Monthly Archives: June 2018

Look with new eyes

Celestial Event, Insight, Poetry

28 June 2018 – Astro-Weather: The Moon in June is called the Honey Moon, the Strawberry Moon, the Strong Sun Moon…This evening Saturn leads Bella Luna up across the sky — glowing to Her upper right at dusk.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Feast of Saint Vitus, a Christian saint from Sicily. He died as a martyr during the persecution of Christians by co-ruling Roman Emperors Diocletian & Maximian in 303. Vitus is counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of medieval Roman Catholicism. Saint Vitus’ Day is celebrated on 28 June on the Gregorian Calendar.

In the late Middle Ages, people in Germany & countries such as Latvia celebrated the feast of Vitus by dancing before his statue. This dancing became popular & the name “Saint Vitus Dance” was given to the neurological disorder Sydenham’s chorea. It also led to Vitus being considered the patron saint of dancers & of actors, comedians, dancers, of entertainers in general a& epileptics. He is also said to protect against lightning strikes, animal attacks & oversleeping.

Allan Ramsay

1712 – Birthday of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher & polymath

1831 – Birthday of Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist, composer, & conductor; friend of Herman Grimm.

1914 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria & his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo; this is the casus belli of World War I.

1919 – The Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending the state of war between Germany & the Allies of World War I.

1950 – Korean War: Suspected sympathizers (between as many as 100,000 to 200,000) are executed in the Bodo League massacre.

1950 – Korean War: Packed with its own refugees fleeing Seoul & leaving their 5th Division stranded, South Korean forces blow up the Hangang Bridge in an attempt to slow North Korea’s offensive. The city falls later that day.

1950 – Korean War: North Korean Army conducts the Seoul National University Hospital massacre. Over 900 doctors, nurses, patients & wounded soldiers, were killed. The Korean People’s Army shot or buried the people alive. The civilian victims alone numbered 1900.

1964 – Malcolm X forms the Organization of Afro-American Unity.

1969 – Stonewall riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement.

1973 – Elections are held for the Northern Ireland Assembly, which will lead to power-sharing between unionists & nationalists in Northern Ireland for the first time.

***

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~From our own
Bodies we give
Birth to all time
In its season…
Look now
With new eyes
& see the wise star within…
~hag

***

Native American Lore: How Looska Found the Summer

Long ago a mighty race of people lived near the sunrise, & they called themselves Wawaniki—Children of Light. Looska was their mistress. She was kind to her people & did many great deeds for them.

Once in Looska’s day it grew extremely cold. Snow & ice covered everything. Fires would not give enough warmth. The corn would not grow. Her people were perishing from cold & famine. Looska set forth for the far north where all was ice. Here in a wigwam she found the great giant Winter. It was Winter’s icy breath that had frozen the land. Looska entered the wigwam & sat down. Winter gave her a pipe, & as they smoked the giant told tales of olden times when he reigned everywhere & all the land was silent, white, & beautiful. His frost charm fell upon Looska, & as the giant talked on, Looska fell asleep. For six months she slept like a bear, then the charm left her. She was too strong for it & awoke.

Soon now Looska’s talebearer, the Loon, a wild bird who lived on the lakeshores, brought her strange news. He described a country far to the south where it was always warm. There lived the all-powerful Summer who could easily overcome the giant Winter. To save her people from cold & famine & death, Looska decided to find her.

Far off to the southern seashores she went. She sang the magic song which whales obey, & up came an old friend—a whale who served as her carrier when she wished to go out to sea. This whale had a law for travelers. She always said: “You must shut your eyes while I carry you. If you do not, I am sure to go aground on a reef or sand-bar & be unable to get off. You could be drowned.” Looska got on the whale’s back & for many days they traveled together. Each day the water grew warmer & the air softer & sweeter, for it came from spicy shores. The odors were no longer those of salt, but of fruits & flowers.

Soon they found themselves in shallow water. Down in the sand, clams were singing a song of warning: “Keep out to sea, for the water here is shallow.” The whale asked Looska, who understood the language of all creatures: “What do they say?” But Looska, wishing to land at once, only replied: “They tell you to hurry, for a storm is coming.” The whale hurried on accordingly until she was close to land. Now Looska did the forbidden; she opened his left eye, to peep. At once the whale stuck hard on to the beach so that Looska, leaping from her head, was able to walk ashore on dry land. Thinking she could never get away, the whale became angry. But Looska put one end of her strong bow against the whale’s jaw &, taking the other end in her hands, placed her feet against the high bank. With a mighty push, Loopska sent the whale out into the deep water.

Far inland she traveled & found it warmer at every step. In the forest she came upon a beautiful woman, dancing in the center of a group of young girls. Her long brown hair was crowned with flowers & her arms filled with blossoms. She was Summer. Looska knew that here at last was the one who by her charms could melt old Winter’s heart. She leaped up to dance with Summer & together they journeyed the long way back to the lodge of old Winter. Winter welcomed Looska but he planned to freeze her to sleep again. This time, however, Looska did the talking. Her charm proved the stronger one & soon sweat began to run down Winters face. He knew that his power was gone & the charm of Frost broken. His icy tent melted away.

Summer now used her own special power & everything awoke. The grass grew green & the  waters ran down the rivers, carrying away the dead leaves. Old Winter wept to see his power taken away. But Summer said, “Now that I have proved I am more powerful than you, I give you all the country to the far north for your own, & there I shall never disturb you.

Six months of every year you may return to Looska’s country & reign as before, but you are to be less severe with your power. During the other six months, I will come back from the South & rule the land.”

Old Winter could do nothing but accept this. So it is that he appears in Looska ‘s country each year to reign for six months, but with a softer rule. When he comes, Summer runs home to her warm south land. At the end of six months she returns to drive old Winter away, awakening the north, giving the Earth the abundant joys that only she can bestow.

xox

***

Friday 29 June 2018, 7-9pm & Saturday 30 June 2018, 10am-12:30pm

Social Renewal with Robert Karp,  Founder and director of New Spirit Farmland, facilitating partnerships with social impact investors; also serving as executive director of the Biodynamic Association and Practical Farmers of Iowa.

Embedded in the Christmas Conference event for the renewal of the Anthroposophical Society in 1923/24 lay profound social mysteries and impulses. Realizing and embodying this potential, requires us to call forth new capacities for working with the spiritual world and with our fellow human beings in groups and in community life.

The Friday talk will seek to shed light on these mysteries, and at the Saturday morning session we will practice a host of social-artistic exercises designed to help awaken and strengthen in us the capacity for spiritually conscious work in groups and in larger social organisms.

 $15 more or less per session, For more info. contact Hazel

***

From Summer Solstice to St. John’s Festival: Cosmic Rapture Grounded in Jubilant Hearts

Tuesday 3 July 2018 – At the Nashville Branch – 4804  Sewanne Road Nashville TN, Pot Luck Dinner: 6 pm, Festival: 7pm-9pm, Please RSVP. Barbara Bittles

July 2018 in Maryville, TN, Potluck at 5 pm, Festival at 6:30pm Contact Charlotte Brakebill  865- 567-1812

 Come join our Initiatory Workshop/Ritual, to discover the New Mysteries of St. Johns-Tide. To pass the test of Summer we will explore many questions. Together we will work to strengthen our true “I”, enlivening our will forces with various social-artistic exercises.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg –Spiritual Midwife, Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer– Anthroposopher, working as the Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, and the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society. Founder of Reverse Ritual –Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year

***

20 August 2018 ~MORAL MONDAY~ CHICAGO 7 pm – 9 pm 

“When The Trees Melt Away In A Sun Soaked Cotton Dream”

 Art Exhibit  with  Musical Performances from the Youth at Elderberries Chicago 4251 N. Lincoln Ave.

Illustrations by Grace Kahn, & Sophia Karris.

Work by Shanti Rogers, Art booth by Liz Rosu-Rosenberg

Songs from “Beyond Blue and Red” by  Ultra-Violet Archer 

Chance Schneider & DJ Grapefruit Effect

$10 Donation –MORE or less (Youth under 21 FREE)

***

Join us this fall to deepen your spiritual practices, connect with others on the same path, and be inspired to transform yourself and our world.

What: Here and Now Transforming Ourselves, Transforming Our World – The Annual Conference and General Meeting of the Anthroposophical Society in America

When: October 5, 6, 7 2018 (Click here for the full schedule, including pre and post conferences!)

Where: First Grace United Methodist Church, New Orleans, Louisiana

Who: Keynote discussions with Joan Sleigh and Orland Bishop. Workshops with Patrick Kennedy, Lisa Romero, Bart Eddy, Janey Newton, Hazel Archer-Ginsburg, Thea Lavin and more

Why: Now is the time to come together, grow together, and affect change

Sign up to share your research and initiatives during our participant research sessions. Join us for a Friday night interactive ritual and Saturday night pageant.  

Attend Living in the Branches, our national group and branch gathering
and our national youth conference both on October 4–details coming soon!

Check out the full schedule and register here.

Can’t wait to see you in beautiful NOLA!

Warmly,
Laura Scappaticci

PS- It’s the 300th year of this great multicultural city. A wonderful time to connect with its spirit and each other.

 

 

 

 

 

Change your Heart & Mind

Celestial Event, Chicago Event, Festival, Insight, Poetry, Quote

Greetings Friends on this St. John’s Day 2018

I wanted to take a few minutes to share what I woke up with this morning, before I cook up  a veggie stew from the contents of our 1st box of organic fare from Angelic Organics, & make my way to the RSBranch for our Festival.

The Greek term μετάνοια = Metanoia, can be defined as a transformative change of heart & mind, a reorientation, a fundamental revolution in the outlook of a person’s  vision of the world & of themselves, a new way of loving others & God, a spiritual conversion,

In the words of a second-century text, The Shepherd of Hermes, it implies “great understanding, or discernment.“

When personified in ancient art, Metanoia was depicted as an ethereal goddess, cloaked & sorrowful, who accompanied Kairos, the goddess of Opportunity, sowing regret to inspire repentance for the “missed moment”. This imagination continued thru-out the Renaissance, showing the elements of repentance, regret, reflection, & transformation.

But earlier in Alexandria the goddess Metanoia was seen “in heaven, a beautiful & especially good daughter of the Most High.” There, “she entreats God Most High, hourly on behalf of the people.”

In the New Testament, Metanoia can be traced to the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1, where we hear John the Baptist admonish us to “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand”. Matthew 27:3 uses it as the Greek verb stating that Judas “repented himself” after he saw Jesus being led away; pointing to a foreshadowing of his redemption, showing that mere sorrow avails nothing unless it leads to a fundamental change in thinking that leads to a fundamental change in behavior & way of living.

The Acts of Peter ties metanoia to the cross on which Peter was crucified. While Peter was being crucified, he explained parts of the cross from which he was hanging, including “the nail which holds the cross beam to the upright in the middle.” He calls this nail “the metanoia of humanity”. In Peter’s sermon from the book of Acts 2:38-40 six steps are required for a person’s redemption; & Metanoia is step number one.

Metanoia is the essence of the Christian gospels as a transmutation of consciousness that opens a new future.

St. John the Baptist

You, herald spirit, by the Father’s grace
Abiding witness to the Light of Lights,
Look on our seeking.
All we have done on the earth that left its trace,
And all we say sounds on for spirit ears.
Help at our judging.
Baptizer of the waking soul, lead out
Our lives from barren conflict in the dark
Into Christ’s presence.
Let sound the music of your faithful heart,
Prophet of old and of days to come, for brotherhood
In the Glory of Christ.
~Adam Bittleston ‘Meditative Prayers for Today’

***

PDF St. John’s Festival: Cosmic Rapture Grounded in Jubilant Hearts

Sunday 24 June 2018, 2 – 4 pm at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago

ALSO: at the Nashville Branch 3 July 2018 – 4804  Sewanne Road Nashville TN

Pot Luck Dinner: 6 pm

Festival: 7pm-9pm

Please RSVP.  Barbara Bittles

And then in Maryville, TN on Sunday 8 June 2018 (details TBA)

Come join our Initiatory Workshop/Ritual, to discover the New Mysteries of St. Johns-Tide. To pass the test of Summer we will explore many questions:

v  How do we stand wakefully within the sublime mysteries of the Summer-Tide, to consciously embody ‘the spiritual wisdom of the gods’?

v  Who is the mysterious Archangel of Summer?

v  Who is John the Baptist? What do his sayings “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” And “He must increase, but I must decrease.” really mean?

v  What is the secret to healing the ‘soul-fever’ so prevalent in society today?

v  What is the mystery of the Dragon-fly, & other elemental beings?

v  How can we understand the ‘Cycle of the Year as Breathing Process of the Earth’?

Together we will work to strengthen our true “I”, enlivening our will forces with various social-artistic exercises.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg –Spiritual Midwife, Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer– Anthroposopher, working as the Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, and the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society. Founder of Reverse Ritual –Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year

Stand Still

Celestial Event, Chicago Event, Festival, Insight, Poetry, Quote, Remembering

21 June 2018 – Summer Solstice – A solstice happens when the sun’s zenith is at its furthest point from the equator. Today, it reaches its northernmost point & the Earth’s North Pole tilts directly towards the sun.

It’s also known as the northern solstice because it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere.

‘Solstice’ (Latin: ‘solstitium’) means ‘sun-stopping’. The point on the horizon where the sun appears to rise & set, stops & reverses direction after this day. On the solstice, the sun does not rise precisely in the east, but rises to the north of east & sets to the north of west, making it visible in the sky for a longer period of time.

Although the June solstice marks the first day of astronomical summer, it’s technically Mid-Summer

Print

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Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

***

pan

(Summer Solstice/Litha poem) St. JOHN’S EVE in the tropic of cancer

Hot horns of light
Frame the dreaded Forerunner…
Wild Pan the Baptist
With wort & rue in his pouch
Locusts & raw honey on his breath,
Anoints the mistletoe
In the oak-grove.

The God has gone into the grain
The Sun is on the water
The edge of the rioting rose
Begins to melt
Its scent is heavy on the heat
Stealing the breath
From the hot mouth of God

Her infer-red ruby steams
The magnetic stains of light
To guide the Summer-Tide Soul
Into the labyrinth
Where the Oak King crests
And gives way
To the Dark Holly Twin

The hissing serpent
A round writhing egg
Christens the honey moon with mead

Awaken the gate
Meditate the laurel grail
And St. John’s spear
Under Canopus squared
A packsaddle beam
Capping an arch
As Argo sails the dipper flock
From the top of severity
To the mount of the manger

Pin a tail on the donkey
Put a fence around the goat

~hag

~   ~   ~

Summer-Solstice-Stonehenge-1024x380

“At Midsummer the earth’s soul becomes pious. The warmth that flames through the atmosphere is like a mighty sacrificial fire on the wings of which the soul soars upwards towards the sun…” ~Emil Bock

Summer Solstice comes at the precise moment when the sun’s power is at its peak. Solstice means ‘sun stands still’ since the sun rises & sets in the same spot for a few days. Here in the northern hemisphere, this is the longest day & shortest night of the year. From now on, the days will get shorter. This phenomenon is a direct result of the Earth-Sun relationship. After peaking, the Sun begins to wane, & the journey into the harvest season begins.

It has always been an important solar event throughout the evolution of humankind. The axis of Stonehenge & the Temple of the Sun in Mexico are both oriented in the direction of the Midsummer sunrise.

In even earlier times, the sun was perceived in its shinning prime & glory –giver of light & heat and life, as the effulgent force of the Feminine –a passionate aspect of the versatile Great Mother, who issues forth & supports all life.

The Solar Goddess was known in many ancient cultures & Her Priestess’ were highly regarded as healers & Psychopomps – Spiritual guides, initiating supplicants into the mysteries hidden behind the blinding light & fire of the solar disk. They used the 1st mirrors or lenses to harness the sun, to start the altar fires & to cauterize wounds for healing.

During the time of the ancient Egyptians, Sirius, the Dog Star rose on the Summer Solstice, heralding the beginning of their new year, just before the season of the Nile’s flooding.

The sun itself was deemed to be the all-seeing, all knowing, all powerful eye; but It was also known to be the “scorching eye of Ra” burning away the shadows, like a laser in the hands of a surgeon, cutting away disease, a power not to be taken (pardon the pun) lightly.

Probably the most ancient source of the Solar Force known to humanity is an Egyptian lion-headed Goddess called Sekhmet. She displays all the passion of the noonday-sun at its peak, burning away all that does not serve, rousing us to dance our true power, in the magic ritual of our transformation.

Solar energy & its radiations are said to be the cause of evolution itself, reminding us that we can take an active role in our evolutionary process by aligning ourselves with this Solar Power, plugging in directly to the source of ourselves, to the source of action & passion.

But remember, at this time of the zenith, the brightest light casts the deepest shadow.

In our time now, we strive toward a renewal of these mysteries – To transform the unbridled passions into purpose & guided action. The Summer Solstice brings our inner selves into harmony with our cosmic being, & reminds us of the Sun’s connection to The Christ – which is now united with the earth.

We lift up our hearts to meet ‘the heights & widths of the universe’, where we feel ‘Not I, but Christ in me’. To say as John the Baptist said “He must increase, but I must decrease.” We respond to the summertime call for a yearly ‘metanoia’ by reviewing our deeds, looking with courage to the errors of the past, enduring all the pain self-knowledge brings, so we can take on the tasks that will bring healing to ourselves & to the earth, & so that someday, with hearts lifted, we may say:  Yes I, and Christ in me!

Until soon

Blessings and Peace ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

St. John’s Festival: Cosmic Rapture Grounded in Jubilant Hearts
Art Projections & Discourse with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Sunday 24 June 2018, 2– 4 pm at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in America – Chicago

ALSO: at the Nashville Branch 3 July 2018 – 4804  Sewanne Road Nashville TN

Pot Luck Dinner: 6 pm

Festival: 7pm-9pm

Please RSVP.  Barbara Bittles

And then in Maryville, TN on Sunday 8 June 2018 (details TBA)

Come join our Initiatory Workshop to discover the New Mysteries of St. Johns-Tide.

To pass the test of Summer we will explore many questions:
 How do we stand wakefully within the sublime mysteries of the Summer-Tide, to consciously embody ‘the spiritual wisdom of the gods’?
 Who is the mysterious Archangel of Summer?
 Who is John the Baptist? What do his sayings “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” And “He must increase, but I must decrease.” really mean?
 What is the secret to healing the ‘soul-fever’ so prevalent in society today?
 What is the mystery of the Dragon-fly, & other elemental beings?
 How can we understand the ‘Cycle of the Year as Breathing Process of the Earth’?

Together we will work to strengthen our true “I”, enlivening our will forces with various social-artistic exercises: 

Singing with Ultra-Violet Archer https://itunes.apple.com/…/beyond-blue-and-red-ep/1357968825

Folk Eurythmy

Questions to the Universe

$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged
For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

***

25 June 2018 ~MORAL MONDAY CHICAGO: 7 pm – 9 pm

“When The Trees Melt Away In A Sun Soaked Cotton Dream”

PDF Art Exhibit PDF with PDF Musical Performances from the Youth at Elderberries Chicago 4251 N. Lincoln Ave.

Illustrations by Grace Kahn, & Sophia Karris.

New works by Shanti Rogers, Art booth by Liz Rosu-Rosenberg

Songs from “Beyond Blue and Red” by Ultra-Violet Archer
https://itunes.apple.com/…/beyond-blue-and-red-ep/1357968825

Chance Schneider & DJ Grapefruit Effect

$10 Donation – MORE or less (Youth under 21 FREE)

 ***

 

Friday 29 June 2018, 7-9pm & Saturday 30 June 2018, 10am-12:30pm

 Social Life and the Renewal of the Anthroposophical Society with Robert Karp, M.Ed.

Founder and director of New Spirit Farmland, facilitating partnerships with social impact investors; also serving as executive director of the Biodynamic Association and Practical Farmers of Iowa.

Embedded in the Christmas Conference event for the renewal of the Anthroposophical Society in 1923/24 lay profound social mysteries and impulses. Realizing and embodying this potential, requires us to call forth new capacities for working with the spiritual world and with our fellow human beings in groups and in community life. The Friday talk will seek to shed light on these mysteries, and at the Saturday morning session we will practice a host of social-artistic exercises designed to help awaken and strengthen in us the capacity for spiritually conscious work in groups and in larger social organisms.

$15 more or less per session, For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

***

Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society, 4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map) Check out our Web site! Chicago, IL (Anthroposophical Society in America)

The newly renovated (& lazured) Elderberries 3-Fold Space is currently available for rental on PEER SPACE for classes, events, meetings, retreats, art exhibits, family parties, etc…

To Carry Light

Chicago Event, Festival, Insight, Poetry, Quote, Remembering

19 June 2018 – Astro-Weather: With the Summer Solstice just 2 days away, the Summer Triangle stands high & proud in the East after dark. Its top star is bright Vega. Deneb is the brightest star to Vega’s lower left (by 2 or 3 fists at arm’s length). Look for Altair a greater distance to Vega’s lower right.

If you have a dark sky, you’ll see that the Milky Way passes under Vega through the Summer Triangle.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

Toni Carmine Salerno

“Once you let the Sun ignite the flame in the chamber of your heart,

Then the One that is unending Fire in the throne of who you are, will rule with golden hand and words of light.

The norm will be written with gentling feathers that through patience like snow dispel all lies.

The law will be such that through miracles, black turns into white, and white into black.

Because Love is the only One able to make the Doves embrace the Crows and Death become the Life’s bride”. ~Dante Alighieri

 

William-Baziotes

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

323 – Council of Nicea concludes & promulgates the Nicene Creed

1566 – Birthday of James VI of Scotland & England, son of Mary, Queen of Scots. He sponsored the translation of the Bible into English that would later be named after him: the Authorised King James Version. Sir Anthony Weldon claimed that James had been termed “the wisest fool in Christendom”. He was the patron of Frances Bacon, William Shakespeare, Joacob Boehme & Jacob Balde.

James’s visit to Denmark, sparked an interest in the study of witchcraft,[43] which he considered a branch of theology. He attended the North Berwick witch trials, the first major persecution of witches in Scotland under the Witchcraft Act 1563. Several people were convicted of using witchcraft to send storms against James’s ship, most notably Agnes Sampson. James became obsessed with the threat posed by witches & wrote Daemonologie in 1597, a tract opposed the practice of witchcraft & that provided background material for Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Macbeth.

1623 – Birthday of Blaise Pascal, French  Philosopher, mathematician & physicist

Edouard Manet

1867 – Deathday of Maximilian I of Halbsburg, executed in Mexico. Seeking to legitimize French rule in the Americas, Napoleon III invited Maximilian to establish a new Mexican monarchy for him. With the support of the French army & a group of conservative Mexican monarchists hostile to the liberal administration of new Mexican President Benito Juárez, Maximilian traveled to Mexico. Once there, he declared himself Emperor of Mexico.He was a devout Roman Catholic.

The Empire managed to gain recognition by major European powers including Britain, Austria, and Prussia. The United States however, continued to recognize Juárez as the legal president of Mexico. Maximilian never completely defeated the Mexican Republic; Republican forces led by President Benito Juárez continued to be active during Maximilian’s rule. With the end of the American Civil War in 1865, the United States (which had been too distracted by its own civil war to confront the Europeans’ 1861 invasion of what it considered to be its sphere of influence) began more explicit aid of President Juárez’s forces. Matters worsened for Maximilian after the French armies withdrew from Mexico in 1866. His self-declared empire collapsed, & he was captured & executed.

World Sauntering Day: The holiday was created in 1979 by W.T. Rabe in response to the growing popularity of jogging. It is believed to have begun at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan, USA. The Grand Hotel has the world’s longest porch at 660 feet. The idea behind the day was to encourage people to slow down & appreciate the world around them.

1964 – The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is approved after surviving an 83-day filibuster in the United States Senate.

1990 – The current international law defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, is ratified for the first time by Norway

2012 – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange requested asylum in London’s Ecuadorian Embassy for fear of extradition to the US after publication of previously classified documents including footage of civilian killings by the US army

***

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I come
From light & to light
I return
My hands grasp the ring of colors
The gold beak of dawn
The blue eyes of day
The deep red blood of dusk
I gather
Myself, thought & bone
I come
To carry light
~Hag

***

In the new mysteries we strive at St. John’s Tide toward an enhanced awareness of our will forces – an effort to ‘make straight the path’, to recognize our potential for discordant, as well as selfless acts; an effort to enable the higher ego to come to expression ever more fully in the mysterious recesses of our personal priorities with respect to our will. In the Summer-Tide, through ‘the great window of heaven’ we experience an interaction between humanity and the sun forces, assisting us to develop an awareness of our ego. The summertime union between the sun and earth is actually a reunion between the divine gods of the spiritual sun & their offspring, humankind. We can contemplate this dynamic & bring it to life in our soul most strongly at this time.

St. John’s Festival: Cosmic Rapture Grounded in Jubilant Hearts
Art Projections & Discourse with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Sunday 24 June 2018, 2– 4 pm at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in America – Chicago

ALSO: at the Nashville Branch 3 July 2018 – 4804  Sewanne Road Nashville TN

Pot Luck Dinner: 6 pm

Festival: 7pm-9pm

Please RSVP.  Barbara Bittles

And then in Maryville, TN on Sunday 8 June 2018 (details TBA)

Come join our Initiatory Workshop to discover the New Mysteries of St. Johns-Tide.

To pass the test of Summer we will explore many questions:
 How do we stand wakefully within the sublime mysteries of the Summer-Tide, to consciously embody ‘the spiritual wisdom of the gods’?
 Who is the mysterious Archangel of Summer?
 Who is John the Baptist? What do his sayings “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” And “He must increase, but I must decrease.” really mean?
 What is the secret to healing the ‘soul-fever’ so prevalent in society today?
 What is the mystery of the Dragon-fly, & other elemental beings?
 How can we understand the ‘Cycle of the Year as Breathing Process of the Earth’?

Together we will work to strengthen our true “I”, enlivening our will forces with various social-artistic exercises: 

Singing with Ultra-Violet Archer https://itunes.apple.com/…/beyond-blue-and-red-ep/1357968825

Folk Eurythmy

Questions to the Universe

$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged
For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

***

25 June 2018 ~MORAL MONDAY CHICAGO: 7 pm – 9 pm

“It’s Just a Story” – Moral Imaginations from the Future – NOW
http://www.rudolfsteiner.org/…/Moral_Mondat_exhibit_25_June…

Art Exhibit with Musical Performances from the Youth 

at Elderberries Chicago 4251 N. Lincoln Ave.

Illustrations by Grace Kahn, & Sophia Karris.

New works by Shanti Rogers, Art booth by Liz Rosu-Rosenberg

Songs from “Beyond Blue and Red” by Ultra-Violet Archer
https://itunes.apple.com/…/beyond-blue-and-red-ep/1357968825

Chance Schneider & DJ Grapefruit Effect

$10 Donation – MORE or less (Youth under 21 FREE)

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Friday 29 June 2018, 7-9pm & Saturday 30 June 2018, 10am-12:30pm

 Social Life and the Renewal of the Anthroposophical Society with Robert Karp, M.Ed.

Founder and director of New Spirit Farmland, facilitating partnerships with social impact investors; also serving as executive director of the Biodynamic Association and Practical Farmers of Iowa.

Embedded in the Christmas Conference event for the renewal of the Anthroposophical Society in 1923/24 lay profound social mysteries and impulses. Realizing and embodying this potential, requires us to call forth new capacities for working with the spiritual world and with our fellow human beings in groups and in community life. The Friday talk will seek to shed light on these mysteries, and at the Saturday morning session we will practice a host of social-artistic exercises designed to help awaken and strengthen in us the capacity for spiritually conscious work in groups and in larger social organisms.

$15 more or less per session, For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

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“When the trees melt away in a sun soaked cotton dream”

Celestial Event, Festival, Insight, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Speaking with the Stars

Summer Greetings Friends –

I have been having some awful technical problems, not being able to publish posts. It’s been hit & miss, mostly miss, so if there is anyone out there that might be able to help, please contact me, so I can get back into the flow. Thanks for your patience as I work this thru.

Palais Garnier

18 June 2018 – Astro-Weather: Catch a peek at Mercury in this week’s early evening sky. The innermost planet stands high in the west-northwest a half-hour after sunset .

Just before dawn on Thursday 21 June 2018, our Day-Star Sun stands still – as it reaches its highest & most Northern point in our sky, fulfilling the meaning of Solstice.

WilliamBlake

At the same time, Venus & Mars stand on either side of the Earth in the exquisite tension of lovers in opposition, empowering their ancient connection. Mercury & Jupiter look on, encouraging their communication & expansion.

Venus, the Goddess of Love & Beauty stands as the ‘Evening Star’ in the West, working from the region of the Beehive Cluster in the Constellation of Cancer – the breast of the universe – the womb-gate of humanity.

Mars, the warrior; rises in the East at dawn, striving in the Constellation of Capricorn – the portal of initiation, opposite to the sign of Cancer.

This powerful configuration, of these primordial paramours, embraces us all in the cosmic out-breath of Summer that reaches the height of light. Our human souls surrender to this revelation, to be reborn in cosmic thinking.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

101 years ago, In June  Rudolf Steiner spoke for the 1st time about Three-Folding…Are we ready to carry this seed to the next stage…?

“Understanding of the world as it actually is, has the ability to bring spiritual knowledge right down into the practical life of humanity, into the stubborn spheres of technical industry & economics, as well as into the thinking, the moral life & the actions of the human being – this is one side of Rudolf Steiner’s challenge. The other is the development of the inner life of soul which generates love for human beings and the wisdom to promote their spiritual & social wellbeing…The inspirer of the 20th century has lived among us, & lives among us still. Is it not for us to work as laborers unto harvest?” ~D.N. Dunlop, “Rudolf Steiner and the fulfillment of the Quest.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

“What is presented here can be useful to those who wish to follow the path of humankind’s spiritual development” ~Rudolf Steiner about the Calendar of the Soul

Feast Day of the Archangel Uriel

1178 – Five Canterbury monks see the Giordano Bruno crater being formed. It is believed that the current oscillations of the Moon’s distance from the Earth are a result of this collision.

1429 – French forces under the leadership of Joan of Arc defeat the main English army under Sir John Fastolf at the Battle of Patay. This turns the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.

1812 – The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom is signed by President James Madison.

Elizabeth Thompson

1815 – The Battle of Waterloo results in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte  forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second & last time.

1873 – Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.

1901 – Birthday of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia

1916 – Deathday of Helmuth von Moltke, nephew of Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke, served as the Chief of the German General Staff from 1906 to 1914. See “Light for the New Millennium: Rudolf Steiner’s Association with Helmuth & Eliza von Moltke” This collection of letters and documents deals with themes that are of tremendous significance for our time: especially karma and reincarnation; life after death; the workings of evil; the destiny of Europe; and the hidden causes of the First World War. It also tells the story of the meeting of two great men: Rudolf Steiner and Helmuth von Moltke (1848-1916), Chief of the general staff of the German army during the outbreak of the First World War, who was dismissed from his post in 1914 following disagreements with the Kaiser.

Moltke first came into contact with Steiner through his wife Eliza. Steiner’s connection to Moltke included personal meetings, letters, and clairvoyant messages after the General’s death. These communications are reproduced here in full, along with a key interview with Rudolf Steiner for Le Matin and commentaries and essays by Jürgen von Grone, Jens Heisterkamp, Johannes Tautz and T. H. Meyer.

See also Helmuth Von Moltke and the Origins of the First World War By Annika Mombauer

1924 – Rudolf Steiner travels to Koberwitz & Lauenstein to give the curative Pedagogy

1928 – Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean

1929 – Deathday of Michael Bauer,  German teacher, author, theologian & anthroposopher. In 1914, the Anthroposophical Society is founded in Cologne, Germany, with about 3,000 members.  Michael Bauer was on the Executive Council with Marie von Sivers,  & Carl Unger.

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“I marveled
at that light,
and grasped it,
and brought it up to the sun.
I laid hold up on it,
and will not let it go.”
~Makeda, Queen of Sheba, c 1000 BC

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St. John’s Festival: Cosmic Rapture Grounded in Jubilant Hearts
Art Projections & Discourse with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Sunday 24 June 2018, 2– 4 pm at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in America – Chicago

ALSO: at the Nashville Branch 3 July 2018 – 4804  Sewanne Road Nashville TN

Pot Luck Dinner: 6 pm

Festival: 7pm-9pm

Please RSVP.  Barbara Bittles

And then in Maryville, TN on Sunday 8 June 2018 (details TBA)

Come join our Initiatory Workshop to discover the New Mysteries of St. Johns-Tide.

To pass the test of Summer we will explore many questions:
* How do we stand wakefully within the sublime mysteries of the Summer-Tide, to consciously embody ‘the spiritual wisdom of the gods’?
* Who is the mysterious Archangel of Summer?
* Who is John the Baptist? What do his sayings “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” And “He must increase, but I must decrease.” really mean?
*  What is the secret to healing the ‘soul-fever’ so prevalent in society today?
* What is the mystery of the Dragon-fly, & other elemental beings?
* How can we understand the ‘Cycle of the Year as Breathing Process of the Earth’?

Together we will work to strengthen our true “I”, enlivening our will forces with various social-artistic exercises:

Singing with Ultra-Violet Archer https://itunes.apple.com/…/beyond-blue-and-red-ep/1357968825

Folk Eurythmy
Questions to the Universe

$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged
For more info. contact Hazel

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by Grace Kahn

by Sophia Karris

“When the trees melt away in a sun soaked cotton dream”
http://www.rudolfsteiner.org/…/Grace_art_show_poster_june_2…

25 June 2018 ~MORAL MONDAY CHICAGO: 7 pm – 9 pm

Art Exhibit with Musical Performances from the Youth 
at Elderberries Chicago 4251 N. Lincoln Ave.

Illustrations by Grace Kahn, & Sophia Karris

New works by Shanti Rogers, Art booth by Liz Rosu-Rosenberg

Songs from “Beyond Blue and Red” by Ultra-Violet Archer 
https://itunes.apple.com/…/beyond-blue-and-red-ep/1357968825

Chance Schneider & DJ Grapefruit Effect

 

$10 Donation – MORE or less (Youth under 21 FREE)

***


Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society, 4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map) Check out our Web site! Chicago, IL (Anthroposophical Society in America)
http://www.rudolfsteiner.org/groups/chicago-il/

The Elderberries 3-Fold Space is currently available for rental on PEER SPACE for classes, events, meetings, retreats, art exhibits, family parties, etc…

https://www.peerspace.com/…/listin…/5a2872fbc0029221006de7d8