28-29 February 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Tonight at twilight, Bella Luna in her waxing crescent phase forms a triangle with Venus the Goddess of Love, & the brightest stars of Aries. Then later when the rest of the stars come out, look above the Moon to see the 7 Sisters of the Pleiades. Helping to guide you, will be orange Aldebaran.
Tomorrow dear friends, we get a
bonus day – What will you do with it?
Saturday, 29 February 2020 is leap day, that calendar oddity that occurs (almost) every four years. For centuries, attempts to sync up with the length of the natural year have sowed chaos—until the concept of leap year provided a way to make up for lost time. Human beings have struggled to align civil, religious, & agricultural calendars with the solar year, so adding a ‘leap year’ solved the problem—although just for the next 3,300 years.
The solar year is approximately 365.2422 days long. No calendar day can match that number, & simply ignoring the seemingly small fraction creates a much bigger problem done the line.
In the past we human beings organized our lives in accordance with what we observed in the skies, this is the principle behind Sidereal astrology. For instance, ancient Egyptians planted their crops each year on the day when Sirius appeared. Ancient Greece & Rome also relied on the positions of the stars to anchor Festivals & other events in time.
Early Egyptians (prior to about 3100 B.C.) & other societies from China to Rome once used lunar calendars to track time. But lunar months average 29.5 days & so the year only adds up to about 354. So societies that kept lunar time quickly drifted well out of sync with the seasons due to the 11-day lag.
Other ancient calendars, like the Sumerians, dating to around 5,000 years
ago, simply divided the year into 12 months of 30 days each. Their 360-day year
was nearly a week shorter than our annual journey around the sun. The practice
of adding extra days to the year is at least as old as these systems.
When the Egyptians adopted this calendar they were aware that there was a problem – but they solved it by adding in an extra five days of partying – in the form of festivals, at the end of the year.
Religious leaders expected feast days to align with certain seasons & lunar phases. That’s why most of the modern world has adopted the Gregorian calendar & its leap year system to allow days & months to stay in step with the seasons.
By the time Julius Caesar enjoyed his famed affair with Cleopatra, Rome’s
lunar calendar had diverged from the seasons by some three months—despite
efforts to tweak it by irregularly adding days or months to the year.
To restore order, Caesar looked to Egypt’s 365-day year, which as early as the third-century B.C. had established the utility of a leap-year system to correct the calendar every four years.
Caesar adopted the system by decreeing a single, 445-day-long Year of
Confusion (46 B.C.) to correct the long years of drift in one go. He then
mandated a 365.25 day year that simply added a leap day every fourth year.
But even this system was flawed, because the quarter of a day that leap
year adds annually is a bit longer than the solar year’s leftover 0.242 day.
That made the calendar year some 11 minutes shorter than its solar counterpart,
so the two diverged by an entire day every 128 years.
Between the time Caesar introduced the system & the 16th century, this small discrepancy had caused important dates, including the Christian holidays, to drift by some 10 days.
Pope Gregory XIII found the situation untenable, so his Gregorian calendar
was unveiled in 1582—after another drastic adoption of time-warp tactics.
Gregory reformed the calendar & they dropped ten days from the month
of October that year. Then they changed the leap day rules to correct the
problem.
Now leap years divisible by 100, like the year 1900, are skipped unless
they’re also divisible by 400, like the year 2000, in which case they’re
observed. Nobody alive remembers the last lost leap day, but dropping those
three leap days every 400 years keeps the calendar on time.
Even today, some calendars discount the leap year meant to keep us in time with our orbit, while others ignore the sun altogether.
The Islamic calendar is a lunar system that adds up to only 354 days &
shifts some 11 days from the Gregorian calendar each year—though a single leap
day is sometimes added.
And while China uses the Gregorian calendar for official purposes, a
traditional luni-solar calendar is still popular in everyday life. It follows
the phases of the moon & implements an entire leap month about once every
three years.
People can get used to any calendar system. But once they are used to it
what really seems to rile them up is when something is changed. This is why ‘daylight
saving time’ is so controversial.
The current Gregorian calendar system makes the fractional days of the solar year & leap year calendar nearly equal by occasionally skipping a leap day.
This system produces an average year length of 365.2425 days, just half a minute longer than the solar year. At such a rate it will take 3,300 years before the Gregorian calendar moves even a day from our seasonal cycle. That means future generations will eventually have a decision to make on leap year. So dear friends, 3,000 years from now, folks may need to decide to tweak it. We’ll just have to wait & see.
In the meantime, Leap Year has the potential to disrupt traditional gender roles. Leap day is a sort of ‘Sadie Hawkins day’ when women are encouraged to propose marriage!
25 February 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: At twilight, look far below Venus for the thin crescent Moon.
***
1861 – Birthday of Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner.
Rudolf Steiner’s Timeline I created this PowerPoint to give the highlights of this great Initiate’s life. And here is My humble attempt to create a more extensive Biography
138 – The Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, to be his successor
777 – Deathday of Saint Walpurga The earliest representation of Walpurga, in the early 11th-century Hitda Codex, made in Cologne, depicts her holding stylized stalks of grain. The grain attribute represents the older pagan concept of the Grain Mother. Peasant farmers fashioned her replica in a corn dolly at harvest time & told tales to explain Saint Walpurga’s presence in the grain sheaf. St. Richard, when starting with his two sons on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, entrusted Walburga, then 11 years old, to the abbess of Wimborne. Walpurga was educated by the nuns of Wimborne Abbey, Dorset, where she spent 26 years as a member of the community. She then travelled with her brothers, Willibald & Winebald, to Francia to assist Saint Boniface, her mother’s brother, in evangelizing among the still-pagan Germans. Because of her rigorous training, she was able to write her brother Winibald’s vita & an account in Latin of his travels in Palestine. As a result, she is often called the first female author of both England & Germany. Walpurga became a nun in the double monastery of Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm, which was founded by her other brother, Willibald, who appointed her as his successor. Following his death in 751, she became the abbess
1631 – François de Bassompierre, a French courtier, is arrested on Richelieu’s orders
1841 – Birthday of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter & sculptor
1848 – Provisional government in revolutionary France, by Louis Blanc’s motion, guarantees workers’ rights
1856 – A Peace conference opens in Paris after the Crimean War
1861 – Birthday of Dr. Rudolf Steiner.
1870 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress
1901 – J. P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation.
1921 – Tbilisi, capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, is occupied by Bolshevist Russia
1932 – Adolf Hitler obtains German citizenship by naturalization, which allows him to run in the 1932 election for Reichspräsident
1948 – The Communist Party takes control of government in Czechoslovakia & the period of the Third Republic ends
1956 – In his speech On the Cult of Personality & Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union denounces the cult of personality of Joseph Stalin
1968 –135 unarmed citizens of Hà My village in South Vietnam’s Quảng Nam Province are killed & buried en mass in the Hà My massacre
1986 – People Power Revolution: President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the Philippines’ first woman president
1991 – The Warsaw Pact is declared disbanded
1992 – Khojaly massacre: About 613 civilians are killed by Armenian armed forces during the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan
1994 – Mosque of Abraham massacre: In the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, Baruch Goldstein opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers & injuring 125 more before being subdued & beaten to death by survivors
February 23–March 1: Fasching/Fasnacht – a German carnival season, celebrations, dances, & parades in the nights leading up to Ash Wednesday
***
POD (Poem Of the Day)
~Hail architect of Freedom Grant me thoughts of power That I may create myself with sharpened tools For the becoming… ~hag
Percy Bysshe Shelley praises the wind for the role it plays in the cycle of life, death & rebirth, & implores it to scatter his poetry over the earth in order to aid humankind. Shelley uses stark imagery to portray vivid scenes of the natural world, & demonstrate the wind’s unrivaled power to both destroy & preserve. Though the ode has a plangent, slightly ominous tone, Shelley ends the poem with the promise of spring.
The first stanza opens with an incantation. Shelley proceeds to paint a scene of fall leaves & dried seeds being blown by the wind, made wonderfully eerie by a palette of colors: “yellow, black and pale, hectic red.” In this stanza, death is referenced multiple times; Shelley refers to the leaves as fleeing dead ghosts, before describing the seeds as corpses inside their grave. The first stanza, like the next two, ends with Shelley calling for the wind to hear him. In the second stanza, the wind is depicted whipping up a mighty storm, likened to a “dirge of the dying year”, furthering Shelley’s reference to death. Curiously intriguing is Shelley’s references to both Christianity & Greek mythology throughout this stanza; the storm clouds are described as being, “shook from the tangled bough of Heaven, Angels of rain and lightning”, & the ending line of the stanza, “Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst!” likens the approaching storm to doomsday. Yet Shelley also uses an image of a Maenad’s hair to describe the lightning. In the third stanza, Shelley writes of the Mediterranean being awoken from its blissful summer sleep by the west wind. The first half of the stanza is filled with images of the calm blue ocean & the azure moss, the sweet flowers & the sea blooms. However, this is then contrasted by the ocean’s power, which causes the serene foliage to grow “gray with fear”.
Stanzas four & five introduce the speaker’s motives for the first time. Shelley longs that he might feel the wind’s power in the way that the clouds, waves & leaves do. Conforming to the standard of the Romantic period, Shelley also references his childhood & loss of innocence by lamenting that the passing of time has hindered his ability to feel as “tameless, swift, and proud” as the wind. The last stanza implements another common Romantic symbol: the lyre. Shelley implores that the west wind take control of him in order to, “drive his dead thoughts over the universe” in order to fertilize the birth of new ideas, as dead leaves fertilize the new growth of plants. Shelley goes on to compare himself to a slowly dying hearth whose ashes & sparks are scattered among mankind. It is fitting that, after illustrating the power of the earth, the water, & the mighty west wind, Shelley ends the poem with a vivid image of fire. After all, though fire can be seen as the epitome of destruction, fire ultimately represents rebirth, like the flame of the phoenix, & a clean slate, like fertile, soot-blackened soil. Out of Shelley’s fiery metaphor comes his hopeful question, “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
Ode to the West Wind BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY I O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being, Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
Her clarion o’er the dreaming earth, and fill
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odours plain and hill:
Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;
Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh hear!
II
Thou on whose stream, mid the steep sky’s commotion,
Loose clouds like earth’s decaying leaves are shed,
Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean,
Angels of rain and lightning: there are spread
On the blue surface of thine aëry surge,
Like the bright hair uplifted from the head
Of some fierce Maenad, even from the dim verge
Of the horizon to the zenith’s height,
The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge
Of the dying year, to which this closing night
Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre,
Vaulted with all thy congregated might
Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere
Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst: oh hear!
III
Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams
The blue Mediterranean, where he lay,
Lull’d by the coil of his crystalline streams,
Beside a pumice isle in Baiae’s bay,
And saw in sleep old palaces and towers
Quivering within the wave’s intenser day,
All overgrown with azure moss and flowers
So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! Thou
For whose path the Atlantic’s level powers
Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below
The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear
The sapless foliage of the ocean, know
Thy voice, and suddenly grow gray with fear,
And tremble and despoil themselves: oh hear!
IV
If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;
A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share
The impulse of thy strength, only less free
Than thou, O uncontrollable! If even
I were as in my boyhood, and could be
The comrade of thy wanderings over Heaven,
As then, when to outstrip thy skiey speed
Scarce seem’d a vision; I would ne’er have striven
As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.
Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!
A heavy weight of hours has chain’d and bow’d
One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud.
V
Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:
What if my leaves are falling like its own!
The tumult of thy mighty harmonies
Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone,
Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,
My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!
Drive my dead thoughts over the universe
Like wither’d leaves to quicken a new birth!
And, by the incantation of this verse,
Scatter, as from an unextinguish’d hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
Be through my lips to unawaken’d earth
The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
***
24 February 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Under the feet of Orion, & to the right of Sirius in early evening now, hides Lepus the Hare. Like Canis Major, this is a constellation with a connect-the-dots that really looks like what it’s supposed to be – a crouching bunny, with his nose pointing lower right, his faint ears extending up toward Rigel (Orion’s western foot), & his body bunched to the left. His brightest 2 stars, Beta & Alpha Leporis, form the front & back of his neck.
Feast Day of St. Matthias, who, according to the book of Acts, was
chosen by the apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following his betrayal &
his subsequent death. This calling is
unique, since his appointment was not made personally by Jesus, who had already
ascended into heaven, & it was also made before the descent of the Holy
Spirit.
For superstitious reasons, when the Romans began to bring their calendar into line with the solar year, they chose not to place their extra month of Mercedonius after February but within it. February 24—known in the Roman calendar as “the sixth day before the Kalends of March”—was replaced by the first day of this month since it followed Terminalia, the festival of the Roman god of boundaries. After the end of Mercedonius, the rest of the days of February were observed & the New Year began with the 1st day of March. The overlaid religious festivals of February were so complicated that Julius Caesar opted not to change it at all during his 46 bc calendar reform. The extra day of his system’s leap years were located in the same place as the old month but he opted to ignore it as a date. Instead, the sixth day before the Kalends of March was simply said to last for 48 hours & all the other days continued to bear their original names. Although February 29 has been popularly understood as the leap day of leap years since the late Middle Ages, no formal replacement of February 24 as the leap day of the Julian & Gregorian calendars has occurred. The exceptions include Sweden & Finland, who enacted legislation to move the day to February 29. This custom still has some effect around the world, for example with respect to name days in Hungary.
1582 – With the papal bull Inter gravissimas, Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.
1831 – The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed on the Choctaws in Mississippi.
1919 – The 1st public performance of Eurythmy in Zurich.
1920 – The Nazi Party (NSDAP) was founded by Adolf Hitler in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany
Today 2-22-2020 on the 144th anniversary of Ita Wegman’s Birth* I wanted to offer this write-up on The Weekend Intensive for the School of Spiritual Science.
Kerry Bold
The timing of Valentine ’s Day weekend was perfect for my husband Chuck & I to get away. We have always loved the rhythm of the ‘Mid-Winter Break’ which is still part of us from our daughter’s Waldorf School days. But the snow fairies decided to give us a little storm, which wasn’t bad comparatively speaking for Chicago, yet had the effect of delaying our flight 5 hours.
Gino Ver Eecke as Beniedictus, Maria Ver Eecke as Lucifer in the Mystery Dramas
It all worked out, since I often like to come to an event the day before to get acclimatized, & the delay actually allowed Gino Ver Eecke, our host, to come pick us up. We made it into ‘Spring Valley’ just in time for Gino to dash off to the Three Fold Auditorium to help with the lights for the dress rehearsal of the ‘Festival for the Unborn’ which was performed on Saturday night. The cold had followed us from Chicago, but even though it was dark, I wanted to show Chuck a little of Spring Valley, which had been my home over my Mystery Drama years, so we bundled up & took a walk-about.
The next morning was Valentine’s Day. Gino had to work, but we had time to commune while he prepared elaborate meals for the day to accommodate his special diet meant to combat Lyme’s, which a lot of folks in the area have – fresh juices & smoothies & soup for the evening meal, before he left.
The wood burning stove made the house, decorated with the loving ascetic of eurythmist Maria Burbank Ver Eecke, warm & cozy. Chuck & I had a leisurely honeymoon morning, & then took another walk out in the cold sunshine to visit the ‘Hand & Hoe’ – the Fellowship Community’s organic cafe & hand-crafted merchandise emporium, selling goods from across the Threefold Community. It’s my favorite place to go on Friday’s as they serve a homemade pizza & soup lunch & sell organic products from the Pfeiffer Center’s biodynamic fields, as well as milk from their our own dairy! The store is stocked full of hand-dipped candles, books printed from Mercury Press, home-made bread, crystals, & more! I always end up buying a few gifts & books there. I picked up the ‘12 Moods’ by Rudolf Steiner, a hand knitted cap (I had forgot to bring one from home) & a beautiful hand crafted stained glass window piece for Gino & Maria.
Polly with her new stained glass, the 2 doggies are somewhere too
The greenhouse in the Pfeiffer garden already had kale & lettuces growing. We took refuge from the cold there, blessing the land, the bees & all who work so lovingly to redeem the earth.
Then off we went to pick up some food supplies at The Hungry Hollow Co-op established in 1973 as a buying club by parents at Green Meadow Waldorf School. The Co-op has the best fresh squeezed juice bar ever. It is a source for local Biodynamically grown produce, & strives to conduct business in an environmentally & socially responsible manner, which is evident in the pervasive mood of good will living in the folks there.
Anyone who has been to ‘Spring Valley’ knows it’s a magical mecca for Anthroposophia. For 1 thing, upstate NY is beautiful, the land rolls with hills & dales, flowing creeks thru the forest, the ethers verdant with elemental forces, dotted by powerful granite boulders churned up from the ice age glacier.
The Threefold community is home to a wide variety of initiatives rooted in the work of Rudolf Steiner. Chuck & I took advantage of our free day & explored everywhere, soaking up the spiritual striving that lives so strongly here.
That night Barbara Renold set a mood of urgent action with the opening words of welcome, reminding us that the School of Spiritual Science is the antidote for the adversarial powers that have such a grip on humanity at this time of the Consciousness Soul Age. We in the School have a great responsibility to work with this sanctified gift from the Being of Michael thru Rudolf Steiner. Barbara also acknowledged the important role that Ita Wegman played in the School.
This made me smile in grateful remembrance of my portrayal of Ita Wegman there at the Three Fold Auditorium. It was not long ago that Lemniscate Arts staged a reading of the new play called ‘Steiner’, featuring the 2 women closest to him. I could really feel the spiritual presence of these powerful individualities, Dr. Steiner, Marie Steiner von Sivers & Dr. Wegman, working from all worlds.
Class Lesson 1, was given by the formidable Dorothea Mier, the premier Eurythmy performer & teacher from Dornach. Dorothea took over the leadership of Eurythmy Spring Valley in 1980. Since 2006 she has stepped back as lead teacher, but still has her hands in everything. Our hostess Maria, one of her eurythmy students from way back, does a great imitation of Dorothea saying “I marvel at the Father”, which captured the beauty & reverence with which Dorothea had presented the lesson.
The next morning brought Herbert
Hagens to the podium with a free rendering of Class Lesson II, revealing
how working deeply with the Lessons can foster potent insights, connections
& patterns; a true process of initiation. We come to know the ‘Threshold’,
in Time, Space & through the heart – 3 ways that bring us to the same
Threshold, speaking from the past, present & future. Herbert pointed out
that there are 5 questions asked of us in the 1st tablet. He shared
with us the German work Stimmung = ‘tuning
in to a mood’, & said there are 4 moods in Lesson 2; with 3 warnings. He
named the 3 beasts as Ahriman, the Asuras & Sorat, which was intensely
unsettling yet truly eye-opening. But fear not, O human being, for at the end
we can find Love in the 2nd Hierarchy thru the rays of the Sun.
During the Lesson there
was a strange rather unnerving high pitched sound piercing the atmosphere,
which perfectly outpictured the forces of these beasts. It took a lot to
overcome what felt like a nail in the head. At the break it was good to find
out that I was not alone, others had heard it too, & that it was
remedied. So interesting since the night
before Herbert had mentioned how he always likes to get the same room at the
hotel because he is so sensitive to noise, hums & such.
There were about 60
participants, so we divided into 2 groups for our conversations, which were a
wonderful way to share thoughts, & experiences, as well as explore various
questions that were living in us.
Barbara Renold, lead us
in Speech, helped by a student from China, taking us thru 5 languages to work
with The Guardian’s Call: ‘O Human Being, Know Yourself’. We were asked to think about how we represent
Anthroposophy in the world. Can I be truly present? Not letting the beasts
interfere. Can I stand with, & as, the ‘Representative of Humanity’,
reflecting back what a human being can truly be? Is it my will to actively work
with the Being of Michael – “Who is like god’ – holding the countenance of
Christ, so that I can give this gift – this present to the world. What a joy to
embody the Logos with Barbara’s enthusiastic teaching.
Dorothea Mier took us on the stage to work thru experiencing the effects of the beasts in Eurythmy. What an honor to get a taste of her powerful instruction, which was profound & engaging.
There was a splendid exhibit by Anthro-Artist Larry Young at the Cafe, what a thrill!
Lunch at the Three Fold Café, was healthy, delicious & abundant. There was plenty of time to socialize, to meet new folks, & old friends, engaging in meaningful conversation. The weekend was set up wonderfully so that there was also ample time to just rest & digest all that we have taken in.
I had experienced a
powerful free rendering by Rudiger
Janisch at the last AGM in Atlanta. In this afternoon session, he again took
us deep & wide with Class Lesson III; writing on the board to give us a
good overview that showed how we can work with the mantras vertically &
horizontally, listening for instruction on what to do, developing a mood of
soul & the moral faculty that helps us find the rhythms, noting clues as to
the overcoming of these beasts. Things like heeding the headings, studying the architectural
motifs in the 1st Goetheanum showing The Guardian over the windows
& doors. He reminded us to approach these Lessons with the ‘Beginners Mind’,
so that we see the other for the 1st time without the prejudice of
memory. Be in the moment. Warm the thinking with feeling. Know that the other
is I. And re-member ‘Wisdom lives in the light’.
Another amazing meal at the Threefold Café, where Chuck got Dorothea to give us a glimpse into her biography by asking her how she came to eurythmy. What a powerful karmic tale!
The ‘Festival for the Unborn’ was a revelation, with offerings in Eurythmy, Spoken Word, a Lyre Ensemble, Cello performance, Speech Choir, & a few thoughts on embryology by Dr. Karnow. The Threefold Auditorium was packed. As the festival Coordinators, Melissa Lyons, who I lived with during my Mystery Drama visits, & Jennifer Kleinbach organized this amazing offering, with Melissa performing in the Eurythmy piece ‘Dance of Planets’ with the other eurythmists from the exceptional Festivals performing group. Jennifer directed the whole affair & shared her considerable talents as Speech artist & MC. Dorothea Mier did an amazing solo piece, opening us to the etheric realm, which poured forth from her every gesture. The poetry by Eve Olive, interspersed with the live music, the exquisite eurythmy & speech work, made the program into an invocation to the unborn, whose presence was palatable, creating in my imagination a picture of human souls listening & waiting at the rainbow bridge.
I have always coupled the Unborn with the so-called Dead, in my ‘All Souls’ Festivals, since for me the womb & the tomb are both portals to the spiritual world, the same Threshold seen from different angles. It was interesting to tease them apart. It created an intense concentration for me, pointing up what Steiner said about how those working with him would return after a very short time in the spiritual world, about 80 years. I have been living with this for some time. It is the impedance for my dedication to the Elderberries 3 Fold Initiative that we are working to give birth to in Chicago, which since our Michaelmas festival has linked up with the biodynamic famers. It really confirmed for me the responsibility we have as Anthroposophers to create the fertile foundations for the unborn to return, & how this relates to the sister movements like Waldorf education & biodynamics. And also how important it is to strive to know our own prenatal commitments, echoing the words of The Guardian, to Know Thy Self, which we heard throughout the weekend, so that we can make manifest the destiny we signed up for, remembering & implementing the blueprint we created with the highest spiritual beings before we came into this life.
The evening was resplendent, giving us the perfect impulse to take into our sleep. So potent in fact that I awoke in the middle of the night recalling the dreams I had about my daughter before she was born, which revealed her name to me.
Class Lesson IV was a sublime free rendering by Judith Brockway-Aventuro, which was clarifying & succinct. Through her blackboard work we saw the movement from the preceding Lessons & got perspectives in how we must: stand firm & feel what the depths of earth are asking of us; lovingly receive the warmth of the Sun to strengthen us for good works ; & how through bravery & grace we find our true humanity, by lifting our thoughts to the spiritual world.
At the break Herbert asked me to sit on the panel for the closing conversation. It was great to see folks head on & to share a few thoughts. This initiative will continue with 3 Lessons each, starting up again 6-8 November 2020, alternating & cycling thru with February dates in 2021 dates & beyond, as we approach the 100 year anniversary of the School for Spiritual Science, inaugurated after the re-founding of the Society with the movement at the Christmas Conference.
After many wonderful goodbyes, we took Maria & Gino out to a place called Bare Burger for a lovely organic lunch. What a joy to spend time with these 2 amazing human beings. We had Gino out to Chicago awhile back to give a lecture, & it is my hope that Maria will come, perhaps for the big Waldorf 100 here in June! She graciously drove us to the airport for an uneventful flight where we were able to begin digesting all that we had received.
Upon my return I dove
right into my next project: the
Easter-Tide Retreat: “Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology“, presented by the Central Regional Council and
the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology. I have just finished the epic ‘pageant’ – an inner initiation taking us
thru the ‘Harrowing of Hell’ on Holy Saturday, leading to the Alchemical
Marriage of The Sophia-Christos within, as part of this amazing Easter-Tide
Retreat…Come join us in Chicago…
1632 – Galileo’s Dialogue
Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published.
1651 – St. Peter’s Flood: A storm surge floods the Frisian coast, drowning 15,000 people
1732 – Birthday of George Washington, American general & politician, 1st President of the United States
1788 – Birthday of Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher & author
1876 – Birthday of Ita Wegman, founder of Anthroposophical medicine & close collaborator of Rudolf Steiner. She also developed a special form of massage therapy, called rhythmical massage, & other therapeutic treatments.
Ita Wegman, as she was known throughout her life, was born as Maria Ita Wegman in Indonesia, the first child of a Dutch colonial family. Around the turn of the century, she returned to Europe (she had visited before) & studied therapeutic gymnastics & massage. In 1902, when she was 26, she met Rudolf Steiner for the first time. Five years later she began medical school at the University of Zurich, where women were not discriminated to study medicine. She was granted a diploma as a medical doctor in 1911 with a specialization in women’s medicine & joined an existing medical practice.
In 1917, having opened an independent practice, she developed a cancer treatment using an extract of mistletoe following indications from Steiner. This first remedy, which she called Iscar, was later developed into Iscador & has become an approved cancer treatment in Germany & a number of other countries.
By 1919 she had a joint practice together with two other doctors, also women. In 1920 she purchased land in Arlesheim, where she opened her own clinic, the Klinisch-Therapeutisches Institut, the first center for anthroposophical medicine. In 1922 she founded a therapeutic home for mentally handicapped children, Haus Sonnenhof, also in Arlesheim, & co-founded a pharmaceutical laboratory, Weleda, that has since grown into a significant producer of medicines & health-care products.
In the following year, Rudolf Steiner asked Wegman to join the Executive Council of the newly reformed Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. She also directed the Medical Section of the research center at the Goetheanum. Together, Wegman & Steiner wrote what was to be Steiner’s last book, Extending Practical Medicine, which gave a theoretical basis to the new medicine they were developing. The book was partly written while Wegman cared for Steiner, who was already terminally ill. Wegman founded a new medical journal, Natura, the following year.
In 1936, the clinic opened a second home in Ascona, Switzerland. Shortly thereafter, difficulties between Wegman & the rest of the Executive Council flared up, & Wegman was asked to leave the Council; in addition, she & a number of supporters had their membership in the Anthroposophical Society itself withdrawn. The medical work flourished, however, & Wegman travelled extensively in support of the rapidly growing movement to extend medicine’s limits; she was especially active in the Netherlands & England during this time. Wegman died in Arlesheim in 1943, at the age of 67.
Ita Wegman is a close collaborator of Rudolf Steiner thruout many incarnations including: Alexander the Great to Steiner’s Aristotle; Gilgamesh & Ebani… On the Work of the Archangel Michael by Ita Wegman
1943 – Deathday of 1943 – Hans & Sophie Scholl, German activists. Sophie a German student along with her brother Hans were anti-Nazi political activists, active within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany. They were convicted of high treason after distributing anti-war leaflets at the University of Munich (LMU).
In the early summer of 1942, Scholl, his sister Sophie, Willi Graf, Kurt Huber, Christoph Probst, & Alexander Schmorell, co-authored 6 anti-Nazi Third Reich political resistance leaflets. Calling themselves the White Rose, they instructed Germans to practice nonviolent resistance against the Nazis. The group had been horrified by the behavior of some German soldiers on the Eastern Front, where they had witnessed cruelty towards Jews in Poland & Russia.
Hans & Sophie Scholl & Christopher Probst were beheaded by Johann Reichhart in Munich’s Stadelheim Prison. The execution was supervised by Dr. Walter Roemer, the enforcement chief of the Munich district court. Scholl’s last words were “Es lebe die Freiheit!” (“Long live freedom!”). Shortly thereafter, most of the other students involved were arrested & executed as well.
1932 – Birthday of Ted Kennedy, an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts for over forty years from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died & is the fourth-longest-continuously-serving senator in United States history, having served there for almost 47 years.
For many years, Ted Kennedy was the most prominent living member of the Kennedy family, & he was also the last surviving, longest-living, & youngest son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. & Rose Kennedy. He was the youngest brother of John F. Kennedy—the 35th President of the United States—& Senator Robert F. Kennedy, both victims of assassination, & the father of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.
1997 – In Roslin, Midlothian, British scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly was successfully cloned.
***
Bel Osnat
POD (Poem Of the Day)
~Out of chaos came the light
Out of will came life…
~hag
***
Ita Wegman – The Courage to Heal – A Circles of Renewal Initiative 7 pm – 8:30 pm Saturday 22 February 2020
Ita Wegman ~ The Courage to Heal 7 pm Saturday 22 February 2020 – on the anniversary of her birth in 1876 A Community conversation around: The history of the friendship between Ita Wegman & Rudolf Steiner – From Mesopotamia, ancient Greece, the Fire, the re-founding of the Society with the Movement, the Split – hatred in the world, the Reconciliation with Marie Steiner, Qualities of meeting the other, – 8thfold path revisited…
A Circles of Renewal – Biodynamic Outpost Initiative at Elderberries General Store 4251 N. Lincoln Ave. 60618
For more info. contact Frank Agrama 323-445-9615
***
3-Fold Breakfast & Lunch Conversations
Every day there will be open conversations on 3-folding: 8am – 11am – Coffee, Tea & Oatmeal 2pm – 5pm – Soup Free Will Donation
A Circles of Renewal – Biodynamic Outpost Initiative at Elderberries General Store 4251 N. Lincoln Ave. 60618
And a study of the Agriculture lectures every Friday 7-8:30 pm
For more info. contact Frank Agrama 323-445-9615
***
KNOW THYSELF – Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology — an Easter-Tide Retreat 9 -12 April 2020,
A popular view of karma is cause and effect or tit-for-tat. Karma, however, is so much more complex, interesting, and important. The soul work of karma has to do with the unfolding of our individuality through the elements, through the ethers, and very much through relationships.
Rudolf Steiner named his core mission as bringing karma and reincarnation to the West; his teachings deserve interpretation and practical enlivening. The Central Regional Council has been exploring this theme for many months. Anthroposophic Psychology gives a unique contribution to the soul work of karma. For this conference the CRC is partnering with the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP of North America) to present ideas and experiences concerning karma—and how it impacts upon personal psychology.
Tentative Schedule
Thursday April 9
Noon: Registration & Group Lunch (provided)
2:00-3:15 Welcome and ArtActs (Interactive Artistic Activity)
3:30-5:30 Star Wisdom and Karma – David Tresemer, Ph.D.
5:30-7:00 Dinner (on your own)
7:00-9:00 (Evening Presentation) “The Karma Exercises” – Susan Overhauser, Ph.D.
Friday April 10
9-10:15 ArtActs
10:30-12:30 Living into Karma—through the Senses —James A. Dyson, MD.
12:30-2:00 Lunch (on your own)
2:00-3:15 ArtActs
3:30-5:30 How to Find the Self in a Sea of Karma – Roberta Nelson, Ph.D. This is part 1 of a deep inquiry into finding one’s self.
5:30-7:00 Group Dinner (provided)
7:00-9:00 Unfolding the Enigma of the Saturn path — James A. Dyson, MD.
Saturday April 11
9-10:15 ArtActs
10:30-12:30 How to Find the Self in a Sea of Karma – Roberta Nelson, Ph.D. This is part 2 of a deep inquiry into finding one’s self.
12:30-2:00 Lunch (on your own)
2:00-3:15 ArtActs
3:30-5:30 The Gesture of Karma – David Tresemer, Ph.D. Guest to this presentation will be Lisa Loving Dalton.
5:30-7:00 Group Dinner (provided)
7:00-9:00 PAGEANT: ‘Know Thyself’ by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg,
Sunday April 12
Easter SunriseSongtrail at the Lake with Marianne Fieber
At the Christian Community 2135 W. Wilson Ave · Chicago, Il 60625
9:30 Children’s Stories
10:00 Children’s Service
10:30 Adult Easter Service
11:30 Potluck Feast
12:30LEADING THOUGHTS: Christ as Lord of Karma—how do I access this in terms of my personal psychology? – James Dyson, MD.
1:30 Gatheringexperiences and reflections.
2:30 CRC business
3:00 Closing
***
Sacred Gateway: Conscious Living, Conscious Dying, and the Journey Beyond April 16-19, 2020 in Detroit, MI.
The Sacred Gateway: Conscious Living, Conscious Dying, and the Journey Beyond 2020
04/16/2020 – 2:00 PM – 04/19/2020 -1:00 PM PT
Description
The Sacred Gateway: Conscious Living, Conscious Dying, and the Journey Beyond CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
April 16 – 19, 2020 Detroit Waldorf School Detroit, MI
Bring a new consciousness to your own life and death
Support those who are crossing and who have crossed over
Expand your practice and knowledge of working with the dying
Through interactive workshops, triad sharing, keynote discussions with Rev. Patrick Kennedy, Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox, Dr. Melinda Toney, and Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, and more, as well as experiential and artistic activities, we will consciously explore the spiritual and practical aspect of human life and death.
7pm Screening of a Will For The Woods Detroit Waldorf School Auditorium- Open to the public! $10 Suggested Donation
Friday, April 17
10:00-1:00p Registration Opens 10:00-12:00p Choose from two pre-conference activities at the Detroit Waldorf School
Exploring the Beauty of home funerals and green burial: Photo essay and Q&A with Merilynne Rush, MS, End-of-Life Doula Trainer and Home Funeral Guide (Open to the public. Donation accepted at the door)
The Story of Detroit: A Walking Songtrail (Meet in the school playground. Approx. two mile walk)
12:00p Bag Lunch (For Purchase) 1:00p Conference Opening 1:45-3:00p Keynote Discussion with Rev. Patrick Kennedy: Befriending Death 3:00-3:30p Break 3:30-5:00p Three-Day Themed Workshops (Chosen on site. Choose one theme and attend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday)
ALL WORKSHOPS CHOSEN ON SITE Fuller descriptions coming soon!
From Loss to Connection Through the Arts: Reading, Writing and Drawing with Marianne Dietzel and Maureen Flannery Together we will invite our loved ones across the threshold to join us in experiencing practices thet connect and heal. We will read to the dead, write prose and poetry, and draw from gestures of nature.
BIOGRAPHY: GIFTS OF REVIEWING LIFE AND CONNECTING TO LIFE AFTER DEATH Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox
A HOME DEATH CARE STORY: CONSCIOUS DYING AND THE HOME VIGIL~BASED ON DYING OF WAYNE TONEY Dr. Melinda Toney, Carole Schoaf, and Katherine Blackburn
MULTI-CULTURAL APPROACHES: ANCIENT AND MODERN/ SACRED AND ESOTERIC: FESTIVALS FOR THE DEAD. THEN AND NOW. RENEW OR CREATE YOUR OWN TRADITION Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Julia Torres and Guests
5:30-6:30 Choose: Eurythmy (Movement), Singing, or Poetry 6:30 Evening Appetizer Reception (Included in registration fee) 7:30-9:00 Evening Performance
Saturday April 18 – All workshops chosen on site/Saturday Lunch and Dinner for purchase
7:30-9:00 Evening Performance with Sarah Putnam: Little Gidding by TS Elliot followed by Memento Mori Ritual
Sunday, April 19 – All workshops chosen on site
8:00 Coffee/Tea/Breakfast Snacks (Included in Registration Fee)
8:30-9:15 Choose: Eurythmy (Movement), Singing, or Poetry
9:30 – 11:00 Three Day Themed Workshops
11:30-1:00 Green Burial Ceremony and Closing
Full conference: $280 Supporter (This level provides scholarships for other attendees!) $195 Standard ASA Member Rate/$215 Non-Member Rate/$60 Youth CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
Please Note: Cancellation fee of $35 before April 9. No refunds after April 10.
Comfort Inn Detroit at 1999 E Jefferson Ave has a block of rooms available for us. Please go to this link for the $124.00 nightly rate. Breakfast is included, as well as shuttle rides to and from the Detroit Waldorf School. You can also call 313-567-8888 and say that you are with the Sacred Gateway group.
Today, 13 February 2020, God willing & the snow doesn’t cause delays, I am going to The First Class Intensive Weekend at the Threefold Center in Spring Valley New York – so I wanted to make my V-Day post today in honor of the anniversary of Rev. Richard Dancey’s Valentine’s death day.
And so it is, that now it’s three years since Richard Dancey died, & Valentine’s Day has taken on a much deeper dimension. He comes up in my thoughts at all the obvious times, when I’m at the Christian Community where his picture graces the sacristy, & many times when I am writing my blog. He always encouraged me to write & inspired me so much over the years with his amazing storytelling.
This morning when I woke, this picture of “The Path of Shambhala” by Nicholas Roerich was in my mind’s eye.
Shambhala =”the golden place of peace/tranquility/happiness/just-so”.
In Tibetan Buddhist & Hindu traditions, Shambhala is a mythical kingdom hidden in the Hollow Earth.
Hindu texts such as the Vishnu Purana mention Shambhala as the birthplace of Kalki, the final incarnation of Vishnu who will usher in a new Golden Age (Satya Yuga)
The Kalachakra, a Buddhist text, prophesies that when the world declines into war & greed, & all is seems lost, the 25th Kalki king, Lord Maitreya, will emerge from Shambhala with a huge army to vanquish “Dark Forces” & usher in a worldwide Golden Age. Using calculations from the Kalachakra Tantra, scholars put this date at 2424 AD.
The legends, teachings & restorative practices associated with Shambhala are older than any of these organized religions. Shambhala may very well have been an indigenous belief system, of ‘sun worshipers’ yet to come, with amazing healing abilities, wisdom & long life.
The idea of Shambhala is said to have “outer”, “inner”, &”alternative” meanings. As the 14th Dalai Lama noted during his 1985 Kalachakra initiation, Shambhala is not an ordinary country:
“Although those with special affiliation may actually be able to go there through their karmic connection, nevertheless it is not a physical place that we can actually find. We can only say that it is a pure land, a pure land in the human realm. And unless one has the merit & the actual karmic association, one cannot actually arrive there”.
During the late-19th century, Theosophical Society co-founder HP Blavatsky alluded to the Shambhala myth, giving it currency for Western occult enthusiasts. Madame Blavatsky, who claimed to be in contact with a Great White Lodge of Himalayan Adepts, mentions Shambhala in several places.
Later esoteric writers further emphasized & elaborated on the concept of a secret land inhabited by a hidden mystic brotherhood whose members labor for the good of humanity.
Alice A. Bailey claims Shamballa is an extra-dimensional or spiritual reality on the etheric plane, a spiritual centre where the governing deity of Earth, Sanat Kumara, dwells as the highest Avatar of the Planetary Logos of Earth, & is said to be an expression of the Will of God.
Nicholas and Helena Roerich led a 1924-1928 expedition aimed at Shambhala.
French Buddhist Alexandra David-Néel associated Shambhala with Balkh in present day Afghanistan, also offering the Persian Sham-i-Bala, “elevated candle” as an etymology of its name.
In a similar vein, the Gurdjieffian J. G. Bennett published speculation that Shambalha was Shams-i-Balkh, a Bactrian sun temple.
And of course our beloved Dr. Steiner spoke about Shamballa many times, especially in regards “The Reappearance of the Christ in the Etheric”
But none of all that really mattered when Richard Dancey stood in the Upper room at the Rudolf Steiner Branch & told us the legend of Shambhala on Easter 4 years ago .
And now Today I relive the tale of this mythical place that he told us that bright Easter afternoon, & the feeling it invoked in me resonates still – fuel for the journey into this inner realm that lives within each of us – A spiritual reality illuminated by his enthusiasm & magical ability to carry us all along in the telling. I will continue to follow this journey with you Richard, knowing you are living into this future reality in the spiritual world today, paving the way for us all.
Blessings dear friend
‘May my heart-love reach to soul-love. May my love’s warmth shine to spirit-light. Thus, I draw near to you. Thinking spiritual thoughts WITH you, Feeling cosmic love IN you, Willing in spirit THROUGH you – Weaving with you One in experience’.
~Rudolf Steiner
~Walk willingly between fire & ice… Where the shadows of forever & the light of Now Clutch & release the world… The empty filling & the full emptying… So live with the certainty That your Yin loves your Yang Over & over, in to the out… & dance the joy of movement ever changing… ~hag
The Truth about Valentines’ Day ~According to hag
The eve of the ides of February is the time when St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated. Have you ever wondered where this hearts & flowers frivolity came from? Well it wasn’t always about chocolates & sappy hallmark cards. Let’s look back to the origins of this Holiday & set the record straight. For one thing, Valentinus was a very common Roman name meaning strong, effective fertility. Please excuse me if I must commit a little history here, but basically the church fathers were trying to replace a very potent ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia with a Christian martyr named Valentinus, to usurp the power of this rite of great antiquity. Now don’t get me wrong, frivolity has its place, & so it was in the festival of Lupercalia, a ritual of purification & fertility, sacred to the Wolf-Goddess Rumina. Maybe you’ve heard of Her, the She-Wolf & founder of Rome?
The festival of Lupercalia was celebrated on the ides of February (the 15th)…& name ‘February’ comes from the Latin word ‘februare’, meaning tools of purification.
The rite began in the cave of the She-Wolf, where legend has it, the founders of the city, Romulus & Remus, were suckled by the Wolf-Goddess. As fate would have it a sacred fig tree (symbol of the feminine sex) grew outside the cave & vestals would come, with cakes made from the corn of last year’s grain harvest, laying them beneath the fig tree as offerings.
Meanwhile Rumina’s priests would preside over the sacrifice of a goat. Now this was a pretty big deal since this was the only time of year a goat was used as a sacrifice. It was an offering given to the guardian angels associated with the crops, & the ancestral guardians, as well as the guardians of the city & community. The priests would mark their foreheads with its blood, which was then ritualistically wiped clean with a ‘Februare’ or tool of purification, which was, in this case, wool, dipped in the milk of the goat. The priests would then dress themselves in the skin of the sacrificial animal, & using strips of the hide they would fashion a scourge, another tool of purification. They would then jog around in their little loincloths, running up & down Rome’s seven hills, wielding their strips of hide, ‘purifying’ anything & anybody in their path.
Women seeking pregnancy & easy childbirth lined the streets, extending hands, or baring their bodies, to afford a better target, to be briefly & symbolically ‘purified’ as they passed by.
Fertility, of course, is worthless without sex, so as time passed, sex became the festival’s primary focus for the average Roman citizen, & the occasion took on a character much like carnival.
When the church tried to ban it, the people needless to say, stubbornly resisted. Hence the substitute of St. Valentine’s Day emerged, with its more innocent version of love.
And let’s face it folks, the real Cupid was not the cute little cherub he is today, but rather, a very randy Roman God responsible for a more tangible fertility.
So all the frivolous frivolity aside, let’s take ourselves back to the days when the Wolf Goddess Rumina, was at the heart of this time of celebration, as we purify & purge all of our afflictions & ills before we begin to plant the new seeds of creativity. For by the ancient calendars, Winter is ended by the ides of February, & Spring, a season of new beginnings, has arrived.
So on Valentine’s Day, let’s remember the potent powers of the Wolf, asking Her to spare the herds, taking only what She must, to keep us free & fertile & abundant, like the crops – as fruitful, & as wild as we want to be.
Peace & Blessed Bee…
~hag
***
KNOW THYSELF – Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology — an Easter-Tide Retreat 9 -12 April 2020,
April 16 – 19, 2020 Detroit Waldorf School, Detroit, MI
Bring a new consciousness to your own life and death
Support those who are crossing and who have crossed over
Expand your practice and knowledge of working with the dying
Through interactive workshops, triad sharing, keynote discussions with Rev. Patrick Kennedy, Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox, Dr. Melinda Toney, and Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, and more, as well as experiential and artistic activities, we will consciously explore the spiritual and practical aspect of human life and death.
7pm Screening of a Will For The Woods Detroit Waldorf School Auditorium- Open to the public! $10 Suggested Donation
Friday, April 17
10:00-1:00p Registration Opens 10:00-12:00p Choose from two pre-conference activities at the Detroit Waldorf School
Exploring the Beauty of home funerals and green burial: Photo essay and Q&A with Merilynne Rush, MS, End-of-Life Doula Trainer and Home Funeral Guide (Open to the public. Donation accepted at the door)
The Story of Detroit: A Walking Songtrail (Meet in the school playground. Approx. two mile walk)
12:00p Bag Lunch (For Purchase) 1:00p Conference Opening 1:45-3:00p Keynote Discussion with Rev. Patrick Kennedy: Befriending Death 3:00-3:30p Break 3:30-5:00p Three-Day Themed Workshops (Chosen on site. Choose one theme and attend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) ALL WORKSHOPS CHOSEN ON SITE Fuller descriptions coming soon!
From Loss to Connection Through the Arts: Reading, Writing and Drawing with Marianne Dietzel and Maureen Flannery Together we will invite our loved ones across the threshold to join us in experiencing practices thet connect and heal. We will read to the dead, write prose and poetry, and draw from gestures of nature.
BIOGRAPHY: GIFTS OF REVIEWING LIFE AND CONNECTING TO LIFE AFTER DEATH Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox
A HOME DEATH CARE STORY: CONSCIOUS DYING AND THE HOME VIGIL~BASED ON DYING OF WAYNE TONEY Dr. Melinda Toney, Carole Schoaf, and Katherine Blackburn
MULTI-CULTURAL APPROACHES: ANCIENT AND MODERN/ SACRED AND ESOTERIC: FESTIVALS FOR THE DEAD. THEN AND NOW. RENEW OR CREATE YOUR OWN TRADITION Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Julia Torres and Guests
5:30-6:30 Choose: Eurythmy (Movement), Singing, or Poetry 6:30 Evening Appetizer Reception (Included in registration fee) 7:30-9:00 Evening Performance
Saturday April 18 – All workshops chosen on site/Saturday Lunch and Dinner for purchase
7:30-9:00 Evening Performance with Sarah Putnam: Little Gidding by TS Elliot followed by Memento Mori Ritual
Sunday, April 19 – All workshops chosen on site
8:00 Coffee/Tea/Breakfast Snacks (Included in Registration Fee)
8:30-9:15 Choose: Eurythmy (Movement), Singing, or Poetry
9:30 – 11:00 Three Day Themed Workshops
11:30-1:00 Green Burial Ceremony and Closing
Full conference: $280 Supporter (This level provides scholarships for other attendees!) $195 Standard ASA Member Rate/$215 Non-Member Rate/$60 Youth CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
Please Note: Cancellation fee of $35 before April 9. No refunds after April 10.
Comfort Inn Detroit at 1999 E Jefferson Ave has a block of rooms available for us. Please go to this link for the $124.00 nightly rate. Breakfast is included, as well as shuttle rides to and from the Detroit Waldorf School. You can also call 313-567-8888 and say that you are with the Sacred Gateway group.
Festivals for the Dead. Then & Now. Renew, or Create Your Own Tradition.
with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year. Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Trans-denominational Minister, ‘Anthroposopher’, working as the Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, The Traveling Speakers Program, & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.
***
~Vitae Sophia~ A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor
Eurythmy: AUM = A – I stand for myself, U- I stand for humanity, M – I stand for Life
Social Sculpture: Steiner’s ‘Blue Dot Exercise’- Through Art, the bridge between science & spirit, we warm the ‘I’, to open the heart, in support of healthy community.
What are my gifts-What are my tools? How can I place them in right relationship within the social realm? How can I hone them to strengthen and enhance the world?
Enter the Labyrinth of Vitae Sophia – Human hearts, once warmed, can rise up to meet the source of wisdom, like flowers turning toward the sun.
Living into the Foundation Stone of Love – How can we take our individual Inner Whitsun & expand it, into what Steiner calls the “World Festival of Knowledge” a path leading from ‘Sprit Recollection’, to ‘Sprit Sensing’, to ‘Sprit Beholding’?
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year. Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Trans-denominational Minister, ‘Anthroposopher’, working as the Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, The Traveling Speakers Program, & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.
3 June 2020 – a Round Table Discussion 7 pm – 9 pm on ‘The Sophia’ with John Bloom, Joan Sleigh, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg & Carrie Schuchardt at The House of Peace in Ipswich, MA.
