Hung with the frosty veils of Winter, the Sun daily wanes. In Sidereal Astrology we know that soon the scorpion will hand the reigns over to the centaur of Sagittarius– a catalyst for the transformation into the longest night of the Winter Solstice, & the long awaited Great Conjunction of Jupiter & Saturn.
In this time of the dark before the dawn, the image of the centaur stands before us like the forces of gravity seeking to pull the human being down. It speaks to the danger inherent in this final chapter of Advent, reflecting Herod’s fearful animal instinct to preserve himself by the killing the innocents. This evil act precedes the birth of the light.
Yet ancient myths tell of the hidden wisdom of the centaur. They speak of the struggle of the hero to overcome the bondage of the animalistic drive. It is the eternal drama that plays out in the depths of the human soul.
Inspired by this struggle Goethe has his character Faust carried thru the night on the back of Chiron the centaur, past the turbulent waters of the Peneios, to seek out the secluded sanctuary of wise Manto, who is to show Faust the way to Helena, the lost archetypal image of the Divine Feminine. Faust praises Chiron as a doctor & tutor.
The riddle of this strange contradiction of the centaur – the wildness & wisdom living so close together, is rooted in the tragedy of human incarnation. On the way to becoming human we had to be bound to the forces of our animal nature which have attached us for so long to the lower materiality, until we can find our way to liberation. The truth hidden behind the consumerism of Christmas, the mystery of the incarnation of Christ holds the key to this healing of the human being.
“O, thou slumber’s turning, O, thou sorrow’s ending!” ~Christian Morgenstern
Peace
~hag
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1271 – Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” officially marking the start of the Yuan dynasty of Mongolia & China
1803 – Deathday of Johann Gottfried Herder, German philosopher, theologian, & poet – associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, & Weimar Classicism.
1829 – Deathday of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, biologist, & academic – an early proponent of the idea that evolution occurred & proceeded in accordance with natural laws. He gave the term biology a broader meaning by coining the term for special sciences, chemistry, meteorology, geology, & botany-zoology
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1863 – Birthday of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Rudolf Steiner has some very interesting things to say about his assassination
1865 – US Secretary of State William Seward proclaims the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery throughout the USA
1878 – Birthday of Joseph Stalin, 4th Premier of the Soviet Union
1879 – Birthday of Paul Klee, Swiss-German painter & educator
1958 – Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched
1966 – Saturn’s moon Epimetheus is discovered by astronomer Richard Walker
1972 –President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will engage North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, a series of Christmas bombings, after peace talks collapsed with North Vietnam on the 13th
1973 –Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev & Pyotr Klimuk, is launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union
1990 – International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers & Members of Their Families is adopted.
1999 – NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments
2006 – United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections
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POD (POem Of the day)
~Brush my lips with frost & sunlight
So I can create
A cloud of kisses,
A fleeting meeting
Of warmth & rime
As my heart beats with forever…
~hag
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Sunday 20 December 2020, 2 pm – 3pm CT
‘Awakening to the Light in the Darkness’: A Christmas Contemplation with Rev. Craig Wiggins. In-Person at The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago & online
Lucien Dante Lazar will open & close the program with some live piano music
And Mary Ruud will lead us in some Group Eurythmy to cap the evening
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041?pwd=ai94YmhnS1k3cWN3TFFlL3ozTDgxdz09 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041 – Passcode: Peace
For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org
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Monday 21 December Winter Solstice Grand Conjunction of Jupiter & Saturn,
Biodynamic Prep-Stir 5 pm – 6:30 pm CST
at Elderberries Biodynamic Outpost & Cultural Hub 4252 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago
All are welcome to bring festive food & drink to share
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Wednesday 23 December 2020 – 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm CT
Unwrapping our Cosmic Gift: Thoughts on the Christmas Conference 1923
with the Central Regional Council. Themes inspired by Prokofieff’s book: May Human Beings Hear it! include: Turning Points of Time; Christ, Sophia and Michael; Foundation Stone Meditation.Two Turning Points in Time – The Mystery of Wisdom, and The Mystery of Will
In 1923/24, during the Christmas Conference, Rudolf Steiner presented humanity with the Foundation Stone Meditation: an amazingly rich imagination, planted in our hearts and shining brightly like a guiding star. Steiner also gave us many other gifts during that time which we will ponder in our hearts.
Leading thoughts, verses, songs and imaginations will be woven together in this artistic offering before the Holy Nights.
Special guestLucien Dante Lazar will provide a sprinkle of musical interludes throughout our event.
We will be joined by our old friend Dennis Dietzel in this performance.
We will go into small breakout groups to explore the theme: “How does the Foundation Stone Meditation speak to you?”
| Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83533262486 Meeting ID: 835 3326 2486 One tap mobile +13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 835 3326 2486 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kclU2SSTF If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu |
| May this Advent Season permeate our hearts with Love and Joy – The CRC – Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Lisa Dalton |
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‘A Rose By Any Other Name’:
ASA Online Holy Nights 2020/2021
“The light of Christmas should shine as a light of peace, a light that brings peace outside only because first of all it sheds an inner peace into the hearts of human beings.”
-Rudolf Steiner, The Search for the New Isis, Divine Sophia, December 24, 1920
We are approaching a new season where we enkindle an inner light that shines into the darkness of winter. Where meaning for the year ahead can be cultivated, and reflection on the year past can bring new insights.
Last year many of you joined us each night to bring beauty and connection into the holiday season. This year you are invited to join us again for a time of contemplation and community during the ASA Online Holy Nights.
Each 30 minute gathering will open with a meditative time with the new zodiac image and the virtue of the day, plus an artistic/writing prompt. Then a short offering will be shared about this special time of year as related to the Divine Feminine.
What: ASA Online Holy Nights Seed: A Rose By Any Other Name hosted by the ASA Sophia Group and friends around the country.
When: 9-9:30am Pacific / 11 am – 11:30 am Central / 12-12:30pm Eastern on December 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and January 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Note: No meeting on December 31). Can’t join us live? No problem. Each gathering will be recorded and posted on our Holy Nights page.
How: Register Here. Then check your email for a confirmation with the Zoom registration link.
Cost: Your donations help us create events like this one! This event is free with suggested donations of $25, $50, $100/ /
Schedule of Presenters:
12/24 Angela Foster
12/25 Laura Scappaticci
12/26 Joyce Reilly
Sunday 12/27 Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
12/28 Jordan Walker and Stefan Ambrose
Tuesday 12/29 Ultra-Violet Archer
12/30 Deb Abrahams-Dematte
12/31 No Meeting
1/1 Lelan Harris
1/2 Tess Parker
1/3 Claudia Knudson
1/4 Jolie Luba
1/5 Timothy Kennedy
Special Recording Notes: This gathering will be recorded each day and include all content and live attendees in the video.
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The Festivals Committee for the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago invites you to Holy Nights December 24, 2020, through January 5, 2021
*Please note–No meeting December 29th and 31st. See special offerings below for these dates.
The Fifth Gospel by Rudolf Steiner – Each evening we will study together
on Zoom from 7 pm – 8 pm CST
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92592034861?pwd=Mmo0eURaWDVqYVlabTdSY1ltcUFxdz09
Meeting ID: 925 9203 4861 – Passcode: Peace
On Tuesday, December 29th, 6 pm – 8:30 pm CST,
we will join Anthroposophy Atlanta for a reading of Goethe’s fairy tale, The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily
This has a separate zoom code: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82656914578?pwd=MHN3Mmt3OEhtQlZTMlc1NHFtUm80QT09 Meeting ID: 826 5691 4578 Passcode: Goethe
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New Year’s Eve, there will be NO zoom call
Thursday 31 December 2020-21 Our Annual Conscious NYE Gathering 6 pm-10:10 pm CT
In-Person at Elderberries Bio-dynamic Outpost & The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago
6 pm Potluck and artistic mask making with Lucien Dante Lazar
7:30 – 9:30 Live Music with Jutta and the High Dukes
10:10 pm Project Thought-Seed
The evening ends at 10:30 pm
$20 per person http://donate.rschicago.org/
For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org
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Nancy Poer
Wednesday 6 January 2021, 2 pm – 4 pm CT
Joan’s Epiphany ‘What Joan of Arc Calls for Today’
In-Person at Elderberries Bio-dynamic Outpost & The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago & online Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041
Today on the Birthday of Joan of Arc we welcome special Guest Nancy Poer
We will also explore ‘The Destinies of Individuals and of Nations’, Lecture 5, ‘The Nature of the Christ Impulse and the Michaelic Sprit Serving It’ by Rudolf Steiner with Leading Thoughts by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Social Sculpture: “The Passage” with Luicen Dante Lazar,
+ An Artistic exploration, Singing & Eurythmy
For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org
