Dear Friends – In 2020 the Sun & Moon are recapitulating the rhythms of 1925. Rudolf Steiner crossed the Threshold 95 years ago on March 30, 1925. It was a Monday, just like today, with the Sun in Aries & the Moon in Taurus.  He died before the Easter Sun rose on Sunday 12 April. This year in 2020 when Easter arrives, after the 1st Full Moon, after the Spring Equinox, it will also be 12 April. In this Lenten time as we are experiencing this corona crisis, let us align, like the Sun & Moon, in our thinking, with the forces of this individuality to connect us to all that is aligned with love & light.    

One year after the burning of the 1^st Goetheanum, at the Christmas Conference, Rudolf Steiner consciously united the Anthroposophical Society with the Being of Anthroposophia, the Spiritual impulse behind ‘the Movement’. By doing this he took on the karma of the Society, which includes the karma of every member, aligning himself with Christ as Lord of Karma. Rudolf Steiner’s sacrificial deed was blessed by the Spiritual world; but he began to show signs of increasing frailness & illness, having tied so much of his etheric forces into the Johannes Bau which burned. Yet he continued to lecture & travel widely. He was often giving 4 lectures a day for the various courses taking place concurrently. Many of these lectures focused on practical anthroposophy, such as education, agriculture, medicine & the Christian Community. He gave his last lecture on Michaelmas September 1924. Yet even after that, Rudolf Steiner continued to work on his autobiography during the last months of his life.

“March 1925 was cold and foggy. It became quite windy in the last week of the month, and then the storms began. From the South and the West, the rain whipped against the walls of the studio. On March 29th, Rudolf Steiner awoke in pain. “No work was done that morning. It was the 1st time. We spoke at length about the pain. There was no reason to be worried. The pains disappeared in the course of the day. He was extraordinarily still and patient that day and gave new suggestions for his care” (Wegman and Nachrichtenblatt 1925)

Albert Steffen, who visited Rudolf Steiner regularly throughout his illness, recalled this time: “I visited him March 28th at 5 pm in his studio, where he lay in his sickbed. It was a tall room with skylights. Nothing of the earth looks in: no tree, no mountain, no house, only the light of the heavens. Sculptural and architectural models that he has made himself stand on the shelves along with some busts he has sculpted; at the foot of his bed, the noble statue of Christ, carved by his own hand, soars high above him. All around him are tables covered with books and manuscripts…Up to the last day of his life, his interest was for the entire world. In his studio, which he had not left for half the year, he had collected an entire library”

Rudolf Steiner wrote the last “Letter to the Members” on his death bed! This last missive is like a preview of what was to come in the 21st Century. It is titled “From Nature to Sub-Nature.” In it, Rudolf Steiner characterizes the dangers of the technological age and the task that has arisen for humanity through the technological developments, which rob human beings of a direct experience of nature & place the false ego in its place.

Could this be a message for us in today’s world, in this current corona crisis…?

In his recollections of Rudolf Steiner D.N.Dunlop recalled, “A few weeks before his final illness, during the summer conference in Torquay, I spoke to him about my concerns for his physical health. He drew me aside, vigorously but with infinite friendliness, and made me aware that his situation could not be explained in terms of our usual notions of disease”.

It has been publicly stated that he died of stomach cancer. But one of Ita Wegman’s closest colleagues, Dr. Margarete Kirchner-Bockholt vehemently rejected this conjecture. And Dr. Ita Wegman had reported that Rudolf Steiner’s etheric body was no longer able to work in the digestive organs in the appropriate manner. “The result was that these organs were subjected too strongly to the physical forces, which are forces of degeneration.” (Wegman and Nachrichtenblatt 1925)

From Friedrich Rittelmeyer: “None of us had expected that Rudolf Steiner would succumb to the illness. The mortal sheath, just abandoned by the spirit setting out on its far journey, was resting on the death-bed at the foot of the Christ statue which stood there almost completed. Those who looked at the face of the dead could see what the spirit can make of the body in the life of a truly great man on earth. The sublimity and purity of his features was equal to every test and unsurpassed. Perhaps the death mask, if it is ever reproduced as a picture, will be a means of convincing many. Again and again one’s gaze turned from the forsaken earthly body to the great Christ figure which points with compelling gesture into the future. The disciple had fallen at the feet of the Master. It was as if Christ were taking the disciple to Himself with sheltering arms while He Himself went forward with unceasing step towards the future of the world. The disciple’s mission was fulfilled. The Master’s brow was radiant with the light of divine world-purposes. When, at the wish of Frau Dr. Steiner, and in the solemnly decorated hall where Dr. Steiner had given most of his great lectures, I was performing the burial service according to the ritual of The Christian Community, a drop of the sprinkled water fell in the centre of the forehead and shone there through the whole service like a sparkling diamond. The light of many candles was reflected in this glittering star – even as the revelations of light from higher worlds had been reflected in his spirit. Thus adorned, the body sank into the coffin. To me it was as if higher Spirits had indicated in an earthly picture what it had been our lot to experience. When the service was at an end, one impression lived mightily within my soul: “This work is now completed. Like a great question it stands there before mankind. If all who belong to that work dedicate their powers to it with single purpose, it will prevail!”

According to Ita Wegman’s report, Rudolf Steiner was very still sad and silent. She recalled, “It seemed to me as though he had a very difficult problem to solve. The forces of light in his eyes appeared weaker than usual”.

From Ita Wegman Nachrichtenblatt 1925: “At 3 am, I noticed a slight change in his breathing. I approached his bed; he was awake. He looked at me & asked whether I was tired. This question touched me. His pulse was not as strong as it had been, but much faster. I called Dr. Noll in order to speak with him about what ought to be done. Herr Steiner was not astonished to see him there in the middle of the night & greeted him amiably. “I don’t feel too bad” he said “I just can’t sleep.” We turned the light out again. At 4 am, he called me because the pain had reappeared. He said, “As soon as the day comes, we want to continue the treatment that I suggested”…Naturally, we didn’t wait for the day to come but did what was necessary. But then the situation changed quickly – his pulse grew weaker, his breathing more rapid. And we had to experience how his life was gradually extinguished…He went as though it were the obvious thing to do. It seemed to me as though the dice had been thrown for a last decision. When they fell, there was no struggle, no attempt to remain upon the earth any longer. He gazed calmly into the space before him for a time, said a couple of tender words to me, consciously closed his eyes & folded his hands”

“In Christo morimur – In Christ death becomes life“.

“His last thoughts were of the work to which he had in love dedicated himself” ~Rudolf Steiner, from the last act of the 4th Mystery Drama.

What a blessing to receive the teachings of this great initiate. May we continue our connection with him in the spiritual worlds. (or perhaps he has re-incarnated & is looking to connect with again with the Society?)May we ever enliven our Michaelic work with The Christ & the Being of Anthroposophia, as we consciously take up the work of creating these “centres of peace & love” in which those, like Rudolf Steiner who hold the Christ, can resurrect.”

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

Here is the Monday Rhythm of the Foundation Stone:

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1963 – Death Day of George Adams – born in Poland to a Jewish family as George Kaufmann, he went on to receive an honors degree in Chemistry from Cambridge University. In 1914 he encountered Rudolf Steiner’s “Occult Science” & become a member of the Emerson Group in London in 1916.

Preoccupied with problems of social reform, he rejected all manner of violence, remaining a conscientious objector throughout the First World War – a “militant revolutionary” as he described himself. He was imprisoned after refusing to serve with other conscientious objectors in the Non-Combatant Corps & was only released in 1919, after a hunger strike. During his time as conscientious objector he had come to know Mary Fox, a Quaker & in 1920 they married.

His interest in Steiner’s ideas on social reform & his intention to translate the book The Threefold Social Order (GA 23) caused him to visit Steiner together with Ethel Bowen Wedgwood in Dornach, Switzerland. Steiner advised him to become involved in some form of social work, something Adams could readily accept amid the social collapse in Central & Eastern Europe following the war. He went on several journeys to Poland as part of the English / American Quaker organization.

In 1920 he took part in the inauguration of the first Goetheanum building. On his return to England, he cooperated with some friends on spreading the ideas of Social three folding as well as the anthroposophical ideas of Steiner. His wife Mary Adams began her work as librarian & translator for the Anthroposophical Society in London that she was to carry for many years. In addition, Adams was the free verbal translator of around 110 lectures of Steiner into English. He went on to translate many of Steiner’s written works, often with his wife Mary.

He was often in Dornach during these times & experienced the burning of the first Goetheanum on New Year’s Eve 1922/23, he was also part of the Christmas Foundation meeting of the General Anthroposophical Society in 1923/24. In 1924 he became one of the Goetheanum-Speakers authorized by Steiner.

While working as a free co-worker of the Anthroposophical Society in Britain as lecturer & workshop holder after 1925, Adams turned again to the study of the natural sciences & mathematics, concentrating particularly on projective geometry while working with Elisabeth Vreede, leader of the Section for Mathematics & Astronomy at the Goetheanum. At the beginning of the 1930s, Adams published a series of articles & essays about projective, synthetic geometry & its relationship to physics, to Goethe’s theory of metamorphosis & to anthroposophical spiritual science, particularly the pioneering work “Of Etheric Space” in the magazine Natura of the Goetheanum’s Medical Section. Here for the first time is mentioned the concept of “counter-space”, as Steiner indicated in the third of his courses on the Natural Sciences (GA 323), explained by means of non-Euclidean geometry. Some years later Louis Locher was to discover the same thing independently of Adams. From that time on the conceptual development of the idea of counter-space in its relation to normal spatial thinking became the focal point of Adams’ further scientific research. In 1933 the comprehensive work Space & the Light of the Creation – Synthetic Geometry in the light of Spiritual Science appeared, which was an overview of the spiritual scientific meaning of synthetic geometry.

When Elisabeth Vreede & Ita Wegman were dismissed from the executive of the General Anthroposophical Society in Dornach, a number of other prominent members of the German, Dutch &British Societies were expelled, including Adams. This brought to an end his cooperation with the Mathematical -Astronomical Section. When the Chairman of the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain, D. N. Dunlop, died in May 1935, Adams took over as general secretary. In this task, Olive Whicher became his closest co-worker,& he introduced her to projective geometry.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Adams volunteered as interpreter in a prisoner of war camp. His close ties to Germany were soon the subject of investigation & he was dismissed after six months. He changed his name at this point from George Kaufmann to George Adams, taking the maiden name of his mother. In the following years Adams was one of the monitors of the Polish broadcasting corporation in the service of the BBC & he learnt several additional Slavic languages. Much of his free time was spent in the British Library studying the development of modern mathematical sciences to augment them with his thoughts about counter-space.

After the war, he was given a scholarship by the British Anthroposophical Society at Rudolf Steiner House in order to investigate with Whicher the geometric principles underlying the world of plants. It had been unclear where the corresponding projective counterpart of the infinite plane of Euclidean space, the infinite midpoint of the non-Euclidean space (was to be found in the plant world. In 1947, Adams expressed the idea that such a midpoint did not just exist, but that there was one to be found in every bud. This idea was connected with that of the lemniscatory correlation between space & counter- In 1949 and 1952, two books appeared with the titles: The Living Plant & the Science of Physical & Ethereal Space & The Plant between Sun & Earth.

In 1947, at the request of his friends Fried Geuter & Michael Wilson of Sunfield Homes in Clent near Birmingham, Whicher & he moved to Clent, where they founded the Goethean Science Foundation with Wilson to undertake scientific research. The peaceful countryside & a secure financial base provided an ideal environment for the work that followed.

Shortly before this, in 1946, Adams had made contact with the Goetheanum & its Mathematical-Astronomical Section under the provisional guidance of Louis Locher. He wished, despite their differences, to work together on common issues. He again participated actively in many conferences & discussions at the Goetheanum & in Germany. He also took up contact again with Georg Unger, who went on to found the Mathematisch-Physicalisches Institut in 1956, where Adams reported regularly on his work. Unger visited Clent for common research gatherings. In 1935, Olive Whicher joined Adams in London & worked with him in research into mathematics & physics until his death in 1963. He discovered how to describe Steiner’s findings about negative space in geometric terms, & was particularly adept with projective geometry & the application of path curves. He translated & published numerous books, lectures, & articles.

So interesting to think that this great human being has the same Death Day as Rudolf Steiner! As does Dorothy S. Osmond, another translator of Anthroposophical literature, who died in 1978; & Norbert Glas, Anthroposophical doctor who died in 1986.

***

Greetings friends – The Central Regional Council will sponsor a Zoom Study Group Meeting for April 8th on the Karma of Epidemics (details below)

ALL are welcome to join us. April 8th 2020, 7:15 pm CST (see audio conference details below)

“Imagine a people which was composed entirely of liars, the astral plane would be populated solely by the corresponding demons and these demons would be able to express themselves in a constitutional tendency to epidemics. Thus there is a certain species of bacilli who are the carriers of infectious diseases; these beings are the progeny of the lies told by human beings; they are nothing else than physically embodied demons generated by lies.” (GA 99 – L.6)

Theosophy of the Rosicrucian – The Law of Destiny – Schmidt Number: S-1539
Lecture VI https://wn.rsarchive.org/GA/GA0099/19070530p01.html

Audio Conference Details:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/451374910

Meeting ID: 451 374 910

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If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@peoplepc.com
Let us stand together with courage in this now, as we look to our future with equanimity, holding all that comes before us as being guided by a divine directive waiting to be revealed by our patient spiritual investigation.

Many of us are doing constructive things like the Hallelujah & the Soul Hygiene exercises in Eurythmy, & The Foundation Stone Meditation at Sunrise (or anytime) every morning to create a high vibration of Love & Light – Please join us for the healing of all.

Yours in service ~The CRC team: Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton

art by Daniel Ospina

***

‘The Three Days’, an On-Line Easter Festival with the Central Reginal Council

Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, all three days: April 9-12, 2020 from 3 pm – 4:15 pm CDT

We will be taking up indications from Emil Bock’s ‘The Three Years” to artistically explore the Spiritual Science of ‘The Paschal Triduum’: Following the Cosmic Sun on the ultimate path of initiation, from the Free-Will Sacrifice, through the Conquering of Death, into the Resurrection of the New Sun.

How can we as human beings in community bring a practical understanding to these mysteries?

Join us as we strive to gain the forces needed to do our part in furthering this impulse in world evolution.

FREE – ALL are Welcome – Zoom Call and other details to follow

For more info. contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@peoplepc.com

May Hope Spring Eternal –

The CRC – Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton 

***

The Sacred Gateway: Online Conference

Conscious Living, Conscious Dying,
and the Journey Beyond

APRIL 17-19, 2020 

• Support those who are crossing and who have crossed over 
• Expand your practice and knowledge of working with the dying
• Learn more about the soul’s journey from death to new life 

Through interactive workshops, biography work, keynote discussions with Rev. Patrick Kennedy and Dr. Melinda Toney,  workshops with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg,  Sandra LaGrega Jennifer Fox, and more, as well as experiential and artistic activities, we will consciously explore the spiritual and practical aspect of human life and death. 

Conference Fees:

• $200 Supporter ~ Live Event + Recordings and Resources, plus Two Sacred Gateway Webinar Series (You can see those by clicking here and here) + One Recorded Online Community Gathering ($80 value), Podcast Links. This level fully supports this conference and other events like it!
• $150 Resource Package ~ Live Event + Recordings and Resources, plus Two Sacred Gateway Webinar Series (You can see those by clicking here and here) + One Recorded Online Community Gathering ($80 value), and Podcast Links 
• $95 Regular Rate ~ Live Event + Recordings and Resources 
• $45 Youth Rate (Age 35 and under) ~ Live Event + Recordings and Resources
• $45 Keynotes Only ~ Live Keynotes + Recordings 
  Financial Assistance Available (Email programs@anthroposophy.org) 

Conference Schedule – All start times in Eastern Standard Time 
(Note: Workshops Subject to Additions/Minor Changes)

Friday, April 17

7:30pm-9pm Conference Opening and Keynote

True Living is Dying: The Life-Giving Power of Death Keynote Discussion and Q&A with Rev. Patrick Kennedy 

Saturday April 18 

11:00-11:45am Welcome, Introductions and Biography Work

11:45am-1:15pm Two-Day Themed Workshops (Choose one theme and attend Saturday, and Sunday) 

• From Loss to Connection Through Reading for the Dead and Writing with Marianne Dietzel and Maureen Flannery
• The Lemniscate Journey: Exploring the Relationships in Our Lives from Birth to Death and Death to Rebirth Through Biography and Social Art with Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox
• Giving Way to Grace: Chrysalis Emerging from Conscious Living and Conscious Dying with Melinda Toney, MD, Carole Shoaf End-Of-Life Doula and Katherine Blackburn, End-Of-Life Doula and Esoteric Christian Minister
• NEW: The Connection between Epidemics, and the Spiritual World with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

1:15-1:30pm Break

1:30-2:30pm The Vigil of the Heart with Linda Bergh and Ellen Hufschmidt 

2:30-3:00pm Break

 3:00-4:30pm Topic Workshops

• Acknowledging the End with Jolie Luba
• After Deathcare as a Healing Art with Tischia Bluske

4:30-5:00pm Break

5:00-6:00pm Proactive Grieving: The Sacred Gateway as a Bridge Keynote Conversation with Dr. Melinda Toney  

6:15- 7:00pm Group Reflections and Closing

Sunday, April 19 

11:00-11:45am Welcome, Introductions and Biography Work

11:45-12:45 Consecrating our Dying Keynote with Patrick Kennedy

12:45-1:15 Break

1:15-2:30 Two-Day Themed Workshops

• From Loss to Connection Through the Arts: Reading, Writing and Drawing with Marianne Dietzel and Maureen Flannery
• The Lemniscate Journey: Exploring the Relationships in Our Lives from Birth to Death and Death to Rebirth Through Biography and Social Art with Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox
• Giving Way to Grace: Chrysalis Emerging from Conscious Living and Conscious Dying with Melinda Toney, MD, Carole Shoaf End-Of-Life Doula and Katherine Blackburn, End-Of-Life Doula and Esoteric Christian Minister
• ‘Festivals for the Dead, the Unborn, and the Evolution of Earth with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Eurythmy with Raven Garland

2:30-2:45pm Break

2:45-3:30pm Sacred Burial Ceremony and Conference Closing with Linda Bergh, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg and Ultra Archer-Ginsberg 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

Click the photos below to hear leading thoughts from our amazing presenters! 

Giving Way to Grace: Chrysalis Emerging from Conscious Living and Conscious Dying with Melinda Toney, MD, Carole Shoaf End-Of-Life Doula and Katherine Blackburn, End-Of-Life Doula and Esoteric Christian Minister

The Connection between Epidemics, and the Spiritual World on Saturday & on Sunday: Festivals for the Dead, the Unborn and the Evolution of Earth -Then and Now with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

From Loss to Connection Through Reading for the Dead and Writing with Marianne Dietzel and Maureen Flannery

The Lemniscate Journey: Exploring the Relationships in Our Lives from Birth to Death and Death to Rebirth Through Biography and Social Art with Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox

The Vigil of the Heart with Linda Bergh and Ellen Hufschmidt 

***

Our dear Dr. Steiner said: ‘It is not the Christ we lack, but the knowledge of Christ, the Sophia of Christ, the Isis of Christ we are lacking.’ In ‘Ancient Myths and the New Isis Mystery: Their Meaning and Connection with Evolution’ Lecture 3; given in Dornach, 6 January 1918, by Rudolf Steiner; we hear how the power of ‘The Word, the power of The Logos’, must be resurrected through our striving to activate the Wisdom of Anthroposophia within each of us. Join Hazel Archer-Ginsberg for a powerful presentation Lifting the Veil of the New Isis-Sophia, to bring Light to Love.

~Vitae Sophia~A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Saturday, 30 May, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm Groh Farm, 135 Temple Rd, Wilton, NH

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?

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’?

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.  

$30 suggested donation at the door, with potluck lunch to follow
(please bring a dish to share) RSVP deb@anthroposophy.org Sponsored by the Anthroposophical Society in New Hampshire

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 of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, The Traveling Speakers Program, & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.

Whitsun 2020 Vitae Sophia

as part of the tour 

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.