May 27, 2016
Birthday of Mary Magdalene – According to T.H. Meyer & ‘The Present Age’
1265 – Birthday of Dante (thought to be reincarnated as King John of Saxony. Beyond his political work, John was busy with literature. Under the pseudonym Philalethes he translated to German Dante’s Divine Comedy)
1564 – Deathday of John Calvin an influential French theologian & pastor during the Protestant Reformation, called Calvinism, influenced by the Augustinian tradition. The aim of Calvin’s political theory was to safeguard the rights and freedoms of ordinary people.
1840 – Deathday of Paganini an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, & composer – the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time.
1907 – Bubonic plague breaks out in San Francisco
1907 – Birthday of Rachel Carson, American biologist, environmentalist, and author. Although she was not an anthroposophist per say, Rachel Carson had a strong association with Marjorie Spock, attending her study groups over the years.
1933 – The Century of Progress World’s Fair opens in Chicago
1933 – New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.
1941 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims an “unlimited national emergency”
~ ~ ~
~I follow the path to the Sun
Moment by moment, Season to season
But to travel East is to grieve in darkness.
I find my star radiating from the Earth Heart
Shining in the rainbow clouds
Working in my skin.
And so I reflect with the Moon, cycle by cycle
Toting fertile moisture in the mix
My skeleton filling with the resurrection
Knowing
I shall not fall to forgetfulness.
~hag
~ ~ ~
In thinking about: “The Working of the Spirit” by Michael Burton & Marke Levene. Part TWO (program for the Chicago reading)
When I 1st started working with Rudolf Steiner’s 4 Mystery Dramas, it was as if ‘How to Know Higher Worlds’ had come alive for me. I saw in the various characters, living examples of the many tributaries on the path of initiation – Each soul reflecting a different temperament, embodying a specific stream. I’d ask myself, ‘Am I a “fox” or a “nobleman”, “upright”, “humble”, “loyal”, “god-fearing” or “enspirited”, “provincial”, “prudent”, or a “firebrand”, “truthful” or “bold”…
Of course I saw myself in them all. And I longed to be a “Bearer of the Spiritual Elements” like Benedictus, or the “Bearer of the Elements of Soul”, like Maria. I’d ask myself: How can I strive to live more fully in the will forces, like the scientist Strader or truly exemplify the beauty of consecration to devotion & sacrifice?
And yes, I had my sympathies & antipathies to certain personalities, a wonderful reflection of what I had to work on in myself. I remember wanting to shake Johannes into shape. Like in a movie where you know the character is in trouble, I wanted to scream out to him “Yo Johnny wake up that’s Lucifer talking.”
I had a particular antipathy to Capesius, so I was excited when I 1st heard that in “The Working of the Spirit” I was to play his Angel. I thought perhaps I would gain more insight into what I was pushing up against. Although I ended up with other characters to portray, I still took the time meditatively to look into that relationship. More on that later.
It made real sense to me that “The Working of the Spirit” was set “spiritually around the time of the death of Rudolf Steiner (1925)”. And I was very excited to see emphasis placed on the idea of social three-folding, which I am hoping can become a spark that gives birth to this eternal flame, healing many aspects of life that we meet today in the 21st century. It was interesting to see the main characters listed according to where they stand regarding the three spheres of society –
- the cultural & spiritual sphere
- the sphere of human rights
- the economic sphere
Another compelling component is that “most of the main characters also appear in earlier lives in Delphi in the Sixth Century BCE & in Athens a little before 400 BCE”. To see Theodora as the Delphic Oracle is right in line with Steiner’s insights into her enigmatic individuality.
Also it is important for our time to delve into the source behind the Platonic & Aristotelian streams so that we can bridge the gap between them.
There is so much more to say. We’ll see where tomorrow will take us.
Until soon
Blessings and Peace ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg
