Daily Archives: November 8, 2019

Mercury in his retrograde dance, parades across the face of the Sun.

8 November 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: High above the gibbous Moon, pointing down is the eastern edge of the Great Square of Pegasus. This week, wintry Orion is clearing the eastern horizon by about 8 pm CDT. High above Orion shines orange Aldebaran. Above Aldebaran is the little Pleiades cluster, the size of your fingertip at arm’s length. And far left of Aldebaran & the Pleiades is bright Capella.

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Dear Friends – The transit of Mercury (occult Venus) is coming up in three days! Are you ready!?!

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Today is the 4th installment of: ‘Mercury Dances across the Face of the Sun’ – Read the 1st, 2nd & 3rd chapters.

~hag

On 11/11, 2019, there is plenty of conversation to be had in our “Speaking with the Stars”. It of is the Eve of the Full Moon. The November Moon is called the Mourning Moon in acknowledgement of the Festival of All Souls; The Native Americans also called it the Beaver Moon, as this is the time when they actively build their huts for the winter.

~hag

And we are still receiving the strength of Michael – the gift of Cosmic Iron from The Taurid Meteor Shower, which Peaks 11/11-12.

~hag

And (drum roll please) the big event we have been leading up to & preparing for: a rare cosmic & earthly event: Mercury in his retrograde dance, parades across the face of the Sun. As messenger & god of divine communications, what does it mean to have that energy eclipsing the Sun? Mercury can be a trickster, & as the god of commerce, fickle; he is quick like quicksilver, & just as slippery, Mercurial, talkative, clever. 

At his best, Mercury has also been known as Hermes Trismegistus, or Mercurius ter Maximus which in ancient Roman signifies ‘Thrice Born Intelligence’, because he communicated celestial & divine knowledge to humankind by writing. In ancient Egypt he was known as Thoth, also a god of writing, magic, & wisdom; who was ‘self-created’, born of the seed of Horus from the forehead of Set – two deities, who represented order & chaos. As the god of equilibrium & balance, Thoth presides over the judgment of the dead with Osiris in the Hall of Truth. Souls who feared they might not pass safely were encouraged to call upon Thoth for help.

What is interesting to think about with this transit, is that Mercury is indeed counted as one of the Roman psycho-pomps – escort to the souls of the dead, a guide leading them, as some legends tell us, to a volcano in Italy at sunset, which was known to be the entrance to the underworld. As psycho-pomp Mercury performs a kind of retro-reversal to his job as messenger of the gods, for now he returns the package back to the sender.

So this image of Mercury in his winged sandals, with all his many attributes, is eclipsing the Sun; of course since the planet Mercury is so much smaller than the Sun we call it a ‘transit’, a celestial journey across the face of our Day Star.

This dance only happens about 13 times a century. But as tiny as this Being is compared to the Sun, it is still an eclipse. What does this mean to us here on earth experiencing this eclipse? We can see this, as with all celestial alignments, as an opportunity for a cosmic communication? What can we add to this ‘Speaking to the Stars’?

Rudolf Steiner tells us that on a normal day the unbridged astral forces of will that stream forth from human beings is mediated by the rays of the Sun, ‘so that they can injure only man himself, but can do no universal harm’. So on the average day the Sun acts as the cosmic balancer, keeping those forces from raying out into space, which affects the harmony of the spheres, as well as the souls of the dead on the other side. But, when there is an eclipse, even a small one as in a Mercury transit, these forces flow unhindered into cosmic space.

In this case instead of wisdom & clear communication, instead of a commerce of brotherhood, we get more of the trickster, the thief, the negative attributes of Mercury, sent out into the cosmos by human beings, & Rudolf Steiner says: ‘opportunity is given for the evil which is willed on earth to spread over the cosmos. An eclipse is a physical event behind which there lies a significant spiritual reality’. So my friends, can we use our ‘Speaking with the Stars’ to counterbalance these forces, to bring positive, clear communication, acting as a true psycho-pomp, to protect our beloved dead, escorts leading dead thinking into the light; taking in that cosmic iron from the region of the Bull to help us lift our Michaelic Sword & Shield to uphold the message of harmony?

When the Copernican revolution brought human thinking into a materialistic modern science, changing from Aristotle’s idea of the universe, the earth centered Geocentric conception; to a Heliocentric model; some say Mercury & Venus were switched, so we can call Mercury, ‘Occult Venus’.

This is a lot to contemplate, but we can see that since they are the 2 closest planets to the earth & to the Sun, they certainly have a mystical connection. Can we imagine blending their powers to embody a loving communication, a clear heart-thinking?

Here we see the Motion of the Sun, Mercury, & Venus from the Earth. This geocentric diagram shows, the sun’s annual orbit, the orbit of Mercury for 7 years, & the orbit of Venus for 8 years, after which Venus returns to the same position in relation to the earth & sun. ~from the ‘Astronomy’ article of Encyclopædia Britannica 1771

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There have been 11 Mercury Transits (Occult Venus) since the midpoint of the 20th century, the Transit of 11/11/19 makes 12

“Mercury, as evening star, stood in the sign of Libra, the balance.”

Tomorrow we contemplate the connection of this transit & the laying of the 1st Foundation Stone by Rudolf Steiner.

Until soon

~hag

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 Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

 ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

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1308 – Deathday of Duns Scotus, Scottish priest, Scholastic philosopher, & academic, considered to be one of the three most important philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages (together with Thomas Aquinas & William of Ockham)

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1674 – Deathday of John Milton, English poet & philosopher. He wrote at a time of religious flux & political upheaval, & is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), written in blank verse.

1892 – The New Orleans general strike begins, uniting black & white American trade unionists in a successful four-day general strike action for the first time.

1895 – While experimenting with electricity, Wilhelm Röntgen discovers the X-ray.

1901 – Gospel riots: Bloody clashes take place in Athens following the translation of the Gospels into demotic Greek.

1917 – The first Council of People’s Commissars is formed, including Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky & Joseph Stalin.

1923 – Beer Hall Putsch: In Munich, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government.

1933 –New Deal: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveils the Civil Works Administration, an organization designed to create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed.

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James Christensen

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Now I seize
Darkness by its arms & shake it…
The souls of ancient swallowed women fall out
From the belly of obscurity…
The old She, the few, the many, the forgotten
Walk back into being
With me…

~hag

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How about a Road-Trip?

THE ALL SOUL’S SOUTHERN TOUR!
Take the Journey of the Soul
in the Life Between Death & Rebirth
in the warm hospitality of our Branch Buddies in the South:

Quick overview of the week:

Nov 10, 1st Class Lesson at the ARC in Atlanta GA

11.11.19 – Martinmas / Mercury Transit Gathering 4:11 pm – 6:11 pm at the Martin Clinic

Nov 12, Hazel and Deb Abrahams-Dematte will be in Atlanta, send any thoughts for must-see spots before we head out on the road trip

Nov 13, Gathering at Helene Burkarts’ ALL SOULS’ FESTIVAL 10 am-2 pm (see below)

Nov 14, Tuscumbia site visit, Helen Keller’s birth place

Nov 15, Memphis, death place of MLK, home of Elvis Presley

Nov 16, Nashville program ALL SOULS’ FESTIVAL 10 am – 2 pm

Nov 17 Knoxville program ALL SOULS’ FESTIVAL 1 pm – 5 pm

Nov 18 return to ATL

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11/11/19, at the Martin Clinic – Humanizing Medicine – in Atlanta GA, 4:11 pm – 6:11 pm with a community potluck to follow

On this auspicious day we will gather to look at the mystery of 11:11, & the connections between, Martinmas, MLK, The Journey of the Soul, Armistice Day, The laying of the Foundation Stone, & a Rare Cosmic Alignment – The Transit of Mercury across the Sun

Speaking with the Stars’ with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Storytelling with Enid Hancock

Leading thoughts with Mark Hancock, Angela Foster 

Votive Art with Angela Foster

Biography work with Jolie Luba

Together we will sprinkle the BD preps around the Clinic

$10-$20 or pay what you will

For more info. contact Angela Foster

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~hag

ALL SOULS JOURNEY – Exploring the Life between Death & Rebirth

10 am – 2 pm, Wednesday 13 November 2019, Auburn, Alabama, Community Potluck lunch – Please Bring a dish to Share – Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will – for more info. contact Helena Burkhart

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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 

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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

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. She is also the festivals coordinator of the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society, a lecturer, promoter, blogger, poet and performance artist. Learn more at www.ReverseRitual.com