Monthly Archives: October 2019

Who do you want to be?

Greetings Friends –

my front yard

Today in the Heart-land, on this All hallows Eve, I look out to see fat flakes of snow pulling the leaves off the trees. Crumpled brown oak leaves, yellow fans from the chestnuts, bright red Japanese maples, & the rich gold of beech lie in heaps like the embers of Summer’s fire.

A tree in Summer is shaped like the alchemical symbol for Fire, the upward-pointing triangle or pyramid. It spreads its leaves & reaches up to absorb the Sun’s rays, transforming light into food through the process of photosynthesis.

At Hallow-tide, all its life-force returns to the roots: energetically it becomes the downward-pointing triangle, symbol of Water. Now the tree’s work is every bit as important as in the growing season. Fallen leaves protect soil from being washed away by winter’s rain. They also provide a veritable feast for insects & micro-organisms who break them down & increase the availability of nutrients to the roots of the tree.

my backyard

Trees teach us the importance of releasing past experiences, in the knowledge that each of them, good or bad, has the potential of enriching the soil of the soul. The fire of the great Spiritual Sun that powers our evolutionary journey through countless lifetimes now goes deep within to be absorbed & transformed in the cauldron of winter. In Irish & Scottish tradition, where this festival is known as Samhain, or end of the light half of the year, this cauldron is stirred by the Cailleach, the Dark Goddess, & it is thru her alchemy that we are “cooked” to provide nourishment for another cycle of soul-growth.

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31 October 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars’: Use the waxing crescent Moon as a guide to finding Jupiter, Sphere of Cosmic Wisdom, in the southwestern sky on this All Hallows Eve, right as darkness falls. Of course, Jupiter is on display all week. It dominates the early evening sky from its perch in southern Ophiuchus the Serpent-bearer.

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***

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Daniel Maclise

All-an-tide (Cornwall)

The first day of All-hallow-tide, observed until November 7 (Western Christianity)

Halloween (Ireland, Canada, United Kingdom, United States etc…)

Hop-tu-Naa is a Celtic festival celebrated in the Isle of Man on 31 October. Predating Halloween, it is the celebration of the original New Year’s Eve (Oie Houney). It is thought to be the oldest unbroken tradition in the Isle of Man

Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season & the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year. It is the cross quarter between the autumn equinox & the winter solstice.

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The Mound of the Hostages, a Neolithic passage tomb at the Hill of Tara, is aligned with the Samhain sunrise. It is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature & many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain.

It was the time when cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures & when livestock were slaughtered for the winter. As at Beltane, special bonfires were lit.

Like Beltane, Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world & the Otherworld could more easily be crossed. This meant the Aos Sí, the ‘spirits’ or ‘fairies’, could more easily come into our world. Offerings of food & drink were left outside for them.

The souls of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend & a place set at the table for them.

Mumming & guising were part of the festival, & involved people going door-to-door in costume (or in disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food.

Divination rituals & games were also a big part of the festival.

The first day of the Day of the Dead, celebrated until November 2 (Spanish: Día de Muertos) The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family to pray for & remember members who have died, & help support their spiritual journey.

Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, & the favorite foods & beverages of the departed, & visiting graves with these as gifts. Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed within other deep traditions for honoring the dead.

Image result for 683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba, catches fire & burns down

683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba, catches fire & burns down. The literal meaning of the Arabic word ka`bah (كَعْبَة) is “cube”, or “House of God”, considered the most sacred site in Islam, a similar role to the Tabernacle & Holy of Holies in Judaism.

502 years ago, on Oct. 31, 1517, the story goes, that the small-town monk, Martin Luther, marched up to the castle church in Wittenberg & nailed his ‘95 Theses’ to the door, lighting the flame of the Reformation — the split between the Catholic & Protestant churches. Luther’s act is one of the cornerstones of world history, & remains a lasting symbol of resistance.

Nearly all of American history bears the imprint of that act of protest. Luther’s challenge, the protection he obtained, & the reformers he inspired laid the foundation for the establishment of colonial America.

In 1934, an African American pastor from Georgia made the trip of a lifetime, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, through the gates of Gibraltar, and across the Mediterranean Sea to the Holy Land. After this pilgrimage, he traveled to Berlin, attending an international conference of Baptist pastors. While in Germany, this man — who was named Michael King — became so impressed with what he learned about the reformer Martin Luther that he decided to do something dramatic. He offered the ultimate tribute to the man’s memory by changing his own name to Martin Luther King. His 5-year-old son was also named Michael — and to the son’s dying day his closest relatives would still call him Mike — but not long after the boy’s father changed his own name, he decided to change his son’s name too, & Michael King Jr. became known to the world as Martin Luther King Jr.

Another dynamic measure of the influence of Martin Luther is the quintessentially modern idea of the individual — of our personal responsibility before ourselves & our God, rather than before any institution, whether church or state. This was as unthinkable before Luther. The contemporary idea of “The People,” along with the democratic impulse that proceeds from it –  The more recent ideas of pluralism, religious liberty, & self-government all entered history through the door that Luther opened.

Luther’s second unyielding act of courage was at the ‘imperial diet’ held in the city of Worms in 1521, when he made it clear that he feared God’s judgment more than the judgment of church leaders in that room.

And suddenly the individual had the freedom & possibility of thinking for themselves.

Martin Luther was not inclined to tilt at papal windmills. In fact, until about 1520 he was a vigorous champion of the church. He desired desperately to help Rome elude the fate it ended up experiencing. In fact, in a case of Oedipusian irony he became the very man who brought about everything he had hoped to avoid. As his story illustrates, it was a sublime & ridiculous decoction of forces that created the perfect storm that burst over the European continent, creating what we now call the Reformation.

Today the Catholic & Lutheran churches are taking the memory of 1517 in hand. Pope Francis joined leaders of the Lutheran World Federation in Sweden to hold a joint service in a spirit of unity after 500 years of division.

Image result for Fra Bartolomeo,

1517 – Deathday of Fra Bartolomeo, Italian artist

Image result for Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated

1984 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. Riots break out in New Delhi & other cities – 4,000 Sikhs are killed.

2015 – Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 is bombed over the northern Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board

***

Joen Trimmster

POD (Poem Of the day)

~My soul duels with worms
Hidden in the clay of being
That would gnaw the scroll of mythos
Witch I carry in my heart whole
& speak thru the living word…
No worries
I will cut bait & continue singing…

~hag

Look for me there, in the dark…

Homework: Dress up as who you want to be in the coming year

xox

 ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

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Dear Friends –
Thanks to all who supported the webinar from the Anthroposophical Society last night! I will post the link as soon as i get it.


This evening you have a change to tune in to a Live Webcast from The Theosophical Society in America.  Together, we will explore the origins and purpose of “Halloween,” honor our beloved dead, and experience a ritual performance where we will journey to meet Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, and her sister Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld. “The Descent of the Goddess’ with Hazel Archer Ginsberg 

For more info. or to carpool contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com
 
***

7 PM – 9 PM Friday 1 November 2019 at the Rudolf Steiner Branch
Our Annual All Souls Festival: Meeting our Ancestors at the Threshold

Maureen Flannery will set up an ‘Ofrenda’, in the Elderberries space, so feel free to bring pictures or other offerings to be added to the altar.

* We will begin with Eurythmy in the Branch Library

* In the Upper Room we will have Leading Thoughts:  What can we learn from Spiritual Science about working with the ‘so called dead’ and the ‘unborn’?  with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

* Our Artistic Explorations will be down in the Elderberries – Color gestures for the Past, Present & Future, as a question to our Beloved Dead with Nancy Melvin

*Circle of Remembrance in Elderberries

$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged

For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

The Reversal of Mercury & Venus…& the Crescent Moon Dance


29 October 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Our solar system’s 2 inner planets cozy up
near each other in the early evening sky. Tonight, Mercury slides south (lower left) of
Venus. You can find the pair with the help of a two-day-old waxing crescent Moon.
Bella Luna stands high just after sunset with Venus, Goddess of Love, on Her lower right;
Mercury, messenger of the gods & psycho-pomp carrying the souls of the dead across the
threshold, directly below our beloved satellite.  


The question then becomes: How do we think of Venus & Mercury? When the Copernican
revolution brought human thinking into a materialistic modern science, changing from a
Geocentric to a Heliocentric model, Mercury & Venus were switched!

It is up to us now in our speaking with the stars to discover the occult reasons for this
reversal. Now, as we develop the spiritual science of Astro-Sophy, we must learn to know,
& use these planets correctly.  



Venus is that sphere which wants to bring about the reintegration & harmonizing of
humanity with each other & with the spiritual realm, particularly thru the heart forces of
feeling & devotion.  In a traditional sense Venus is the planet of love.  But how can we see
this out of spiritual science?  Since the deed of Christ, Venus has become the
sphere of the new mysteries. 

And what is the essence of the new mysteries? Simply stated: Not I but Christ in me. 
Or , “there is no greater love than that one lays down one’s life for a friend”. 
The relation of Venus to the new mysteries comes out of this new transformational deed of love in which the greatest has become the servant to the least.   


Willian Blake

Of course there is the other side of Venus in its relation to Lucifer & the illusions of self-love
& the semblance & glamour of the light.  It is the opposite gesture of the love of Christ,
of the master becoming servant.  



Mercury is the closest sphere to the Sun & can work, if taken up consciously by human
beings, in a Michaelic way to redeem fallen earthly intelligence & re-unite it with the Sun.
Mercury weaves between Earth & Sun as a kind of messenger from Sun & stars to Earth,
& from Earth to Sun & stars, a glorious loop.  It is a planetary sphere that wants humanity
to participate in the redemption of intelligence.  It is also a sphere that works in the social
realm of groups, nations, folk as it is the sphere of the Archangels.

 

Soon we will have a chance to have a conversation around the Transit of Mercury
with the Sun, on the very auspicious occasion of 11/11/19 – when we have an
opportunity to ponder the mystery of 11:11, & the connections between, Martinmas,
MLK, The Journey of the Soul, Armistice Day, & The laying of the Foundation Stone
by Rudolf Steiner. More on that to come…(or join me in Atlanta)  

***
POD (Poem Of the Day)

Pablo Picasso

~Closer than your breath & older than death…
It speaks like a mountain, laughs like a river,
Prays like the sun, & sings the way the animals think…
Plus – It’s always as fresh as the beginning of time…
What am I?  

See, Now
I call myself
My own,
Irradiating the night of Time, with Space –
An inborn gleam…
While nature dreams, my soul is called, to stay awake
Suffusing Sun fire into the inundating dark…
Do you recognize me…?  

I circle the heads of women dancing
My cryptic feathers tremble in their hypnotic fans…
Let the fire that banks in my heart
Flare out, to heat the sacred space,
Melting in the Autumn mist
To revel your true face…
~hag

Wednesday, 30 October 6:30-7:30 pm
Free webinar on the Festival of All Souls with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.
  
We will explore the Journey of the Soul Between
Death and Rebirth with indications from Rudolf Steiner.
 
In the realities that Spiritual Science brings us, we glean the importance of working with the
‘so called dead’ and the angelic worlds, for both our own and their development, as well as
for the future evolution of the Earth.
 
CLICK HERE for your log-in link to join us live. Just one simple step! 

Can’t join us live? No problem. A recording of the webinar will be emailed to you within
24 hours of the live session. 

Warmly, Laura Scappaticci, Program Director for the Anthroposophical Society in America

***


Patti Liyn

Thursday 31 October 2019 – 7 pm – 9 pm
Halloween at the Theosophical Society in America 
1926 North Main Street, Wheaton, IL 60187
  
“The Descent of the Goddess’ with Hazel Archer Ginsberg
Together, we will explore the origins and purpose of “Halloween,” honor our beloved
dead, and experience a ritual performance where we will journey to meet Inanna,
Queen of Heaven and Earth, and her sister Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld.
  
$10 nonmembers, $5 members  FREE Live Webcast

For more info. or to carpool contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com
 
***

Darla Banna

Our Annual All Souls Festival: Meeting our Ancestors at the Threshold  
7 PM – 9 PM Friday 1 November 2019 
at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago
  
*What can we learn from Spiritual Science about working with the ‘so called dead’
and the  ‘unborn’? with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
*Eurythmy
*Artistic Exploration with Nancy Melvin
*Circle of Remembrance
  
$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged
For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com
 
***

Chris Bodame
Dear Friends – “Our hearts must become Michael’s helpers in conquering,

in taking hold of the intelligence that has fallen from heaven to earth. 
Just as, in the old traditions, Michael had to trample the serpent underfoot,
so now the intelligence of Michael that has become the serpent must be spiritualized. 
And wherever it surfaces as counter-force — not raised to spirit yet ahrimanized
as intellect — we must perceive it in the right way through attentiveness of
anthroposophical spirit that has been tempered in the Michaelic stance.”

~Rudolf Steiner, The Karma of AnthroposophyChapter 5“Hearts Inscribed in the
Michael School”, Arnhem, 20 July, 1924 … focus of the November 6 meeting!

The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among five volunteers
who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation.
Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing
your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the
title: “The Karma of Anthroposophy.”  This lecture corresponds to GA 240, and was
included in the series titled “Karmic Relationships“, Volume VI, published in English by
Rudolf Steiner Press in 1971.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another
while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:
Option 1.  Click link below if you wish to connect through your computer
(a headset is recommended)
https://zoom.us/j/121703166
Option 2.  Call in using your telephone.
United States: +1 669 900 6833  or +1 646 558 8656
Access Code: 121-703-166
Option 3. You can use a combination of Options 1 and 2 (computer and phone). If you
use the phone, please turn off the audio on your computer to prevent audio feedback.
 
Please join us! Agenda for our Study Call
 
7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by six volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Travis – Pages 84 to 67
          Lisa G – pages 88 to 90
          Wayne – pages 91 to 93
          Hazel – pages 94 to 96
          Mary – pages 97 to 100
8:05  Conversation
8:25  Identify volunteers for our next study call: Dec 4
8:28  Close with verse
*** 


How about a Road-Trip? 
Take the Journey of the Soul in the Life Between Death & Rebirth 
in the warm hospitality of our Branch Buddies in the South:

11/11/19, in Atlanta GA. 10 am – 12 noon On this auspicious day we will gather
to look at the mystery of the 11:11, & the connections between, Martinmas, MLK,
The Journey of the Soul, Armistice Day, The laying of the Foundation Stone,
& a Rare Cosmic AlignmentThe Transit of Mercury across the Sun

Speaking with the Stars’ with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, 
Storytelling 
with Jolie Luba, 
Art 
with Angela Foster

$10-$20 or pay what you will, For more info. contact Angela Foster
 
***


  ALL SOULS JOURNEY – Exploring the Life between Death & Rebirth

7 pm – 9 pm – Friday 15 November 2019, Auburn Alabama
for more info. contact Helena Burkart

10 am – 2 pm, Saturday 16 November 2019 in Nashville TN
Community Potluck lunch – Please Bring a dish to Share – 
Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will – 
For more info. contact Cathy Green  Or Barbara Bittles 

1 pm – 5 pm, Sunday 17 November 2019 Knoxville TN
Community Potluck Dinner – Please Bring a dish to Share – 
Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will – 
For more info. contact Bill Rogers

Side by Side

24 October 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Every Autumn, & especially this evening, check out one of the flashiest stars in the sky – bright Capella twinkling with red & green flashes low in the northeastern sky at nightfall. Capella climbs upward through the night, & this month, soars high overhead in the wee hours before dawn. Capella is in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer, but since antiquity it has carried the name Goat Star.

If you could travel to it in space, you’d find that Capella is really two golden stars, both with roughly the same surface temperature as our local star, the sun … but both larger & brighter than our sun. So here is a golden point of light that flashes red & green when it’s low in the sky. Why does it do that?

The reality is that every star in the sky undergoes the same process as to produce its colorful twinkling, for every star’s light must shine through Earth’s atmosphere before reaching our eyes. But not every star flashes as noticeably as Capella. The atmosphere splits or “refracts” the star’s light, just as a prism splits sunlight. When you see Capella higher in the sky, you’ll find that these glints of red & green will disappear.

Keep looking up my friends!

***

Polly Kramer

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Feast day of Archangel Raphael, Healing symbol of Mercury. Time Spirit from 850-1190

1260 – Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France

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1601 – Death day of Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer & alchemist. Rudolf Steiner speaks about him here in Karmic Relationships, Volume IV: Lecture VI: “We were tracing the thread of evolution which enters into the spiritual life of the present time, and we left off with the individuality of Julian the Apostate. I told you that this individuality was next incarnated in one who is only known by legendary accounts, whose secret is contained in the Parsifal legend, in the name of Herzeleide. In this life as Herzeleide, the soul of Julian the Apostate entered into a far deeper inner life. The soul-life of the individuality was deepened, as was indeed necessary after the many storms and inner moods of opposition which he had undergone in his life as Julian the Apostate.

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But this later life of which I told you — this life as Herzeleide — spread itself out over the former life as Julian the Apostate like a warm embalming cloud. Thus the soul grew more intense and deep and inward, and grew richer, too, in manifold impulses of the inner life.

Anselm Kiefer 

Now this soul was among those who had carried over something of the ancient Mysteries. Julian had lived within the substance of the ancient Mysteries at a time when their light was still radiant in many ways. Thus he had received into himself much spirituality of the cosmos. All this had been as it were pressed back during the incarnation as Herzeleide; but it was none the less pressing forth in the soul, and thus we find the same individuality again in the 16th century; we find arising in him once more, in a Christianised form, what he had undergone as Julian the Apostate. For the same individuality reappears in the 16th century as Tycho de Brahe, and stands face to face with the Copernican world-conception which emerges within Western civilisation at that time.”

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1648 – The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years’ War

1911 – Orville Wright remains in the air nine minutes & 45 seconds in a Wright Glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

Original Caption: 2/27/1918-Houdini showing how to slip handcuffs.

1926 – Harry Houdini’s last performance takes place at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit. Harry Houdini was born Ehrich Weisz on 24 March 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. The son of a Rabbi, he relocated with his family to America in 1876.  By the age of 17 he was known as Harry Houdini & left his family to pursue his career in magic. Booked for a two-week engagement in Detroit at The Garrick Theatre, he arrived in pain, but decided to perform the opening show on October 24th.  With much difficulty he performed, but cut the show short & was admitted to Grace Hospital.  It had been determined that he had a ruptured appendix. Surgery was not enough to spare Houdini’s life & he died on 31 October 1926 from peritonitis.

Image result for 1929 – "Black Thursday" stock market crash on the New York Stock Exchange.

1929 – “Black Thursday” stock market crash on the New York Stock Exchange.

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1945 – Founding of the United Nations.

1946 – Deathday of Emil Grosheintz – a dentist who had a practice in Basel, was an early anthroposopher, when the society was still connected to the theosophical movement. Rudolf Steiner loved him because of his sacrificial & conscientious work. His professional career as a dentist allowed him to accompany Steiner on many of his lectures. Like a leitmotiv, his life runs through the fact that he was always present as a witness in important moments of anthroposophy.

In 1906, Emil Grosheintz co-founded the Paracelsus branch in Basel. In 1907 he took part in the Munich Congress & became a member of the German section of the Theosophical Society in 1908.

In 1912, during a visit of Rudolf Steiner to his estate in Dornach, Grosheintz decided to make his land on the Dornach hill available for the construction of the first Goetheanum, & organized the purchase & donation of some further eastern plots.

In 1913 he became chairman of the Johannesbauverein. Because of his excellent organizational abilities & his experience, Emil Grosheintz became co-founder of the anthroposophical branch at the Goetheanum on September 12, 1920, & until May 9, 1943, he served as its first chairman &remained honorary chairman until his death

On 24 December 1914, Emil & Nelly Grosheintz-Laval were witnesses at the wedding ceremony of Marie & Rudolf Steiner.

On September 20, 1913, Emil Grosheintz & his wife Nelly Grosheintz-Laval took part in the laying of the foundation stone for the first Goetheanum. In the same year he moved with his wife & the two sons Hansi & Pierre into the Duldeck house designed for him by Rudolf Steiner on the Dornach hill near the Goetheanum.

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1975 – In Iceland, 90% of women take part in a national strike, refusing to work in protest of gaps in gender equality.

Image result for 1980 – The government of Poland legalizes the Solidarity trade union

1980 – The government of Poland legalizes the Solidarity trade union

Image result for 2008 – "Bloody Friday" saw many of the world's stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history

2008 – “Bloody Friday” saw many of the world’s stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history

***

TINA YU

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Today I AM:
Light behind mist
From the dark vortex of primal fire
Where the 1st light was born
which made the maker of gods & human-kind
Pressing the black world like a blinking eye
Into wakefulness…
Today: What are YOU?
~hag

 ***


From Occult History: Lecture 4 
by Rudolf Steiner

During the 16th century, in the year 1546, a remarkable man was born of a noble house of Northern Europe, and in his very cradle, so to speak, everything was laid — including family wealth — that could have led him to positions of great honour in the traditional life of that time. Because, in line with his family traditions, it was intended that he should occupy some eminent political or other high position, he was marked out for the legal profession and sent with a tutor to the University of Leipzig to study jurisprudence. The tutor tormented the boy — for he was still a boy when he was forced to study law — all day long. But at night, while the tutor was sleeping the sleep of the just and dreaming of legal theories, the boy stole out of bed and observed the stars with the very simple instruments he had himself devised. And very soon he knew not only more than any of the teachers about the secrets of the stars but more than was to be found at that time in any book. For example, he very soon noticed a definite position of Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation of Leo, turned to the books and found that they recorded it quite erroneously. The longing then arose in him to acquire as exact a knowledge as possible of this star-script, to record as accurately as possible the course of the stars. No wonder that in spite of all his family’s resistance he soon extracted the permission to become a natural philosopher and astronomer, instead of dreaming his life away over legal books and doctrines. And having considerable means at his disposal, he was able to set up a whole establishment.

This was arranged in a remarkable way. In the upper storeys were instruments designed for observing the secrets of the stars; in the cellars there was equipment for bringing about different combinations and dissolutions of substances. And there he worked, dividing his time between observations carried out on the upper floors of the building and the boiling, fermenting, mixing and weighing which went on in the cellars below. There he worked, in Order to show, little by little, how the laws that are written in the stars, the laws of the planets and fixed stars, the macrocosmic laws, are to be found again microcosmically in the mathematical numbers underlying the combinations and dissolutions of substances. And what he discovered as a living connection between the heavenly and the earthly he applied to the art of medicine, producing medicaments which were the cause of bitter animosity around him because he gave them freely to those he wanted to help. The doctors at that time, intent upon extorting high fees, raged against this man who was accused of perpetrating all sorts of “horrors” with what he endeavoured to bring down from the heavens to the earth.

Fortunately, as the result of a certain happening, he found favour with the Danish King, Frederick the Second, and as long as he retained this favour, all went well: tremendous insight was gained into the spiritual working of cosmic laws in the sense I have just described. This man did indeed know something about the spiritual course of cosmic laws. He dumbfounded the world with things which admittedly would no longer find the same credence to-day. On one Occasion, when he was at Rostock, he prophesied, from the constellation of the stars, the death of the Sultan Soliman, which came true within a few days of the date he had foretold. The news of this made the name of Tycho Brahe famous in Europe. To-day the world at large knows hardly anything more of Tycho Brahe, whose life lies such a short time behind us, than that he was somewhat of a crank and never quite reached the lofty standpoint of modern materialism. He recorded a thousand stars for the first time in the maps of the heavens and also made the epoch-making discovery of a type of star, the “Nova,” which flares up and vanishes again, and described it. But these things are mostly passed over in silence. The world really knows nothing about him except that he was still “stupid” enough to devise a plan of the cosmos in which the earth stands still and the sun together with the planets revolve around it. That is what the world in general knows to-day. The fact that we have to do here with a significant personality of the 16th century, with one who accomplished an infinite amount that even to-day is still useful to astronomy, that untold depths of wisdom are contained in what he gave — none of this is usually recorded, for the simple reason that in presenting the system in detail, out of his own deep knowledge, Tycho Brahe saw difficulties which Copernicus did not see. If such a thing dare be said — for it does indeed seem paradoxical — even with the Copernican cosmic system the last word has not yet been uttered. And the conflict between the two Systems will still occupy the minds of a later humanity. — That, however, only by the way; it is too paradoxical for the present age.

It was only under the successor of the King who had been well-disposed towards him that the enemies of Tycho Brahe arose an all sides. They were doctors and professors at the University of Copenhagen, and they succeeded in inciting the successor of his patron against him. Tycho Brahe was driven from his fatherland and was obliged to go south again. It was in Augsburg that he had originally set up his first great planisphere and the gilded globe on which he always marked the new stars he discovered — finally amounting to a thousand. This man was destined to die in exile in Prague. To this very day, if we turn, not to the usual textbooks, but to the actual sources, and study Kepler, let us say, we can still see that Kepler was able to arrive at his laws because of the meticulous astronomical observations made by Tycho Brahe before him. Here indeed was a personality who again bore the stamp, in a grand style, of what had been great and significant wisdom before his time; one who could not reconcile himself to the kind of knowledge that became popular immediately afterwards in the shape of the materialistic view of the world. Truly it is a strange destiny, this destiny of Tycho Brahe!

And now, placing both personal destinies side by side, think how endlessly instructive it is when we learn from the Akasha Chronicle that the individuality of Julian the Apostate appears again in Tycho Brahe, that Tycho Brahe is, so to say, a reincarnation of Julian the Apostate. Thus strangely and paradoxically does the law of reincarnation take effect when the karmic connection of the single individual are modified by world-historic karma; when the cosmic Powers themselves use the human individuality as their instrument.”

***

Dear Friends –
There are many opportunities to Celebrate ‘All Souls’
from various Anthroposophical angles in the Chicagoland area
& beyond:

Wednesday, 30 October 6:30-7:30 pm
Free 
webinar on the Festival of All Souls 
with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.
  
We will explore the Journey of the Soul Between Death
and Rebirth with indications from Rudolf Steiner
 
In the realities that Spiritual Science brings us, 
we glean the importance of working with the ‘so called dead’
and the angelic worlds, for both our own and their development,
as well as for the future evolution of the Earth.

 
CLICK HERE for your log-in link to join us live. Just one simple step!
 
Can’t join us live? No problem.  A recording of the webinar will be emailed to you within 24
hours of the live session. 
 
Warmly, Laura Scappaticci, Program Director for the Anthroposophical Society in America
 
***
Thursday 31 October 2019 – 7 pm – 9 pm
Halloween at the Theosophical Society in America
1926 North Main Street, Wheaton, IL 60187
 
“The Descent of the Goddess’ with Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Together, we will explore the origins and purpose of “Halloween,” honor our beloved dead,
and experience a ritual performance where we will journey Inanna, Queen of Heaven
and Earth, and her sister Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld.
 
$10 nonmembers, $5 members Live Webcast
 
For more info. or to carpool contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com
 
***
Our Annual All Souls Festival: Meeting our Ancestors at the Threshold
 
7 PM – 9 PM Friday 1 November 2019
at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago
 
*What can we learn from Spiritual Science about working
with the ‘so called dead’ and the ‘unborn’? 
with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
*Eurythmy
  *Artistic Explorations
  *Circle of Remembrance

$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged
  For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com
 ***
How about a Road-Trip?
Take the Journey of the Soul
in the Life Between Death & Rebirth

in the warm hospitality of our Branch Buddies in the South:
 
5 pm – 9 pm – Friday 16 November 2019, in Atlanta GA
Community Potluck Dinner  5 pm –
Please Bring a dish to Share
Program begins promptly at 6 pm
 Suggested Donation $15-25 or pay what you will – 
For more info. contact Angela Foster
 
***
 
10 am – 2 pm, Saturday 16 November 2019 in Nashville TN
Community Potluck lunch – Please Bring a dish to Share – 
Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will – 
For more info. contact Cathy Green  Or Barbara Bittles 

***

1 pm – 5 pm, Sunday 17 November 2019 Knoxville TN
Community Potluck Dinner – Please Bring a dish to Share – 
Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will – 
For more info. contact Bill Rogers
   

Comet Halley Rides Again

21 October 2019 – Astro-Weather: Our cosmic conversation continues: The Orionids – Peak these next few days.

Image result for orionid meteor shower 2019

The meteor shower of the Mighty Hunter Orion is underway, with the earth traveling once again through the trail of cosmic dust left by Halley’s Comet.

Although the Orionid meteor shower peaks tonight & early tomorrow morning, a fat crescent Moon shares the sky & will hide some of the fainter “shooting stars.” Your best bet is to find an observing site where you can place the Moon behind a building or trees.

The variable star Algol in Perseus reaches minimum brightness around 11:04 pm CDT. If you start tracking it this evening, you can watch it more than triple in brightness by dawn. This eclipsing binary star runs through a cycle from minimum to maximum & back every 2.87 days. Algol remains visible all night, passing nearly overhead around 2 am.

From an article by Dr Elizabeth Vreede: ” Comets represent an element that does not wholly enter the usual sphere of cosmic law, although they still contain a trace of the direct working of spiritual powers, indeed, of the very highest — the Seraphim and Cherubim. Before ordinary law may be broken through, the very highest power and insight is required. The various comets, indeed, are agents of a very special nature in our planetary system, their polar antithesis being in the moons. Just as the moons are a kind of corpse which the planetary system trails along with it, so, on the other side, the comets may be spoken of as constant purifiers of the spiritual atmosphere within the solar system. In earlier times men thought of them as the “scavengers of God,” and many superstitions have gathered around them. To the eye of Spirit, too, the mission of the comets is perpetually to expel impure astral forces from the Cosmos or to introduce new impulses.”

María León

Last Quarter Moon occurred this morning at 7:39 a.m. CDT.

***

The Branches & Group Pre-conference at the AGM in Atlanta 2019

Dear friends – I have been on quite a journey since my Summer trip to London & Cornwall, encountering powerful mirrors & milestones. I have been dealing with some debilitating health issues which make it difficult to be at the computer. But I have been traveling quite a bit offering programs, workshops & festivals. Recently my beloved husband & attended the AGM of the ASA in Atlanta which reached a Christ-in-the Etheric level of vibration, thatI have never before experienced in this communal way. I’m not sure how to put it into words. Martin Luther King Jr. was truly present in the Spirit of place…

I got home last night from the mountains of Asheville NC. where the community gathered at SOLA to meet themselves as a soul in the spirit worlds; exploring at 1st the many traditions of All Hallows which prepared the way for our journey into the life between death & rebirth.

I made a deep connection to the spirit of the mountain which continues to resonate!

Thanks to all who have reached out to say they have missed the RR blog.

I hope to get back into the rhythm soon

Blessings to all

***

As the sun relates to the constellations during the course of the year, there are contemplations -even meditative practices- that correspond to these relationships. Bringing these contemplations into daily practice is a moral activity that brings a conscious change that everyone may experience. Here is such a practice from the Calendar of Virtues: For Scorpio – (October 21 – November 20.)

Patience becomes Insight [Opposite: Loss of Temper]

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Image result for Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, & Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch

1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, & Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch

Image result for Battle of Trafalgar:

1805 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar: A British fleet led by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French & Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve

Image result for Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist & engineer

1833 – Birthday of Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist & engineer, invented dynamite & founded the Nobel Prize

Image result for The Medicine Lodge Treaty

1867 – The Medicine Lodge Treaty is signed by southern Great Plains Indian leaders. The treaty requires Native American Plains tribes to relocate to a reservation in western Oklahoma

Image result for Thomas Edison invents the first commercially practical incandescent light bulb

1879 – Thomas Edison invents the first commercially practical incandescent light bulb

Image result for Opening ceremonies for the World's Columbian Exposition are held in Chicago,

1892 – Opening ceremonies for the World’s Columbian Exposition are held in Chicago, though because construction was behind schedule, the exposition did not open until May 1, 1893

Image result for Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time

1945 – Women’s suffrage: Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time

Image result for U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order transferring Wernher von Braun & other German scientists from the United States Army to NASA

1959 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order transferring Wernher von Braun & other German scientists from the United States Army to NASA

Image result for Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 279,617 miles from the sun

1965 – Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 279,617 miles from the sun

Image result for Deathday of Jack Kerouac

1969 – Deathday of Jack Kerouac

***

Frank Cadogan Cowper

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~this morning it was dark when i awoke…
i noticed the West window held a dying flame
as i watched a swallow darting thru the shadows, catching moths…
Night bristles on her back…
in her mouth melts a berry of god-thought,
desire folded into her wings…
she swoops, she dives in dark dreams, perfect in the dawning…
~hag

***

Image result for Shemini Atzeret,

Immediately following the seven-day festival of Sukkot comes the festival of Shemini Atzeret,  The holiday at the end of Sukkot, during which are recited prayers for rain, & Simchat Torah (October 23-25, 2016) when we conclude — & begin anew — the annual Torah reading cycle. The holiday is marked with unbridled rejoicing, especially during the “hakafot” procession, as we march, sing & dance with the Torah scrolls.

On Simchat Torah,” goes the chassidic adage, “we rejoice in the Torah, & the Torah rejoices in us; the Torah, too, wants to dance, so we become the Torah’s dancing feet.”

As the month of Tishrei comes to a close, we have experienced & celebrated the most powerful moments of the Jewish year. As the Torah reading cycle comes to an end, & we start reading the Torah all over again, what new lessons, insights, & inspiration will we derive this time around?

Shemini Atzeret Rain Feast, this ritual reflects a theology wherein people help to carry out the work of God. The story of Ḥoni Ha-M’ageil:

Long ago, in the Land of Israel, there was a terrible drought. Usually the rain fell in abundance between Shemini Atzeret and Passover, but this year there hadn’t been a drop, and Passover was only a couple of weeks away! The people were almost ready to give up hope. Without rain, there would be no crops and no way to survive. In desperation, they turned to a man named Ḥoni Ha-M’ageil, Ḥoni the Circle Drawer, and asked him to pray for rain. Ḥoni had an especially close relationship with God and a strong desire to help others. He instructed the people to bring their ovens, which they kept outside in those days, into their homes, so that the ovens would not be destroyed by rain. And then he prayed for rain. The people were hopeful. But no rain fell.

Some people would have given up then, after praying to no avail, but not Ḥoni. He was a persistent man. Ḥoni then drew a circle in the sand and stood right in the middle of it and said, “Ribbono shel Olam! Master of the Universe, Your children have turned to me, because I am almost like a member of Your family. I swear by Your Great Name—I will not move from this circle until You take pity on Your children!”

Suddenly it began to drizzle. Some people would have stopped then, with their promise to bring rain fulfilled, but not Ḥoni. Ḥoni could hear his disciples saying, “We look to you to save us from death. This drizzle will not be enough.”

So Ḥoni said to God, “This is not what I wanted. I wanted enough rain to fill up every cistern, ditch, and cavern.”

Then it began to rain violently. Some say that each individual raindrop was the size of a softball, if not larger. Most people would have stopped then, and gone inside to seek shelter from the storm, but not Ḥoni. Ḥoni could hear his disciples saying, “We look to you to save us from death. This storm is powerful enough to destroy the whole world!”

So Ḥoni said to God, “This is not what I meant either. I am asking You for the rain of blessing and graciousness.”

Now it rained the right way, but there was still so much water that the Israelites had to head for high ground. They all gathered at the Temple Mount, the highest point then in Jerusalem.

Then Ḥoni’s disciples came up to him and said, “Just as you prayed for it to rain, now pray for it to go away!”

Ḥoni prayed once again, “Ribbono shel Olam! Master of the Universe, Your children are a delicate people. They cannot endure too much or too little of anything. May it be Your will that the rain cease and there be relief for the world.”

The wind began to blow, the clouds dispersed, and the sun shone bright once again. The people went out into the fields and were able to gather fresh mushrooms and vegetation for a great and wonderful feast.

In the absence of Ḥoni Ha-M’ageil, we must come with a plan that cannot fail. We ask that You bless the earth with rain, But realize that action works as a chain, So we will pour the first few drops, & pray ‘til Pesach it never stops.

(Pass pitchers of water around for participants to pour (very lightly) in all directions outside of the circle. Once everyone has poured water, recite together:

So too, may Adonai shower us all with blessing and provide for the needs which are most pressing. We pray for all to enjoy a harvest of bounty, Here in the United States and in every county. May no one go hungry even once this year, Whether friend or stranger, far or near. Let our deeds reinforce our heartfelt prayers.Let us take action before taking our chairs.

Participants exit the circle & retrieve the food they brought to donate. Then participants pack the food into boxes, which will be taken to a local food pantry.

When all of the donations have been packed, recite together: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ הַמֵּכִין מָזוֹן לְכָל בְּרִיּוֹתָיו. Ba-ruch a-tah A-do-nai, ha-mei-chin ma-zon l’-chol b’-ri-yo-tav. Blessed are You, Adonai, who provides enough food for all of Your creations.

After this part of the ritual, everyone can enjoy a festive meal in the sukkah.

The joyous climax of Simchat Torah is the dancing of hakafot (lit. “circles”), during which we dance & sing with the Torah scrolls.

chochmah velo k’silut, tevunah velo kalut rosh. Lamdeinu Torat chesed she’taachilenu bayamim haba’im uvechol sha’ah. Amen.

Source of Life, every year you plant within us a new tree of life. May it be your will that this year our interpretations will blossom forth kindness and not cruelty, wisdom and not foolishness, awareness and not thoughtlessness. May you teach us a Torah of love that will nourish us in the coming days at every hour. Amen.

Or try this: During the hakafot let your dance be a reflection of the new wisdom you want to receive in the coming year.

Simchat Torah is also a symbolic move from death to life – the death of Moses & of the old year, the birth of the New Year & the newly created plants, animals, & humans. It is the rebirth of the Torah. That makes Simchat Torah a good time to celebrate all renewals & transformations.

If you have experienced a major change during the year, such as the loss of a loved one or a relationship, a wedding, conversion, coming out, or birth of a child, you can recite the following prayer as the Torah scroll used for Deuteronomy is exchanged for the Torah scroll used for Genesis (or as the Torah scroll is rolled from one place to another).

K’shem shehaTorah niglelet mimakom lemakom besimcha uveshalom, ken eglol mimakom lemakom berachamim uve’ratzon.

Just as the Torah is rolled from place to place amid joy and peace, so too may I roll from place to place like refreshing rain, surrounded by compassion and good will.

Image result for Shemini Atzeret,

Until Soon

Blessings & Peace

 ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

Halloween at the Theosophical Society in America
1926 North Main Street
Wheaton, IL 60187

Thursday 31 October 2019 – 7 pm9 pm

Beloved – You are an eternal being. This moment is part of a grand journey. Awaken to your destiny by exploring the worlds beyond the veil, connecting to your karmic group, calling in your future self…Make this Halloween a night to remember. Come be part of a conscious community. Contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com if you want to carpool.

~ALL HALLOWS EVE~ The DESCENT OF THE GODDESS
at the Theosophical Society in Wheaton, IL.
https://www.theosophical.org/programs/lectures

ON hALLOWEEN tHURSDAY 31 oCTOBER 2019

A tour of the Origins of this Feast for the Dead thru many cultural expressions & A RITUAL PERFORMANCE OF ‘The Descent of Inanna’
+ a Circle of Remembrance
(Share the names of those who have died this year)

Register

Contact Hazel to carpool from the city

$10 nonmembers, $5 members Live Webcast

***

also: Friday 1 November at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 7 pm – 9 pm

***

also: 10 am – 2 pm, 16 November 2019 in Nashville Community Potluck lunch – Please Bring a dish to Share – Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will – 

For more info. contact Cathy Green cgreen@grasslandaquatics.com – Or Barbara Bittles blbittles@comcast.net

***

also: 1 pm – 5 pm, Sunday 17 November 2019 Knoxville/Maryville

For more info. contact Bill Rogers wmerogers@gmail.com

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg is a Spiritual Midwife and Trans-Denominational minister working in an eclectic style that inspires connections, initiating us into the magic waiting to be revealed in the cycle of the seasons. Founder of www.reverseritual.com – Lecturer, Essayist, Poet, Performer, & “Anthroposopher.” Hazel is the Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, The Traveling Speakers Program & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.

***