“Fanaticism is the worst thing in the world, particularly in education, — a fanaticism which makes a man press on in one direction and push ahead regardless of anything but his one aim, reduced to precise slogans. But if one looks at the world, without prejudice one will concede: views and opinions are but views and opinions. If I have a tree here and photograph it, I have one view of it; the view from here has a definite form; but the view is different from here, and again different from over there; so that you might think it was not the same tree if you only had the pictures to go by. In the same way there are points of view in the world, there are outlooks. Each one only regards one aspect of things. If you know that things must be looked upon from the most manifold standpoints you avoid fanaticism and dwell in many-sidedness, in a universality“. ~Rudolf Steiner – GA 305 – Spiritual Ground of Education: Lecture IX: The Teachers of the Waldorf School – 25th August, 1922
17 February 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Under Orion’s feet, and to the right of Sirius 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. He’s a crouching bunny, with his nose pointing lower right, his faint ears extending up toward Rigel (Orion’s brighter foot), and his body bunched to the left. His brightest two stars, Alpha and Beta Leporis, form the back and front of his neck. ~skyandtelescope.org
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1600 – Giordano Bruno, burnt at the stake. “Giordano Bruno, under the impact of the new Copernican conception of nature, could grasp the spirit in the world, from which it had been expelled in its old form, only as a world soul. When one immerses oneself in Bruno’s writings (especially in his profound book, Of the Cause, the Principle, and the One) one has the impression that he thought of things as being animated, although in different degrees. He has not in reality experienced the spirit within himself; therefore he imagines it in terms of the human soul, in which form alone it has confronted him. When he speaks of the spirit he understands it in this way. “The universal reason is the innermost, most real, and most characteristic faculty, and is a potential part of the world soul; it is something everywhere identical, which fills the All, illuminates the universe, and instructs nature in bringing forth its species as they should be.” It is true that in these sentences the spirit is not described as a “gaseous vertebrate,” but as a being like the human soul. “A thing however small and minute, has within itself a portion of spiritual substance which, if it finds the substratum to be suitable, strives to become a plant or an animal, and organizes itself into a body of some kind, which is generally called animated. For spirit is to be found in all things, and there is not the most minute body which does not contain such a portion of it that it animates itself.” What coincidence superimposed upon a particular turn, was formed into a judgment about the highest truths. And in his many wanderings about Europe, Giordano Bruno appeared at various universities as a teacher of this Great Art. He had the boldness to think of the stars as worlds that are completely analogous to our earth; he enlarged the vision of scientific thinking beyond the earth; he no longer thought of the heavenly bodies as corporeal spirits, but he still thought of them as spirits of the soul. One must not do an injustice to this man whom the Catholic church made to atone for his advanced ideas with death. It was an enormous achievement to enfold the whole heavens in the same conception of the world that up to that time had been applied only to the things of the earth, even though Bruno still thought of the sensory as of something belonging to the soul”. ~Rudolf Steiner, Eleven European Mystics, Giordano Bruno and Angelus Silesius.
1601 – Birthday of Frederick Eckstein an Austrian polymath, theosophist. He is ‘the stranger, the friend’ named in “The Discomfort with Culture” who taught Freud about yoga. Emil Molt states: ‘He was the benefactor of Bruckner and Hugo Wolf, indeed the right arm of Bruckner, taking care that affairs went smoothly. He was a world traveller, had mastered Ju-jitsu and taught himself all sorts of difficult tricks. The story went around that he had trained himself to jump off a fast moving train without getting hurt. He too, was a highly gifted mathematician and a learned man in many respects.’
Also the husband of fellow theosophist & writer Bertha Diener, Eckstein’s penchant for occultism first became evident as a member of a vegetarian group which discussed the doctrines of Pythagoras & the Neo-Platonists in Vienna at the end of the 1870s. His esoteric interests later extended to German & Spanish mysticism, the legends surrounding the Templars & the freemasons, Wagnerian mythology & oriental religions. In 1889, in the week after the tragedy at Mayerling, in which Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, & his mistress were found dead in mysterious circumstances, he & his friend, the composer Anton Bruckner (for whom he also served as private secretary) traveled to the monastery of Stift Heiligenkreuz to ask the abbot there for details of what happened.
Eckstein was born on February 17, 1861 in Perchtoldsdorf as one of ten children of Albert Eckstein & Amalie Wehle . The father was a chemist and inventor as well as the owner of a parchment factory . The Jewish family belonged to the upper middle class.
He had early contacts with life reform circles (vegetarianism ). Friedrich Eckstein was married to Bertha Helene Diener (1874-1948) since 1898 . They ran a salon in the St.-Genois-Schlößl in Baden near Vienna, in which Peter Altenberg, Arthur Schnitzler, Karl Kraus & Adolf Loos , ie “all of Vienna”, frequented. Schnitzler used the Ecksteinvilla in Baden & Percy Eckstein, born in 1899, as models for his drama Das weite Land. In 1904 he was left by Bertha, who after their divorce in 1909 under the pseudonym Sir Galahad made a name for herself as a journalist & writer.
At literary get-togethers (e.g. in the Café Imperial, second hall, left) Eckstein met Karl Kraus, Arthur Schnitzler, Felix Salten, Hugo Wolf, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Franz Werfel, Rainer Maria Rilke, Robert Musil, Adolf Loos, Leon Trotsky & Anton Bruckner, whose student he was initially & later private secretary.
He was initiated into theosophy by Franz Hartmann & in June 1886 received a deed of foundation for the Viennese lodge of theosophy, personally signed by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky . In 1887 he founded the first official lodge of the Theosophical Society in Austria with himself as president. He had a deep friendship with Gustav Meyrink, the young Rudolf Steiner & Henry Steel Olcott.~anthrowiki
Rudolf Steiner writes about Eckstein: “Of the personalities who came up to me with such a demand with regard to spiritual knowledge, I will name one who moved within the Vienna circle of Frau Lang, whom I have identified, but who I also in other circles in which I frequented Vienna, met. It is Friedrich Eckstein, the excellent expert on that “ancient knowledge”. Friedrich Eckstein did not write much as long as I was with him. But what he wrote was full of spirit. But nobody suspects the intimate connoisseur of ancient spiritual knowledge from his remarks. It works in the background of his intellectual work. ~ Rudolf Steiner: My Course of Life, GA 28, pg. 284)
Eckstein’s sister Emma went down in psychoanalysis history as Irma. She had a catastrophic nose operation by Freud’s friend Wilhelm Fliess. Another sister of his, Therese Schlesinger, was a well-known politician & women’s rights activist.
“In Vienna, where literature, art, music, philosophy and business had their home in coffee houses, it was only natural that Mac Eck, wisdom in person, should also be enthroned at a café table. He sat in a corner of the Café Imperial from morning until midnight. He had a goatee and a Mongolian cutout. His age was not known even to his closest friends…Julius, the old head waiter, said he had found Mac Eck in the same corner of the café when he began his career as Piccolo. Even among the most famous Viennese celebrities there was no one who would not have liked to come to Mac Eck’s regulars’ table. Hugo Wolf, J. Strauss, E. Blavatsky and A. Besant, Ferdinand Bruckner, Sigmund Freud, Adler and Trotsky – they all consulted with him. If Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Werfel and Rilke were in doubt about a poem, so they made a pilgrimage to Mac Eck. Architects submitted their blueprints to him, mathematicians their equations, physicists their formulas, and composers their scores for assessment. Lawyers and psychoanalysts discussed their cases with him. Actors asked him about their roles and historians about their theories of history. Even the imperial court master of ceremonies appeared one day to consult Mac Eck on a contentious issue of Spanish court etiquette. Mac Eck was familiar with all areas. If someone wanted to know the main rivers and tributaries in Paraguay, information about Neuthomism, the first romantic poem or the earliest mention of the toothbrush, he turned to Mac Eck. The mocking Karl Kraus, who had set up his seat at the next table in the Imperial, was the only one who dared to make fun of Mac Eck’s omniscience. ‘I had a nightmare last night,’ he once said. ‘A volume of Brockhaus came down from the shelf to look up something in Mac Eck.’ Mac Eck, who was well versed in all intellectual matters, naturally also knew about all practical questions. He could tell art dealers which enthusiast would be interested in a particular painting from the early Renaissance; at first glance he saw the difference in the weave of Brno and English fabrics, he could tell booksellers the value of first editions and he knew who would finance what in Europe.” ~René Fülöp Miller, “The fool in tails”
Dear friends – How can we feed & sustain the future? This important initiative is organized by young woman, including my daughter Ultra-Violet Archer, who spent a year living together in Sweden learning about global realities and their own inner authentic path. One of the most meaningful parts of the year were the woman’s circles, which they created and hosted. Creating shared sacred space made them realize how much more there is to discover about the wisdom of womanhood. They were lucky enough to meet Disa, who teaches women to unlock the wisdom of their cycles and bodies.
Please help support their journey toward wholeness
Ultra-Violet Archer – Songwriter and Music Producer, exploring music as a tool for healing and storytelling. I am currently studying at Columbia College of Chicago, after spending a year with the International Youth Initiative Program in Sweden; and before that, two years at Oberlin College and Conservatory. Here https://linktr.ee/UltraVioletArcher you can find the links to my original releases and YouTube channel. I also sing and produce for the band Circle’s Edge. When I’m not making music, you can find me foraging for edible plants, reading fantasy novels, or hosting women’s circles!
The Anthroposophical Society in America presents Sophia Rising: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human – Santa Fe, New Mexico ~ April 21-24, 2022 Hotel Santa Fe Hacienda and Spa
***Early Bird Rate Until February 26 ~ Exclusively For Those Who Book With Hotel Santa Fe***
Join us in New Mexico, the ‘land of enchantment’, resonant with light ether and deep history, as we enliven Sophia. Join together in community as Sophia emerges and rises in her many facets and expressions- past, present, and future.
You will be an active participant in this gathering that will engage storytelling and biography, art and color, eurythmy and movement, singing and speech, with offerings from speakers Carrie Schuchardt, Mary Stewart Adams, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Stephanie Georgieff, and more.
Come and experience Sophia Rising as we honor the elements, the landscape, and each other.
VENUE & TRAVEL
Our gathering will take place at the lovely Native American-owned Hotel Santa Fe. We recommend you book your stay with the hotel to create a connected communal atmosphere for our gathering. The hotel has a full restaurant, pool, hot tub, and spa, as well as kivas and cozy sitting areas. Please call or email to make reservations with our special room rate for suites at $179/night. Each suite includes a refrigerator, microwave and sitting area. So much of what Santa Fe has to offer is within walking distance from the hotel.
HOW TO BOOK: Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call reservations at 877-259-3409
**Ask for ASA Gathering to book with our special rate of $179/night for a suite. **
Registrants will receive suggested activities from our local organizers to explore in Santa Fe before or after our gathering. Extending your stay? The special ASA hotel rate is available for 3 days prior to and 3 days after the ASA gathering.
AIR TRAVEL: Fly to Albuquerque or Santa Fe (note that flights are more limited and subject to the weather as Santa Fe is a small airport.)
There is a shuttle from Albuquerque to Santa Fe or car rentals available. Uber or Lyft is available if you fly into Santa Fe.
HOTEL and VENUE ADDRESS:
1501 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: (877) 259-3409
TICKETS
The ticket price includes access to all conference activities, snacks, coffee/tea and beverages, dessert reception Thursday, dinner Friday, lunch Saturday and brunch on Sunday.
No refunds after March 21, 2022
EARLY BIRD with ROOM BOOKING (until 2/26): $295*
STANDARD TICKET (After 2/26): $350
SUPPORTER TICKET: $425
*Must book at Hotel Santa Fe to receive this special early bird rate! Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call 877-259-3409 to book. Please specify your reservation is for the ASA Gathering.
EXHIBITORS: If you are interested in being an exhibitor please fill out this form.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Limited assistance is available, please fill out this form.
Early Bird Only with Room Booking – After 2/26 more tickets will be released!
SCHEDULE
(subject to minor changes)
THURSDAY, April 21
7 pm Gathering Together – with a dessert reception
7:30- 8:30 pm ArtActs: Past – Present – Future Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech
FRIDAY, April 22
Explore Santa Fe on your own and continued arrivals
1:00 – 2:30 pm Welcome: Spirit of Place with organizers
WEAVING EARTH Opening Ceremony with Angela Foster and friends
2:30pm-3:00pm Break
3:00-4:30 pm Encountering the Celestial Goddess Anthroposophia with Mary Stewart Adams 4:30-4:45 pm Break
4:45- 6:00 pm WEAVING AIR ArtActs Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech
6:00-7:30 pm Dinner Together*
8:00 pm Fireside Chats – Story and Sharing. Breakout circles lead by friends and organizers
8:30 pm Stargazing with Mary Stewart Adams
SATURDAY, April 23
Breakfast – On your own
8:30 – 9:30 am WEAVING ETHER Eurythmy
9:30 – 10:00 am Break
10:00-11:15am Presentation with Stephanie Georgieff
11:30 – 12:30pm WEAVING STORIES Biography Work
12:30 – 2pm Lunch Together*
2:00 – 3:30pm Anthroposophia: Our Alchemical Wedding with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg and Friends – At the heart of the gathering is a Grand Experiential Soul Journey to ‘Know Thyself’’ – a movable feast, with various stations engaging us in group eurythmy, singing, speaking verses, color gestures in art, and a telling of the New Isis Myth with Hazel Archer- Ginsberg. This experience is built up and worked on during all the WEAVING sessions.
3:30 – 4 pm Break
4:00 – 5:00 pm WEAVING COLOR Invoking Natura: Sensing the Cosmic within the Earthly Pastels with Helen-Ann Ireland
5:00 – 5:30 pm WEAVING STORIES Biography Conversation
5:30pm Dinner – On your own
7:30-9:30pm WEAVING COMUNITY Sophia Rising- Past, Present, and Future. Bring something to share! Poetry, Instruments, Story
SUNDAY, April 24
8:00 – 9:00 am WEAVING LIGHT Bathe in the Natural Warmth and Harmony of the Metal Gold with Helena Hurrell – A metal color light therapy experience inspired by the glass windows at the Goetheanum
9:00-10:30 am WEAVING FIRE with Carrie Schuchardt
10:30 – 12:00pm Brunch Together*
12:00-1:00 pm WEAVING WATER Water Ritual with Joyce Reilly and Friends
WEAVING WHOLENESS Closing with Angela Foster and Friends
Notes:
*Meals marked with an asterisk are included in the price of the ticket
Coffee, tea, and snacks will also be provided through the conference
A quiet room will be provided for contemplation
See you Santa Fe!
PRESENTERS AND GUIDES (Not a full list-more to come!)
Eyahnna DalBo (artist of the Sophia Rising painting) came to anthroposophy 30 years ago when her daughter attended a Waldorf school. Her studies have included an undergraduate degree in fine art and graduate work in psychology using the arts for healing. In her private practice, she developed various energetic modalities. Her experience with subtle energy fields gave her the opportunity to teach and take part in designing a curriculum for a 2-year program focusing on energy healing. As a consultant, she initiated numerous therapeutic programs to assist in pioneering the field of art therapy. Through the gift of an apprenticeship with indigenous people she was able to bring their practices and ceremonies to what she offered deepening her ability to be of service. As an artist, she continues to utilize the spoken word, movement, sound, and visual imagery to honor and create a field that fosters awareness, growth, and transformation.
Mary Stewart Adams is a Star Lore Historian, and host of the weekly public radio program and podcast “The Storyteller’s Night Sky”. Through her research in spiritual science and her education in literary arts, Mary has developed a unique, humanities-based approach to understanding our relationship with the stars. Her work is further augmented by an extensive knowledge of ancient mythologies and fairy tales, which she relates to the research and ideas of contemporary astronomy in order to understand the new star wisdom of astrosophy.
Carrie Schuchardt co-founded The House of Peace in 1990, a home that is a physical and spiritual refuge for victims of war in a community with adults with special needs. In the last 15 years over 400 refugees from approximately 30 countries have been received in the healing embrace of The House of Peace, giving supportive assistance in establishing themselves in the US. In addition to the daily work of The House Peace, Carrie participates in many activities for the conversion of consciousness and policies from war to peace. Carrie has begun a network of women who witness publicly, Women Weeping, where women dress in mourning carrying symbolic lifeless children in order to help people feel what is rarely expressed in the media: the grief of hundreds of thousands of mothers in war zones around the world who lose their children to the terrible violence of war.
Stephanie Georgieff After nearly thirty years as a practicing Naturopath and Acupuncturist, Stephanie Georgieff has chosen to transform her healing vocation into writing and lecturing on various aspects of Christian Spirituality and its relationship to emotional and physical health. She has lectured throughout Europe and North America on various subjects, but her passion is on the Middle Ages and the Divine Feminine. Georgieff hosts a podcast “The Black Madonna Speaks,” writes for numerous publications, and has her own Blog: The Heart of the Black Madonna. The Black Madonna, Mysterious Soul Companion is the first in a series of books examining how the Black Madonna as an art form offers healing insights to our collective past and present. These volumes also explore the invitation humanity has from the spiritual world to co-create a healthy and peaceful future.
Helena Hurrell is an art and metal color Light therapist trained in the UK/Germany and certified by the Medial Section at the Goetheanum
Angela Foster has been an active student of anthroposophy since 2008. After growing up in Texas, Angela is now embracing life in Atlanta, Georgia as an artist, teacher, and mom of two daughters, shepherd to two mini sheep. As a conscious practitioner of “beginner’s mind”, Angela has completed programs in foundation studies in Anthroposophy numerous times and is currently enrolled in Foundation Studies in Goethean Science through the Nature Institute. She and her husband manage the Anthroposophical Resource Center (ARC) an initiative in Decatur, Georgia that offers space for community events and serves as a little house for Anthroposophia.
Joyce Reilly Joyce studied psychology in college and was fascinated by the idea of a therapeutic community. She has worked in Camphill for many years, and is trained as a Waldorf and Therapeutic teacher. She founded Gheel House, a therapeutic community near Kimberton Pennsylvania, still thriving after 37 years. Joyce’s interests expanded to international conflict work and refugee resettlement. She works with organizations such as the Janusz Korczak Association, Karuna Peacebuilders, Kiwimbi International, Good Grief, the Worldwide Storytelling and Puppetry Association, and especially with the New York Anthroposophical Branch, and also works part-time at the local public library. Joyce is also trained in Psychosynthesis therapy and Anthroposophical psychology – currently practicing as a life coach and counselor.
For questions or inquiries please email programs@anthroposophy.org or call the office at 734-662-9355