

So this caught my attention, & is leading me to consider bringing a consciousness of the Movable Feast into this cosmic coincidence.

Although I do feel that the 1st Sunday after the Autumnal Equinox after the 1st New Moon which is Oct. 15 this year, feels too far in, & way too close to the All Souls Season to count as the Start of the Michaelmas – perhaps it can be seen as the herald of the end?

Just as it is interesting to parallel it with 15 August: The Feast of the Assumption of the BVM, as a start.

And which we can also connect to the creation of a New Vidar/Ramael Festival that we can conceive of around that August time – a heralding of the Michaelmas Fest.

So dear friends, I am proposing we take advantage of this calling to attend the Solar Eclipse on the 1st New Moon after the Autumnal Equinox as Michaelic Warriors for Peace – Holding the powers of the Sun during the time of darkness.

All are invited to tune into our Project Thought-Seed (Egregore 10:10) which is all about co-creating an imagination of the Earth as a Sun.

Find the timing of the eclipse for your neck of the woods & tune in.

We must become spiritual warriors, & endeavor to take up the practice of building up positive imaginations on the inner planes as a counterforce to the adversarial forces working in all worlds. This is a “key-call” to the Spiritual Powers aligned with love & light, to enlist their aid.

Our Good Will becomes a cosmic energy field for healing: “Seed ideas in the group mind of humanity”, of our highest intentions for the evolution of humanity – that the Earth may become a Sacred Planet – a Sun – & every Human Being a Star.

“What is sown in our highest thought will grow and bear seed.”

We can picture Mighty Spiritual Beings noticing our shining. Then we become a beacon which calls for a response. Powerful forces will reply -sending their protection & energy to us on Earth. Then we can work with them to collectively surround any disharmony, embracing with compassion all discord, bringing dis-ease into the light of healing wholeness…

Here is the Meditative Thought-Seed I love to work with:

For Thinking:
When I think light, my soul shines,
When my soul shines, the Earth is a star,
When the Earth is a star, I am, a true human being”.

~Herbert Hahn
In Reverse:
I am, a true human being
The Earth is a Star
My soul Shines
I think Light

For Feeling:
When I feel Love, my heart sings
When my heart sings, the Earth resounds
When the Earth resounds, I am, a true I AM
In Reverse:
I am, a True I Am
The Earth Resounds
My Heart Sings
I Feel Love

For Willing:
When I will life, my hands help
When my hands help, the Earth heals
When the Earth heals, I am, a free human being
In Reverse:
I Am, a Free Human Being
The Earth Heals
My Hands Help
I Will Life

~hag

We can also employ this powerful Verse
for the Michaelic Age:

We must eradicate from the soul all fear and terror
Of what approaches us from the future.

We must acquire serenity in all feelings and sensations
About the future.

We must look forward with absolute equanimity
To whatever may come.

And we must think only that whatever comes
Is given to us by a cosmic guidance full of wisdom.

It is part of what we must learn in this age, namely,
To live without any security in material existence
And to live with pure trust in the ever-present help
of the spiritual world.

Truly, nothing else will do if our courage is not to fail us.

For this let us seek awakening
To the reality of the spirit
From within ourselves,
Every morning and every evening.

Together, Dear friends we can co-create a New Michaelmas-Tide – a circle of protection & light, in the Christic center of the Universe, which has its eternal point within our heart – Ever reflecting out to the periphery of eternal becoming.

The 1st New Moon after the Autumnal Equinox – Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse

GLOBAL EVENT:Annular Solar Eclipse
LOCAL TYPE:Partial Solar Eclipse in Cahokia Mounds State Historic SIte, Illinois
BEGINS:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 10:32 am
MAXIMUM:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 11:57 am 0.634 Magnitude
ENDS:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 1:27 pm
DURATION:2 hours, 55 minutes

For those who would like to gather in person I will be facilitating a Michaelmas Speaking with the Stars retreat 13-15 October 2023 at Cahokia Mounds – a sacred Mississippian Indian site in Collinsville, Illinois, called by the ancients: Sun City. We will gather to co-create ‘a New Group-Soul United in Christ’ thru Art-Acts, & other activities to consciously rise in our thinking, collectively building a cogitative imagination of Sophia-Michael-Christ, embracing all worlds with love & light. We will be working in the ‘Woodhenge’ zodiac site, as well as Monks Mound, & the Mississippi River trail. Space is limited contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

~hag

For in the past, festivals used to bind human beings strongly together. Just think, for instance, of all that has been done and said and thought in connection with festivals for the whole of civilisation.

In our epoch, Western humanity’s development has again reached a point where we are confronted with the necessity of bringing forth new forms of the venerable, sacred ideals of religion, art and science.

This is what can enter physical life through the establishment of festivals directly out of the spirit – to do something that connects the earth with the heavens, that reconnects physical with spiritual conditions.

If to-day one could see the working of the whole universe when Autumn approaches, if one could decipher the whole face of the universe, and acquire creative force out of it, then the establishment of such a festival would reveal, not only the will of human beings, but also the will of Gods and Spirits. Then the Spirit would again be among humankind!” ~Rudolf Steiner – Michaelmas VII: The Creation of A Michael Festival Out Of The Spirit

6 October 2023 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Bella Luna in her Last Quarter Phase

Like the Solar Wheel of the year – There are 8 Lunar Phases in the 29.53 day cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter &Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous & Waning Crescent.

Interesting to observe & ponder:

A New Moon in Gemini appears highest at the Summer Solstice & in Sagittarius it is lowest at the Winter Solstice.

A First-Quarter Moon appears highest at the Spring Equinox & lowest at the Autumn Equinox.

The Full Cold Moon appears highest at the Winter Solstice & the Strawberry-Honey Moon is lowest at the Summer Solstice.

A Last-Quarter Moon appears highest at the Autumn Equinox (Michaelmas-Tide) & lowest at the Spring Equinox (Easter-Tide)

Annular solar eclipse total phases composite panorama during Totality , moon covers the sun’s visible outer edges to form a “ring of fire” shot using mylar solar film , very rare natural event Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned. A total eclipse , An annular eclipse , A hybrid eclipse, partial eclipse

Save the Dates for Community Workings

October 14Annular Solar Eclipse
October 21-22Orionids Meteor Shower Predicted Peak
October 23Venus at Greatest Western Elongation
October 28Full Hunter’s Moon and Partial Lunar Eclipse

All Souls Festival – Election Day 7 November 2023

Community Prep-Stir / Potluck / Bon-fire

Celebrating: The Festival of the Dead, & Martinmas

6 – 8 pm at the Lucchesi-Archer-Ginsberg domicile

Please Bring Food & Drink to share, & a jar for the prep

RSVP Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

Lunar Eclipse Mar 25, 2024

The reprise of the 2017 Great American Eclipse Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse

Stay tuned for details about a Retreat for this Global Total Solar Eclipse Event in Fort Worth, Texas

Begins: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 12:22 pm
Maximum: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 1:41 pm 1.005 Magnitude
Ends: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 3:01 pm
Duration: 2 hours, 39 minutes
Totality: 2 minutes, 34 seconds

Lunar Eclipse Sep 18, 2024

October Alchemy

~cots Michaelmas 26 Karl Koning

Greetings friends – There is so much to contemplate during this Michaelmas Season. Virtue for SEPT 21 – OCT 20 – Contentment becomes Equanimity. OPPOSITE: Dissatisfaction

At this time, the flowers wither, fruit & nuts fall from the trees & decompose, leaving their empty husks on the ground; grains are sorted or stored before being sown, to ensure a new cycle of growth. This process of decomposition & sorting also concerns the human being.

Just as the fruit is separated from the tree & the seed from the fruit, so is the soul separated from the body, in sleep, in meditation, in death…The body is the envelope -the wrapping – & the soul is the seed that is planted in the soil of the spiritual world.

The human being is a fruit…& when we are ripe, we must not fall to the ground like the fruits & seeds of the earth, we must journey with consciousness into the spiritual world.

Autumn is the season for that separation of which Hermes Trismegistus speaks: ‘You shall separate the subtle from the gross, gently and with great skill.’

To separate the subtle from the gross is to separate the spiritual from the material, & the whole of nature undergoes this process of alchemy at Autumn-Tide, in preparation for the coming of new light & life. And yet most people have no idea what to cut out or re-cycle: they swallow everything whole, & are rarely content.

And so this is what we have to learn from Michael: Discernment! Which is also the counter measure to cast out Ahriman – We must discern what to choose, & how to separate the pure from the impure, the useful from the useless, the harmful from the beneficial.

The absence of judgment in this respect is the cause of many misfortunes. Michaelmas is resplendently rich in meaning for those who understand that it can bring them the courage to cultivate true freedom & liberation.

So put the sword of Michael to use, to bless & bestow, as well as to cut away what does not serve – To separate the wheat from the chaff -To sharpen the mind & protect the heart.

Stand as a peaceful warrior for change

~hag

5 October 1872 – the Birthday of Friedrich Rittelmeyer, a Protestant German minister, & theologian; friend of Rudolf Steiner; co-founder & driving force of The Christian Community.

Growing up in Frankish Schweinfurt – his father was a Lutheran minister – it was already clear to him as a child that he wanted to go into a religious profession. From 1890 Rittelmeyer studied philosophy & Protestant theology. His teacher Oswald Külpe, encouraged him to write his dissertation on Friedrich Nietzsche.

He also went on a study trip to meet theologians & socially-engaged ministers of the time, as well as members of the Moravian Church. From 1895 to 1902 he was at the Stadtvikar in Würzburg. In 1903 he took up the preachership of Heilig-Geist-Kirche in Nuremberg. There he married Julie Kerler on 5 April 1904. Rittelmeyer worked & closely collaborated with Christian Geyer, the head preacher of the Sebalduskirche, together they produced two joint volumes of sermons. Around 1910 they both led discussions with the Bavarian church council on a liberal interpretation of the Bible.

Also inn 1910 the Nuremberg school teacher Michael Bauer enabled Rittelmeyer to have his first encounter with Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Rittelmeyer described the encounter & discussed Steiner’s personality & work in his book ‘Rudolf Steiner Enters my Life’.

Rudolf Steiner Comes Into My Life by Friedrich Rittelmeyer

It was on August 28th, 1911, the anniversary of Goethe’s birthday, that I saw Rudolf Steiner for the first time. I had to go on a short journey and I managed to attend the Theosophical Summer Conference at Munich on the Sunday. For six months, practically all my spare time had been devoted to reading Dr. Steiner’s works, but I still had no thought as yet of joining the Society. In spite of this, I was allowed to attend all the meetings without any kind of obligation. When I went into the room I was surprised at the atmosphere I found there. The audience, for the most part, gave one an impression of strangeness. A certain type of passive, sensation-mongering mentality troubled me. Especially when I saw men with long hair, my impulse was to run away. Later on, all these things changed decidedly for the better, when the “theosophical” shells were laid aside and Rudolf Steiner began to attract more and more men of a scientific turn of mind. He certainly suffered a great deal in those earlier years, but out of respect for personal freedom he did not on principle enter into external trivialities of this kind and tried gradually to educate the people from within.

What pleased me was the evidence of a mood of festive devotion. It was not difficult to see that this was a festival of man. These people were filled with joy that they were in the presence of one whom they felt to be quite out of the common, a leader worthy of all respect, and who yet went about among them as a man among other men. Although I felt an outsider, and was repelled by many things I saw, I was interested to
find how genuinely and sincerely a man was being regarded as an “event” in humanity. Everything breathed in honour of manhood, for these people felt themselves in the presence of a great figure of the human race. Something of this kind must have been experienced before one can realise the silent effect which a single individual can have upon those around him. This was particularly in evidence during the dramatic performances. Those who took part were not presenting their art with an eye to Press and public, but as if they felt a higher being looking through them, and
they were therefore striving without personal vanity to offer their sacrifices in the revealed presence of a Divine world. Quite a new conception of art as worship arose within me.
..

Here, in very truth, was a kingly mind in the realms of knowledge, far-seeing and mighty in its freedom. He let a science of Nature come to flower around us, a wisdom far more stimulating than the dead knowledge of the day and a science in which religion could breathe anew...

In everything I said and asked I found myself in the presence of an unmistakable expert. There was nothing I could say that he did not seem already to know. Whereas in other conversations I had had with outstanding men I always refrained from speaking about certain experiences because one was accustomed to find no understanding, here I could touch upon whatever intimate and delicate subjects I liked and was always answered by genuine human kindliness and a superior power that could not but inspire every confidence...

If only people could have seen how he spoke of these matters in personal conversation! His great dark eyes became even more alert. With a consciousness of responsibility than which nothing greater or purer could be imagined, he spoke every word with hesitation. It was as if, all unseen, he had passed into a temple where he was acting before the eyes of higher powers. One could have wished that all the sensitive minds of humanity had been present to witness such a spectacle! If the teaching of reincarnation were to be renewed in a Christian sense it could not have been entrusted to a more scrupulous mind...

Only a warped nature could fail to perceive that here one was standing in the very light of truth. The man before us was telling of a world in which he himself was living. The many hundreds of sermons I had heard about Christ came up in the background of my mind. They faded into shadows. “We speak of that which we do know and testify of that which we have seen.” — A new proclamation of Christ was there. A new Christ-era was dawning — as yet in the first faint rays of the promised morning. The lecture itself spoke of this — spoke without the least trace of selfish longing for what has yet to come, proclaiming simply what is and would like to bestow itself upon us. Anyone who witnessed this could doubt no longer but that a fully authorized servant of Christ was standing before him...

There was also far too much easy chattering about anthroposophical truths and a great deal of blind following of the leader of Anthroposophy. Such is the tragedy that is bound up with greatness, a tragedy that will always be there when a great man appears. But Rudolf Steiner never failed to let it be known that the men he liked best were those who stood before him in freedom and self-assurance. Even wilfulness did not altogether displease him, although he could not regard it as a quality likely to promote the cause of Anthroposophy. The way in which he combined the pressing need of the cause with respect for personal freedom always called forth my unqualified admiration. If it were a matter of choosing, he invariably put the freedom of a man before the needs of the cause. For he regarded the future temple of mankind as lost if it were built upon mediæval foundations...”

In 1916 Rittelmeyer was sent to the Neue Kirche in Berlin, working as preacher there. He  opposed the First World War, & with 4 other Berlin theologians signed a proclamation of peace & understanding on the occasion of Reformation Day (October 1917).

In September 1922 he established the “Movement for Religious Revival” (Christengemeinschaft) Rittelmeyer acted as its first “Erzoberlenker” or Head Priest, & from its base in Stuttgart was the leading envoy right up to his death. To do this great deed he sacrificed his eminent position within the Lutheran Chruch, in order to lead The Christian Community, an international movement for religious renewal founded with the co-operation of Rudolf Steiner.

1921 – French journalist Jules Sauerwein, Interviewed Rudolf Steiner about the cause of WW1. ‘Of all the kings, monarchs, presidents, ministers, scholars, artists, writers and prominent figures in business whom I have come to know in the course of the decades of my profession, none has made such a deep impression on me as the German philosopher Rudolf Steiner.’

ESSAYS ON THE THREEFOLD DIVISION OF THE SOCIAL ORGANISM, GA 24

New facts about the prehistory of the World War

An interview by “Matin” reporter Jules Sauerwein with Dr. Rudolf Steiner on the unpublished memoirs of the late German Chief of General Staff von Moltke 5 October 1921

“You know that if your opponents are to be believed, the Chief of General Staff is said to have lost his head first and then the Battle of the Marne because of you.”

That is the question that I asked the famous spiritual researcher and sociologist Rudolf Steiner, born German-Austrian. I have had sincere admiration and friendly feelings for him for more than fifteen years. It gave me great satisfaction at the time to translate several of his theosophical works into French. Whenever my travels permit, I do not fail to visit Dr. when passing through Basel. Steiner in Dornach to pay a short visit.

This time I met him again at the strange and enormous building, which was given the name Goetheanum by his students in honor of Goethe as a forerunner of spiritual science. I have already written in “Matin” about the man as well as about the building and its wonderful location, on the last foothills of the Jura crowned by castle ruins.

Rudolf Steiner had just returned from Germany after giving lectures on his teachings to thousands of enthusiastic listeners in Stuttgart and Berlin. On the same day in Dornach he received a group of 120 theologians with whom he discussed theological and religious questions. A number of these theologians, on the basis of Dr. Steiner’s teachings to tackle a redesign of religious life.

Dr. Steiner was currently working on a huge group in wood sculpture depicting Christ and the underlying seductive powers, Lucifer and Ahriman. This is one of the most impressive creations I have ever seen; it will form the central end of the smaller domed room in the Goetheanum. As I watched the listeners climb the hill in small groups to gather for the lecture, Dr. Steiner from the attacks of his opponents. Clericals and pan-Germans and fanatical followers of various religious denominations fight against him with every weapon and at every opportunity.

The fear of the truth

When I asked him directly the question about General von Moltke, he directed his piercing eyes at me, which looked at me from a face furrowed by forty years of intense intellectual struggle.

«What you tell me doesn’t surprise me. No means will be shied away from to expel me from Germany and possibly also from Switzerland. These attacks come from a variety of backgrounds. But insofar as they extend to my relationships with Moltke, they have a very specific goal. They want to prevent the publication of some notes that Moltke made for his family before his death and which I should arrange for publication in bookstores with the consent of Mrs. von Moltke.

These memoirs should have been published in 1919. Immediately before its publication, a person in charge of the Prussian diplomatic representation in Stuttgart visited me to tell me that this publication was impossible and that they would not want it in Berlin. Later a general who had been in positions with General von Moltke and Wilhelm II came to me and gave me the same ideas. I protested against this and wanted to ignore it. I thought of turning to Count von Brockdorff-Rantzau, who was then in Versailles; but couldn’t achieve anything. My efforts were all the more unsuccessful because at the same time Ms. von Moltke was approached with ideas that she could not escape.

Why these fears? These memoirs are by no means an indictment of the imperial government. But what they show, perhaps worse, is that the imperial government was in a state of complete confusion and under an incomprehensibly careless and ignorant leadership. One can apply the sentence that I wrote down in my foreword to the responsible personalities: <It was not what they did that contributed to the calamity, but the entire nature of their personalities.>

I can add that it was due to the peculiar circumstances that ultimately the weight of the decisive resolutions fell on a single man, the Chief of General Staff, who saw himself forced to do his military duty because politics was at a standstill had arrived. I never spoke to him about political or military questions before Moltke resigned. It was only later, when he was seriously ill, that he naturally spoke openly to me about all these matters, and since this will interest you, I will tell you what he told me himself and what can also be seen from his unpublished memoirs.

At the end of June 1914, Moltke, who had been chief of staff since 1905, went to Karlsbad for health reasons. Until his death he knew nothing about a Potsdam meeting on July 5th or 6th. He only returned to Berlin in good health after the ultimatum to Serbia. Since his return, he said, he had been firmly convinced that Russia was going to attack. He clearly foresaw the tragic development that things were bound to take, that is, he believed in the participation of France and England in the world conflict. He wrote a memorandum for the emperor that pointed out the need for measures to be taken. The German General Staff’s plan had essentially been fixed for a long time. It was set up by Moltke’s predecessor, von Schlieffen. You know its basics: Large masses were to be thrown against France in order to achieve a rapid decision in the West at any cost. A weak defensive army was planned against Russia, which was to be replenished later following the decision in the western theater of war.

Beguiled people

Von Moltke had changed his predecessor’s plan in one important point. While Schlieffen had planned to march through Belgium and Holland at the same time, Moltke had renounced Holland in order to give Germany breathing space in the event of a blockade.

When Moltke came to the castle on Friday, July 31st, he found people completely confused. As he said, he had the impression that he found himself in the position of having to make a decision all on his own. On that day, the Kaiser did not yet sign the mobilization order, an order which in Germany was tantamount to a declaration of war, because as soon as this order was given, everything, including the first operation at certain hours, took place with an inexorable automatism. For that day, Wilhelm II contented himself with proclaiming the impending danger of war. The following day, on Saturday, August 1st, at four o’clock in the afternoon, he summoned Moltke again, and over the next six hours the following drama unfolded.

Moltke meets the Kaiser in the presence of Bethmann Hollweg, whose knees were literally shaking, the War Minister Falkenhayn, General von Plessen, Lyncker and a few others. The Kaiser strongly objected to the Chief of Staff’s intentions. He says he received the best news from England. Not only would England remain neutral – as George V informed him – but she would even prevent France from taking part in the war. Under these conditions it would be logical to throw the entire army against Russia. No, Moltke replied, the plan must be carried out in the East and the West as it was determined if we do not want to bring about the greatest disaster.

The technical reasons

The objections don’t affect Moltke; he refuses to change anything. He argues that the mobilization order must be followed without any delay. He does not believe in the English telegrams, and with the mobilization order in hand that William II has just signed, he is dismissed, leaving the others in a state of complete confusion. So it came about that the decision to break out of war had to be made for purely military reasons. On the way from the castle to the general staff, his car is overtaken by an imperial automobile. Moltke is recalled on behalf of the emperor. The emperor is more excited than ever. He shows his chief of staff a telegram from England. He believes he can see with absolute certainty from this telegram that that the conflict would be confined to the East and that England and France would remain neutral. <There must, he concludes, <immediately be given an order to the army not to act in the West.> Moltke’s answer is that an army cannot be subjected to the alternative of orders and counter-orders. Then, while Moltke stood by, the Kaiser turned to the wing adjutant on duty and ordered him to immediately convey the order to the command of the 16th Division in Trier that they should not march into Luxembourg. Moltke goes home. Shocked because he expects the greatest disaster to come from such measures, he sits down at his table. He explains that he cannot take any measures for the army in accordance with the Emperor’s telephone order. This order is brought to you by an adjutant for your signature. He refuses to sign and postpones the order. He remained in a state of dull exhaustion until 11 o’clock in the evening, even though he had returned from Carlsbad in good health. The bell will ring at 11 a.m. The emperor asks about him again. He immediately goes to the castle. Wilhelm II, who had already retired, throws on a dressing gown and says: Everything has changed. Calamity is approaching. The King of England has just declared in a new telegram that he has been misunderstood and that he assumes no obligation on either his behalf or that of France. He concludes by saying: Now you can do whatever you want. And now the war begins. despite the fact that he had returned from Carlsbad completely healthy. The bell will ring at 11 a.m. The emperor asks about him again. He immediately goes to the castle. Wilhelm II, who had already retired, throws on a dressing gown and says: Everything has changed. Calamity is approaching. The King of England has just declared in a new telegram that he has been misunderstood and that he assumes no obligation on either his behalf or that of France. He concludes by saying: Now you can do whatever you want. And now the war begins. despite the fact that he had returned from Carlsbad completely healthy. The bell will ring at 11 a.m. The emperor asks about him again. He immediately goes to the castle. Wilhelm II, who had already retired, throws on a dressing gown and says: Everything has changed. Calamity is approaching. The King of England has just declared in a new telegram that he has been misunderstood and that he assumes no obligation on either his behalf or that of France. He concludes by saying: Now you can do whatever you want. And now the war begins. Everything has changed. Calamity is approaching. The King of England has just declared in a new telegram that he has been misunderstood and that he assumes no obligation on either his behalf or that of France. He concludes by saying: Now you can do whatever you want. And now the war begins. Everything has changed. Calamity is approaching. The King of England has just declared in a new telegram that he has been misunderstood and that he assumes no obligation on either his behalf or that of France. He concludes by saying: Now you can do whatever you want. And now the war begins.

Gloomy omens

In the month of August I saw General von Moltke once, on August 27th in Koblenz. Our conversation revolved around purely human matters. The German army was still in full victory. There was also no reason to talk about what wasn’t there yet. The Battle of the Marne unfolded later. I hadn’t seen Moltke again until then. It took place under conditions which must have profoundly shaken von Moltke’s expectations. During the test maneuvers he had several times carried out a cautious advance on the right wing, which could have been considered for a march on Paris. Kluck, who had overall command of the right wing, advanced too quickly three times. Every time Moltke said to him, If you advance just as quickly at the crucial moment, we will lose the war in an emergency. When Kluck’s army was threatened with being surrounded, Moltke found himself gripped by a terrible premonition. The thought occurred to him: the war could be lost for Germany. That seems to me to be part of the <psychology> of the course of the war. When von Moltke returned to headquarters on September 13th, he gave the impression of a deeply shaken man. Those around the emperor thought he was sick. From that moment on, Falkenhayn was in fact in command, without having the official title. Later, when Moltke had to stay in bed, Wilhelm II visited him. Am I still in charge of the operations? he asked the emperor. “I actually believe that you still are,” Wilhelm II replied.

But now a new example of the opinion that people had of Wilhelm II in his own environment. One day, when von Moltke described to me the feelings of deep suffering he felt returning via Belgium after the capture of Antwerp, I asked him for the first time about the invasion of Belgium. How come, I asked. that a war minister could claim in the Reichstag that the plan to invade Belgium did not exist. This minister, replied Moltke, did not know my plan, but the Chancellor was up to date. And the emperor? Never, said Moltke: he was too talkative and indiscreet. He would have told the whole world! » ~Jules Sauerwein.

PHILOSOPHY, COSMOLOGY & RELIGION
GA 215, Foreword

The lecture cycle now being published in its entirety for the first time in English has always been known as the “French Course” for an interesting reason — although it is directed to anthroposophists everywhere as much as any other of Rudolf Steiner’s major cycles. The course was given in September, 1922 exclusively to members of the Society, and it was held in the old Goetheanum. French members were specially invited, and a considerable number of them were present. A French translation was provided by Jules Sauerwein, a distinguished bilingual French member, editor of Le Matin, the leading Parisian newspaper of the time, whose sister Alice was to become in the following year the first General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in France. Determined to spare no effort to make the cycle, difficult and detailed though it was, comprehensible to the French members present, Rudolf Steiner every night prepared an outline of what he was to say, and gave it to Jules Sauerwein the following morning, so that he could study it and decide how best he could translate it into French. During the lectures Steiner paused three or four times to allow him to translate the gist of what he had said, a procedure he followed also with George Adams Kauffman during these years when the audience was composed of English-speaking members…

The outline prepared by Rudolf Steiner for Jules Sauerwein has survived, and it is extremely interesting to compare it with the course. Steiner explained on several occasions that when he lectured he spoke always directly out of his supersensible perception of the spiritual worlds and could never speak out of what he remembered or had given previously. It will be evident that he did not deviate from his rule even when he had given his translator an outline of what the night before he had decided he would say. Especially the last highly esoteric lectures of the course when he speaks of the influence of the Christ in earth evolution go so much farther than the outline that Sauerwein must have felt he had been given little enough to help him through his exceptionally difficult task.” ~ Stewart C. Easton

5 October 2023 – “Speaking with the Stars”: The last-quarter Moon awaits night owls, as it hangs over late-rising Gemini

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

International World Teachers’ Day

heraclius-returns-the-true-cross-to-jerusalem-anachronistically-accompanied-by-saint-helena-15th-century-spain

610 – Coronation of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, responsible for introducing Greek as the Eastern Empire’s official language. The year Heraclius came to power, the empire was threatened on multiple frontiers. Heraclius drove the Persians out of Asia Minor and pushed deep into their territory, defeating them decisively in 627 at the Battle of Nineveh. Then peaceful relations were restored to the two deeply strained empires.

Heraclius soon experienced a new event, the Muslim conquests. Within a short period of time, the Arabs conquered Mesopotamia, Armenia & Egypt.

Heraclius entered diplomatic relations with the Croats & Serbs in the Balkans. He tried to repair the schism in the Christian church by promoting a compromise doctrine called Monothelitism. Eventually, however, this project of unity was rejected by all sides of the dispute.

Heraclius was long remembered in the Western church for his reputed feat in recovering the True Cross, which had been captured by the Persians.

After a tour of the Empire Heraclius returned the cross on March 21, 630. For Christians of the Western Medieval Europe, Heraclius was the “first crusader”. The iconography of the emperor appeared in the sanctuary at Mont Saint-Michel. The story was included in the Golden Legend, the famous 13th century compendium of hagiography, and he is sometimes shown in art showing scenes of Heraclius & Constantine I’s mother Saint Helena, traditionally responsible for the excavation of the cross.

The scene usually shown is Heraclius carrying the cross; according to the Golden Legend he insisted on doing this as he entered Jerusalem, against the advice of the Patriarch. At first, when he was on horseback (shown above), the burden was too heavy, but after he dismounted & removed his crown it became miraculously light, & the barred city gate opened of its own accord

~Fra Filippo Lippi

6th Century – Feast day of Saint Placidus & Saint Maurus, disciples of Saint Benedict. Legend has it that Saint Maurus was sent a dream – an order from Saint Benedict’s to rescue Placidus from drowning. Maurus ran across the surface of the lake below the monastery, & drew Placidus safely to shore.

1789 – French Revolution: Women of Paris march to Versailles to confront Louis XVI of France about his refusal to promulgate the decrees on the abolition of feudalism, demand bread, & have the King & his court moved to Paris.

1793 – French Revolution: Christianity is disestablished in France

1864 – The Indian city of Calcutta is almost totally destroyed by a cyclone60,000 die

1948 – The 1948 Ashgabat earthquake kills 110,000, equivalent to almost 10% of the USSR’s Turkmen population. Due to censorship by the national (Soviet Turkmen) government, the event was not widely reported in the USSR’s media. Historians tend to agree that the ban on reporting the extent of the casualties & damage did not allow the central Soviet government to allocate enough financial resources to adequately respond

1966 – Near Detroit, Michigan, there is a partial core meltdown at the Enrico Fermi demonstration nuclear breeder reactor

1970 – The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is founded

1982 – Chicago Tylenol murders: Johnson & Johnson initiates a nationwide product recall in the United States for all products in its Tylenol brand after several bottles in Chicago are found to have been laced with cyanide, resulting in seven deaths

1986 – Israeli secret nuclear weapons are revealed. The British newspaper The Sunday Times runs Mordechai Vanunu’s story on its front page under the headline: “Revealed — the secrets of Israel’s nuclear arsenal”

All Souls Festival – Election Day 7 November 2023

Community Prep-Stir / Potluck / Bon-fire

Celebrating: The Festival of the Dead, & Martinmas

6 – 8 pm at the Lucchesi-Archer-Ginsberg domicile

Please Bring Food & Drink to share, & a jar for the prep

RSVP Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

Annular solar eclipse total phases composite panorama during Totality , moon covers the sun’s visible outer edges to form a “ring of fire” shot using mylar solar film , very rare natural event Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned. A total eclipse , An annular eclipse , A hybrid eclipse, partial eclipse

Save the Dates for Community Workings TBA:

October 14Annular Solar Eclipse
October 21-22Orionids Meteor Shower Predicted Peak
October 23Venus at Greatest Western Elongation
October 28Full Hunter’s Moon and Partial Lunar Eclipse

The 1st New Moon after the Autumnal Equinox – Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse

Global Event:Annular Solar Eclipse
Local Type:Partial Solar Eclipse in Cahokia Mounds State Historic SIte, Illinois
Begins:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 10:32 am
Maximum:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 11:57 am 0.634 Magnitude
Ends:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 1:27 pm
Duration:2 hours, 55 minutes

Lunar Eclipse Oct 28, 2023

Lunar Eclipse Mar 25, 2024

The reprise of the 2017 Great American Eclipse Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse

Global Event: Total Solar Eclipse
Local Type: Total Solar Eclipse in Fort Worth, Texas
Begins: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 12:22 pm
Maximum: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 1:41 pm 1.005 Magnitude
Ends: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 3:01 pm
Duration: 2 hours, 39 minutes
Totality: 2 minutes, 34 seconds

Lunar Eclipse Sep 18, 2024

Forged in Star-Fire

~J. Giulinni

~my words are forged in star-fire
that i may speak the language of earth
a sacrifice on the altar of angels

~hag

3 October 2023 – “Speaking with the Stars”: The variable star Algol in Perseus is in the East around 9 pm CDT above Bella Luna. Algol is called the Demon Star because it changes brightness quite noticeably, even to the naked eye.

Sunrise: 6:58 A.M.
Sunset: 6:39 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:13 P.M.
Moonset: 11:59 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (78%)

20+ Best Abigail Sarah Bagraim images in 2020 | jewish art, painting,  jewish artists

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) | Tarquin and Lucretia | The Met
Titan

508 BC – Deathday of Lucretia an ancient Roman woman whose fate played a vital role in the transition of Roman government from the Roman Kingdom to the Roman Republic. She committed suicide after being raped by an Etruscan king’s son was the immediate cause of the anti-monarchist rebellion that overthrew the monarchy. As a result of its sheer impact, the rape itself became a major theme in European art & literature

Christ Raising from Death the Daughter of Jairus ~ Bread for Beggars

Deathay of Jarius. The record of the daughter of Jairus is a combination of miracles of Jesus in the Gospels (Mark 5:21–43, Matthew 9:18–26, Luke 8:40–56) The story immediately follows the exorcism at Gerasa. Jairus, a patron or ruler of a Galilee synagogue, had asked Jesus to heal his 12-year-old daughter. As they were traveling to Jairus’ house, a sick woman in the crowd touched Jesus’ cloak & was healed of her sickness. Jesus turned round to the woman & says: “Take heart, daughter,” your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”  Moments later, a messenger arrived with the news that Jairus’ daughter had died, & he was advised not to trouble Jesus any further. However, Jesus responded: Be not afraid, only believe. (Mark 5:36) Jesus continued to the house, where he informed all those present that the girl was not dead but asleep. He then went upstairs & restored the little girl to life. In Mark’s account, the Aramaic phrase “Talitha Koum” (transliterated into Greek as ταλιθα κουμ meaning, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”) is attributed to Jesus

Pseudo Dionysius the Areopagite - Alchetron, the free social encyclopedia

Deathday of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, a Syrian Christian theologian & philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, the author of the set of works commonly referred to as the Corpus Areopagiticum or Corpus Dionysiacum, portraying himself as the Athenian convert of Paul of Tarsus mentioned in Acts 17:34 (Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus) This attribution to the earliest decades of Christianity resulted in the work being given great authority in subsequent theological writing in both East & West. His works are mystical & show strong Neoplatonic influence. For example he uses Plotinus’ well-known analogy of a sculptor cutting away that which does not enhance the desired image.

In a letter addressed to Polycarp, pseudo-Dionysius asks “What have you to say about the solar eclipse which occurred when the Savior was put on the Cross? At the time the two of us were in Heliopolis and we both witnessed the extraordinary phenomenon of the moon hiding the sun at the time that was out of season for their coming together…. We saw the moon begin to hide the sun from the east, travel across to the other side of the sun, and return on its path so that the hiding and the restoration of the light did not take place in the same direction but rather in diametrically opposite directions.…” This is illustrated in an astronomical fresco in the main gallery of the Escorial Library, near Madrid, Spain, which shows Dionysius the Areopagite observing an eclipse at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.

Luke, 23-45 (It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. 45The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle) We can notice a quadrant & an astrolabe in the hands of the amazed men!

Category:Saint Candidus - Wikimedia Commons

287 AD – Deathday of Saint Candidus. The Golden Legend states that he was a commander of the Theban Legion, which was composed of Christians from Upper Egypt. He opposed Maximian, who had ordered them to harass the local Christians in his name, stating that “we are your soldiers, but we are also servants of the true God. We cannot renounce Him who is our Creator and Master, and also yours even though you reject Him.” Candidus, along with St. Maurice, the other staff officers & 6,600 soldiers, were martyred at the Swiss town of Saint Maurice-en-Valais

He Chose a Greater Chivalry: St. Francis of Assisi (Part 5) -

1226 – Deathday of Francis of Assisi, Italian friar & saint. Based on a study of the life of Francis of Assisi, Rudolf Steiner shows how the development of morality is based on the belief in the Divine at the bottom of every human soul, on the boundless love that springs from this belief, and on the hope for each human soul that it can find its way back to the Divine. Anthroposophical Ethics…St. Francis, Lecture III

Gilbertus Anglicus Medicine of the Thirteenth Century: Buy Gilbertus  Anglicus Medicine of the Thirteenth Century by Handerson Henry Ebenezer at  Low Price in India | Flipkart.com

1250 – Deathday of Gilbertus Anglicus. His major work, the Compendium Medicinae, written in Latin, running to seven books, is an attempt to provide a comprehensive encyclopedia of medical & surgical knowledge as it existed in his day. He quotes extensively from Roger of Palma, & acknowledges that his work is indebted to Greek physicians including Galen, Hippocrates & Theophilus Protospatharius, & Arab physicians such as Averroes & Avicenna.

Dion Fortune and Paul Foster Case | janeadamsart

1884 – Birthday of, Paul Foster Case, an American occultist, founder of Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), original member of Alpha et Omega, an organization that inherited the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Builders of the Adytum | LibraryThing

Paul Foster Case played the organ in the Congregational Church, where his father was a deacon. In childhood, he started working to have lucid dreams. Rudyard Kipling, spurred his interest in their correspondence, confirming that such a phenomenon is possible, & can be developed.

Case became a member of the Order of Alpha et Omega, but he was distrustful of Enochian Magic. He explored certain practical ceremonial magic, with his sometime partner Moina Mathers.

Case was fascinated by the “New Thought” movement, he met William Walker Atkinson, & co-authored the modern literary mystification “The Kybalion”, as one of the anonymous “three wise men”.

The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order: An Interpretation of the  Rosicrucian Allegory & An Explanation of the Ten Rosicrucian Grades -  Kindle edition by Case, Paul Foster. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @
from my library

Case studied various yoga’s & the karma of past lives, & was said to have worked with “the healer Dr. Fludd” who claimed that the Count Saint-Germain had sent him to be his teacher.

1990 – German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit) commemorates German reunification when the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) joined the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), so that for the first time since 1945 there existed a single German state.

1995 – O. J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson & Ronald Goldman

2008 – The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act is signed by President George W. Bush – commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis authorizing the United States Secretary of the Treasury to spend up to $700 billion to purchase distressed assets, especially mortgage-backed securities, & supply cash directly to banks.

All Souls Festival – Election Day 7 November 2023

Community Prep-Stir / Potluck / Bon-fire

Celebrating: The Festival of the Dead, & Martinmas

6 – 8 pm at the Lucchesi-Archer-Ginsberg domicile

Please Bring Food & Drink to share, & a jar for the prep

RSVP Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

Annular solar eclipse total phases composite panorama during Totality , moon covers the sun’s visible outer edges to form a “ring of fire” shot using mylar solar film , very rare natural event Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned. A total eclipse , An annular eclipse , A hybrid eclipse, partial eclipse

Save the Dates for Community Workings TBA:

October 14Annular Solar Eclipse
October 21-22Orionids Meteor Shower Predicted Peak
October 23Venus at Greatest Western Elongation
October 28Full Hunter’s Moon and Partial Lunar Eclipse

The 1st New Moon after the Autumnal Equinox – Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse

Global Event:Annular Solar Eclipse
Local Type:Partial Solar Eclipse in Chicago, Illinois
Begins:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 10:37 am
Maximum:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 11:58 am 0.540 Magnitude
Ends:Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 1:22 pm
Duration:2 hours, 45 minutes

Lunar Eclipse Oct 28, 2023

Lunar Eclipse Mar 25, 2024

The reprise of the 2017 Great American Eclipse Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse

Lunar Eclipse Sep 18, 2024