Monthly Archives: April 2022

What is the Veil?

Within the aura of the Solar Eclipse energy on this Walpurgisnacht – what is being revealed to me more & more as the distillation process continues from the Sophia Rising Convergence is that: The unveiling of the New Isis-Sophia is not an abstract concept – it is not some convenient pet phrase to be bantered about without doing the work. We have to live it.

We have to be willing to pull back the curtain – to reveal the Wizard of Oz – who is, after all, a human being just like us. We don’t have to pretend we are all powerful & have all the answers, or think that we are unworthy to lift the veil. It is enough to be like Johannes in the Mystery Dramas, or like Faust – ever stumbling & striving to live in freedom & in Love.

Naming the forces that seek to divide us, that work to keep us in the dark, breaks the spell of concealment in which the adversarial powers lurk. If we use the courage of Michael to lift our own veil, allowing the vulnerability we seek to hide to become transparent, we are more able to do the practical work of revealing our karma & destiny, opening the way to healing & growth for ourselves & in the Social Sphere.

Sharing provides a valuable teaching moment. Putting our process into words helps us see what is working behind our own biographies & also provides an example to others that says yes, we are all in the same boat, the life boat of humanity & we can work together to keep it a-float when we have honest constructive communication. And of course I realize that this meeting of the other has to be done with consent & met in freedom when the time is ripe, it cannot be imposed or one-sided, & that takes patience on my part, which I am still learning to practice.

Janet Morgan

Naming the helpers, the times when our higher self is shining, as well as the hindrances that appear as obstacles on our path, makes conscious what is often kept behind the veil.  When we employ the courage of Michael, to pierce thru that veil of shame, that veil hiding our true Self, that veil of protection, we can access the wisdom of the Sophia, & thru the Being of Love we can become the Parzival on a quest for the Holy Grail which is the unveiling of our true destiny.  

I am feeling the need to take the digesting deeper, but 1st I want to acknowledge the initiator of the spark that set many hearts ablaze for the Sophia – How the impulse that was living in so many of us was ignited by one person’s initiative. Laura Scappaticci had the idea to invite folks to announce a conversation theme for each of the lunch tables, during the AGM in 2019. She then casually put out the word that anyone who was interested could come to a Lunch table with the intention to talk about The Sophia – and before we knew it we had to add another table then more chairs & then more, for the 40 folks who answered the call. That impulse became The Sophia Circle, where a group of us met on zoom all thru the corona-crisis, taking turns sharing our Sophia Biographies; which then morphed into the Sophia Community Circle monthly webinar sharing, which went on for a year – all leading up to our Sophia Rising Convergence.  I am so grateful for Laura’s initiative which lives on in each of us. This feels like only the beginning of this work which will continue to be unveiled & blossom forth in the world.

Before I leave off, I wanted to mention how powerful it was to have such a presence of the arts there in Santa Fe. Besides the ArtActs that we wove into everyday, there was a collage and card-making room filled with delightful scraps to work with. We were left free to decorate the notebooks which every participant was given, or make cards for the Prison Outreach Program. In that room there was also an Art Dispersal hosted by Free Columbia, organized by Patricia Homan Lynch; & an Altar made by Applied Anthroposophy coordinators Jordan Walker & Angela Foster, featuring a ‘Honey Clock’.

The podium became our Nature Altar which folks added to all weekend. And the Hotel Library was our official ‘Sanctuary Room’, a quiet space perfect for meditation, & contemplation. I also spent a lot of time in the exhibitor’s room, where John-Scott Legg had the SteinerBooks set up. The evocative cover art by Eyahnna DalBo was part of the silent auction & went home with many Art Dispersal paintings to loving homes.    

It was an honor to be part of the ASA team working with our new Programs Director Tess Parker who seamlessly took up the mantel of Laura’s work & has made it uniquely her own – these kinds of meaningful events are serving the members in a deep impactful way – as well as opening the Anthroposophical Society to a whole new generation of Michaelites. What a delight to be with so many young people whose insights always enlighten me. I look forward to future Convergences with the Sophia & with all of you…

Thanks to everyone who have been participating in this debriefing conversation, the research & unveiling continues…

~hag

30 April 2022 “Speaking with the Stars”: From Human Questions Cosmic Answers by Rudolf Steiner: “An eclipse of the sun is due to the fact that the moon comes between the sun and the earth, cutting off the rays of the sun.

At the time of a solar eclipse, for instance, something totally different takes place in the part of the earth affected from what is happening when there is no eclipse. When we know that on the one hand the rays of the sun penetrate down to the earth and on the other hand the forces or rays of will stream out to meet the sun.  At an eclipse, these forces radiate into the darkness, and there ensues a period of time, short though it may be, in which all that is of the nature of will upon the earth flows out into universal space in an abnormal way. It is different altogether from what takes place when there is no eclipse. Ordinarily, the physical sunlight unites with the radiations of will streaming towards it. When there is an eclipse, the forces of will flow unhindered into cosmic space.

The old initiates knew these things. They saw that at such a moment all the unbridled impulses and instincts of humanity surge out into the cosmos. And they gave their pupils the following explanation. They said: Under normal conditions the evil impulses of will which are sent out into the cosmos by human beings are, as it were, burned up and consumed by the rays of the sun, so that they can injure only man himself, but can do no universal harm. When, however, there is an eclipse of the sun, opportunity is given for the evil which is willed on earth to spread over the cosmos. An eclipse is a physical event behind which there lies a significant spiritual reality.”

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Margarita in Faust, by Fritz Roeber

Walpurgis Night, In Germanic folklore Walpurgisnacht, also called Hexennacht, literally “Witches’ Night” – the eve of the feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess in Francia.  In Goethe’s Faust we see 2 scenes: ‘Romantic Walpurgis Night’ the night of a witches’ meeting on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, a range of wooded hills in central Germany; and later in Part 2 a ‘Classical Walpurgis Night’ is featured.

65 – Seneca, teacher of Nero, murdered

1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.

1812 – Birthday of the enigmatic Kaspar Hauser

1877 – Birthday of Alice B. Toklas, an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century. Life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein

1885 – The Niagara Reservation becomes New York’s first state park, ensuring that Niagara Falls will not be devoted solely to industrial & commercial use

1939 – The 1939-40 New York World’s Fair opens

1945 – Adolf Hitler commits suicide

1963 – The Bristol Bus Boycott is held to protest the Company’s refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom

This is the Eve of Beltane or May Day. Beltane, the old Celtic name for May Day, means bright fire or fire of Bel, the name of the Solar force, whose feast marks the beginning of the 2nd half of the year.

Wood from 9 sacred trees is gathered, & the great Bel-fire is built & ritualistically ignited by the High priestess or Arch-Druid. People would jump these ‘need-fires’ for fertility, healing & protection.

Torches lit from it were carried home to re-light the hearth fires. The folk would walk their animals in-between them to ensure a productive season – this is the mating season after all for man & beast.

There were other May Day customs, like walking the circuit of one’s property, repairing fences & boundary markers, processions of all kinds, archery tournaments, Morris dances, sword play, & of course making merry with music & drinking.

May morning is a time when the veil between the worlds can easily be pushed aside; but instead of the spirits coming into our realm from the other side, which is the case with Halloween, the polar opposite of Mayday on the wheel of the year -the fairies can enchant us over into their mystical realms.

This is a magical time, perfect for gathering ‘wild’ water, especially the May morning dew, or water from hidden wells & springs. These wild waters were collected & used to bath in for beauty, or to drink for health.

May Day is considered the start of summer – the time of milk & honey. This sensuous fertile energy is totally universal, & can be applied on many different levels. When we acknowledge these creative forces in the dance of our lives, it takes us to our own personal, modern-day version of dancing around the maypole, where we weave & combine the opposing energies within ourselves, blending them into one balanced source.

So yes, whether you know it or not, there will be at least one song that plays in your sub-conscious head on this eve of the 1st day of May, when you become perhaps, the Queen of the May, or Jack-in the Green. Our body like the body of the earth instinctively knows its Beltane, the time of vitality & passion & new growth. And the wisdom of our spirit seeks the natural union of polarities that occur at this time, giving us the opportunity for integration, in the alchemical dance of our souls…

Because under all the sexual innuendo & frivolity, it’s really all about the inner mystic marriage, the union of fire & water -opposites complimenting each other, to become one, bringing all the elements into balance.

You’ll just have to go dancing naked in the forest preserve on your own time…

For now, let’s work to unify the polarities of our being, by sparking the new fire of creative fertility & passion, & marrying it with the beautiful, healing waters of compassion & pure love. So we can truly celebrate the marriage feast of our lives, with a grounded, mindful joy.

So if it is your will – light your Bel-fire, marry it to the water, by floating it in the chalice of your choice. Take the time you need there…To do or not, what you will…Whisper your marriage vows into the water…or dance the 1st dance…or smash the glass…whatever your ceremony calls for…short simple or silent…it doesn’t matter…a 3 day bacchanal, with dancing puppets…it’s all good…cause it’s all about what’s inside…

~hag

Wednesday May 4th 7 pm PDT on ZOOM for the Sacramento Faust Branch

From Necessity to Freedom – The Evolution of Human Consciousness

From the vaporous cleft of Mount Parnassus, and the birth place of Greek Philosophy, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the Holy Grail – From Prophesy to Warning, from Fate to Karma, From Destiny to Free Will.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

We appreciate your support of the ongoing work of The Faust Branch in making these offerings available. Admission for lectures: Faust Branch members $5, non-members $10. No one excluded for lack of funds. Admission fees may be made via PayPal

Join Zoom Meeting – Conversation 6:45 pm PDT, Presentation 7 pm PDT
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81856833235?pwd=Z29CQ1hVUWFEUjE1alkyb2RMSVIwZz09

Meeting ID: 818 5683 3235
Passcode: 576668

‘Let Freedom Ring – Reclaiming the Wisdom of Columbia – Folk Soul of America’.

A zoom presentation with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg For the Greater Washington Branch of the Anthroposophical Society

1 pm ET – 2:30 pm ET Saturday 14 May 2022

Join Zoom Meeting:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86119386116

Meeting ID: 861 1938 6116

Email asgwb.dc@gmail.com with any questions

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & theI Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

Ever Weaving

The Convergence was an amazing blend of Head, Hands & Heart – a True modern Rosicrucian experience of Art, Science & Spirit – something for everyone. It was very full, especially the Saturday program which went from 8:30 am till almost 11 pm.

Many folks commented that the Soul Journey would be even more potent as a stand-alone weekend retreat…Something to think about – Let me know if you would like to co-create that with me to bring it to your community…(I still have a few ‘scripts’ available or a PDF if you prefer)

Weaving Color’ followed the Soul Journey, another time to explore the Self artistically, as well as continuing the Dante theme by ‘Invoking Natura: Sensing the Cosmic within the Earthly’ with pastels, a favorite medium of artist Helen-Ann Ireland. Many folks went outside to let the natural world be their source of inspiration. ‘Weaving Stories’ with Tess Parker followed, a chance to go into small triads to share milestones in our biography relating to The Sophia.

After a dinner on our own, the ‘Weaving Community’ Sharing Stage was a big hit, hosted by Lucien & Ultra; warming the space with their amazing original acapella harmonies – opening the way for so many diverse offerings from the community. Even though it had been a long day no one wanted to leave because the acts were such a blast; from comedic singing with Dick Halford, to storytelling with Farmer John Peterson, to a Shakespeare sonnet by John-Scott Legg & so much more. A cornucopia of talent, warm heartedly presented & received by all.

Orthodox Easter Sunday gave us the most precious gift in the 8 am ‘Weaving Light’ session. All the light was blocked out & the ingenious creation made by Helena Hurrell & Lisa Edge was set in front of a window. When the drape was removed we were bathed in the natural warmth & harmony of the metal gold infused glass sculpture that transferred the sunlight to us in a powerful color light therapy experience, inspired by the glass windows at the Goetheanum. WOW. I can still see it in my mind’s eye & feel it working in my etheric heart.

Michele Mariscal’s Heart math was the perfect opening for Carrie Schuchardt’s ‘Weaving Fire’ lecture which brought elements of the past thru the Celtic triple Goddess Brigid to the Nagasaki Madonna – The ‘Wounded Madonna’ was returned to the Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki City on Easter day, the 23rd of April 2000, inspiring Carrie & all the lives she touches at the House of Peace to this day.

After another delicious meal provided by the hotel restaurant, we gathered for the ‘Weaving Water & Wholeness’ closing ceremony lead by Joyce Reilly from indications given to her from Michael Lipson. We moved water, adding salt, & gathered the ‘Soil Stir’ from our opening with Angela Foster to take home in little handmade envelopes along with a paper rose inscribed with the foundation Stone Meditation – Bringing the potency of Sophia Rising back home to our prospective spirits of place. And so it is that Anthroposophia is ever rising from the center to the periphery & on & on…

More tomorrow…

~hag  

29 April 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Tomorrow’s New Moon on April 30th (exact at 3:30 p.m. CDT) brings a partial solar eclipse in Taurus where Venus (occult Mercury) is standing strong. Steiner speaks about an eclipse of the Sun as allowing our unconscious will forces, which are usually mediated by the Beings of the Sun to flow out in an abnormal way into the Universe affecting especially our beloved dead. So being forewarned we can hold the light of the 2nd hierarchy in our sun-filled hearts holding the Michaelic sword of keen thinking & the shield of protection & discernment during this time.

1:45 p.m. CDT the eclipse begins. The maximum eclipse happens a couple of hours later, at 3:41 p.m. CDT. The eclipse will end at 5:37 p.m. CDT. We won’t see it here, but we can still hold the intention to hold the light…  

Wednesday May 4th 7 pm PDT on ZOOM for the Sacramento Faust Branch

From Necessity to Freedom – The Evolution of Human Consciousness

From the vaporous cleft of Mount Parnassus, and the birth place of Greek Philosophy, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the Holy Grail – From Prophesy to Warning, from Fate to Karma, From Destiny to Free Will.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

We appreciate your support of the ongoing work of The Faust Branch in making these offerings available. Admission for lectures: Faust Branch members $5, non-members $10. No one excluded for lack of funds. Admission fees may be made via PayPal

Join Zoom Meeting – Conversation 6:45 pm PDT, Presentation 7 pm PDT
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81856833235?pwd=Z29CQ1hVUWFEUjE1alkyb2RMSVIwZz09

Meeting ID: 818 5683 3235
Passcode: 576668

Original Art "Lady Liberty" by ????..Chalk Medium Abstract Detail | eBay

Let Freedom Ring – Reclaiming the Wisdom of Columbia – Folk Soul of America

with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg for the Greater Washington DC. Branch

Saturday 14 May 2022ZOOM & other Details coming soon

                     

Digesting the Journey

Jenny Hahn

‘‘ANTHROPOSOPHIA: OUR ALCHEMICAL SOUL JOURNEY – A UNION OF WISDOM & LOVE”.

The original idea for the Soul Journey 1st came thru as part of an Easter-Tide Retreat that the Central Regional Council co-created with the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP) based on the Psychology of Karma, since the CRC theme in 2020 was Karma & Reincarnation. The Journey was then called: Know Thyself: Sophia-Christos’ & was to be enacted on Holy Saturday 2020.

We were all set to bring in James A. Dyson, M.D. from Britain, along with folks from around the country: Roberta Nelson, Ph.D., & David Tresemer, Ph.D. with Susan Overhauser, Ph.D. & the CRC crew: Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton, Eurythmist: Mary Ruud & myself. Registration was in full swing when the lockdown was announced…And so the Easter weekend retreat had to be canceled.

The project lay in state until it became clear that it wanted to rise up with the Sophia – reworked to serve as the heart of the Sophia Rising Convergence.

This Soul Journey strongly engages the will – the most underdeveloped soul force for most people. We recognized going in that anything new can push people out of their comfort zones, & yet it was a clear calling from the spiritual world – a wake-up call – to help folks step up in this challenging time which calls for us to become more fully embodied in our free willing.

The Journey is meant to be a new way of engaging with Spiritual Science, a practical extension, going beyond simply hearing a lecture where we sit & receive the imparted wisdom of a presenter. That is the old conference mode, which of course is still embraced, & was very powerful indeed at the Convergence.

I realized that many folks didn’t really understand what Steiner means by the ‘New Mysteries’, this inspired me to give the Prelude before the Journey.

In the Journey as a New Mystery, we activate our will thru enthusiastic feeling, to create a living experiential striving as individuals within a sacred space of other striving souls, co-creating a Holy Grail – a thinking-heart vessel for Anthroposophia.

The Journey is meant to set the stage for our individual ongoing inner development; a modern initiation, to assist in an evolutionary birthing process, allowing the wisdom from within the free human being to emerge, to personally engage & empower the Anthroposophia within.

The Soul Journey went thru dozens of revisions, a true initiation for me in letting go, of refining, of creatively getting to the essence of soul & spirit, inventing new ways of using the Word. This really stretched me as an artist & as a human being, putting me to the test, asking me to be selfless in a very practical way, to reshape the vision so that it would truly serve the highest good. This was a hard lesson, but much needed for my personal growth. I grew up in an abusive family where I had to learn to stick up for myself. My mother was so selfless that she became a victim, dying young, & I vowed never to let that happen to me. But thru Anthroposophy I have come to know that being selfless doesn’t have to mean getting stept on, that in truth it is the ultimate embodiment of the Christ Impulse. And so I am truly grateful for the humbling resistance that karmicly came my way thru this process.

The New Mysteries when met with intention opens the way to a conscious quest, which I understand not everyone is ready, willing or able to take on – Yet it is a question at the core of Being Human – the quest living in the question of how to ‘Know Thy Self’.

Along with reverence, this is the 1st step of inner development, which is ongoing – preparing the seeking soul for an Alchemical Union of the Sophia-Christos within…

Before we can make this unification we must meet Trials of the Soul which reveal the obstacles on our path to wholeness. And so the Journey begins by passing thru 3 stages: 1st – The ‘Harrowing of Hell’, (It was Orthodox Holy Saturday after all) where we face the hindrances to our Thinking, Feeling & Willing…2nd – We stand before the Guardian of the Threshold to see ourselves for what we are…something most of us try to avoid…Then strengthened by the courage of Michael, we encounter ‘the tempter’ & ‘the deceiver’…Coming into balance, we enter the 3rd stage: ‘Paradiso’ – Where we redeem the New Isis-Sophia – we gather up the dismembered parts into a wholeness – to foster Anthroposophia within our soul, & to manifest SOPHIA RISING: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human, in the world…

To get there we are empowered to become our own Charon to ferry our souls across the river Achero to meet ourselves on the inside. Dante tells us: “Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.” He also lets on that: “The path to paradise begins in hell”.

And so on Orthodox Holy Saturday 2022 we made our descent; which led to our Resurrection…The various ArtActs prepared & paved the way; including getting grounded with The ‘Constitutional Eurythmy Exercise’ & the ‘Meditation for Protection’…etc.

The Journey then progressed in our striving to consciously cross the abyss. We encountered the Time Spirit Michael, Son of The Sophia, who holds for us the countenance of the Being of Love, & waits for us to redeem the Cosmic Intelligence through our earnest heart-thinking.

We go on to meet ‘the farmer’ in the spiritualizing of the Earth. The Christ as the Being of Love & the Sophia in her Cosmic, & human aspects are introduced – The joining of Warmth – to the Light of human Understanding…

Many questions are posed. We are continually asked to make our ‘Declaration of Intent’. We can contemplate: What gifts will we bring to the world? What intentions will we consecrate in the Temple of our Heart? What do we want to come forth from this conscious union of: Soul & Spirit – Wisdom & Love – Warmth & Light. The questing is always enhanced by the ArtActs of eurythmy, singing; & at the end with a recitation of ‘Destiny’ by Rudolf Steiner:

The wishes of the soul are springing
The deeds of the will are thriving

The fruits of life are ripening…
I feel my destiny – My destiny finds me
I feel my star – My star finds me
I feel my goals in life – My goals in life are finding me
Life grows more radiant about me
Life grows more challenging for me
Life grows more abundant within me.
My soul and the world are one great unity.

We conclude the Journey with the Easter Mood Calendar of the Soul Verse & the Halleluiah in Eurythmy.

If you want a copy of the ‘Script’ which has all the verses, songs, Steiner quotes & my research in a beautifully spiral bound edition with art work – Just email me. I can mail it to you for a donation of $20 or more – I have 15 left.

The initiation continues for me, every day & especially in night school now that the Journey has been inscribed into the ethers. I am wrestling with my own doubts & fears, & the sting of imagined scorn. Did the Journey truly serve? Or was it not able to be received? Did it come too soon, missing the mark – the definition of sin…?

What I strive for is to be a Christ imbued Human Being which will unveil the Anthroposophia with the courage of Michael to serve humanity.

Please share your experience – even if it is a criticism, Any & ALL feedback is important if we are to be Spiritual Scientific researchers in earnest.  The Journey did not end on Orthodox Holy Saturday, but must continue to unfold like the Mystery of Golgotha when the seed of a New Sun was planted into the ever evolving Earth & into the Temple of our Hearts…

More tomorrow

~hag

Wednesday May 4th 7 pm PDT on ZOOM for the Sacramento Faust Branch

From Necessity to Freedom – The Evolution of Human Consciousness

From the vaporous cleft of Mount Parnassus, and the birth place of Greek Philosophy, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the Holy Grail – From Prophesy to Warning, from Fate to Karma, From Destiny to Free Will.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

We appreciate your support of the ongoing work of The Faust Branch in making these offerings available. Admission for lectures: Faust Branch members $5, non-members $10. No one excluded for lack of funds. Admission fees may be made via PayPal

Join Zoom Meeting – Conversation 6:45 pm PDT, Presentation 7 pm PDT
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81856833235?pwd=Z29CQ1hVUWFEUjE1alkyb2RMSVIwZz09

Meeting ID: 818 5683 3235
Passcode: 576668

Recapitulation

Shiloh Sophia McCloud

Sophia Rising: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human, a recapitulation

The inscription of the New Isis: “I am, the Past, the Present & the Future, every mortal should lift my veil” was a living motif for our Convergence – an invitational undercurrent that layered in with the overlay of Orthodox Holy Week, which I pointed out was being celebrated in places like the Ukraine – A reflection also of the 3 panels of the Foundation Stone Meditation.

The 18 ‘Soul Journey’ leaders got to meet & rehearse in the ‘Kiva Room’, early on Orthodox Maundy Thursday, warming & sanctifying the space. We came together for the 1st time as a group in person under the enlivening direction of Lisa Dalton. We set the 123 chairs into a mandala that formed a 4-fold elemental cross with an encircling center & an open periphery. Thru speech, eurythmy & the dramatic arts we worked to activate the energy which became the heart of the Convergence.

Maria Ver Eecke leading us in Eurythmy gestures

That evening in a soft opening thru the warmth of Tess Parker‘s welcoming, we continued the mood of a true recapitulation of Maundy Thursday, giving us the new Sacrament. We came together, in our case to receive a bountiful dessert reception sweetening the ‘ArtActs’ which were revealed for the 1st time & then built-up thru out the time together in preparation for our ‘Soul Journey’ – Singing, with former Waldorf Teacher Jill McCormick, who was recommended by local Micky Leach – Eurythmy, with Maria Ver Eecke, therapeutic eurythmist for the School of Eurythmy, Spring Valley, NY – And Speech Recitation with Lisa Dalton, master teacher in the Michael Chekhov Technique. These ‘ArtActs’called in the future while bringing us fully into the present.   

Orthodox Good Friday gave us the morning to explore the many sacred sites in Santa Fe. It was like being at summer camp seeing so many Anthroposophists out & about, meeting in synchronistic karmic ways around town. 

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Sophia-Rising-tess-1024x768.jpg

After lunch we gathered our diverse experiences into a communal present moment thru our official opening with Tess.

UVA & the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Micky Leach wove in the past to help us attune to the Spirit of Place, which was an ever present Being among us.  Santa Fe’s unique blend of Spanish & Native Cultures against the majesty of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains & the spectacular sunsets over the Jemez range, have made a deep imprint into my soul. The early Native American inhabitants called Santa Fe “Dancing Ground of The Sun“; while the founding frontiersman at the turn of the 20th century referred to it as “The City Different.” During our early planning team meetings we took to dubbing it Saint Fae to honor the elementals, or The Iron (fe) of the Divine Feminine…

Tess & Angela

Then Angela Foster led us in ‘Weaving Earth’ with a ‘soil stir’ inviting everyone to mix in the soil they brought from their holy grounds. How perfect to begin our journey grounded on the Earth, honoring the Mother who holds us all on Earth Day. I contributed some horn silica made on the oldest Biodynmaic Farm in America by Petra & Mark Zinniker.

Soil Stir
HeartMath Institute Science

The ‘Heart Math’ sessions that Michele Mariscal brought thru out our time together, always helped center us in the present.

EclipseWise - Eclipses During 2022

Mary Stewart pointed up the eclipse picture questioning & connecting the past cycles with what is to come, in our ever present responsibility to join the cosmic conversation in our “Speaking with the Stars’.

2,691 Fireside Chat Illustrations & Clip Art - iStock

The evening ‘Fireside Chats‘ gave folks a chance to be in the present thru sharing & informative conversation.

Holy Saturday, holding the imprint of ‘The Harrowing of Hell’ started early with ‘Weaving Ether’ thru the ‘ArtActs’. (23 April was also the last day of Passover; Shakespeare’s Birth & Deathday; the Feast of St. George; in 215 BC – A temple dedicated to Venus Erycina is completed in Rome; & in 1879 Notre Dame burns)

The wildfires were beginning to redden the air with smoke as the winds howled outside, dust devils swirling.

Stephanie Georgieff streaming in from Bulgaria took us deep into the past with the history of Our lady of Guadalupe, revealing also her connection to the starry worlds with indications she received from Astrosopher Brain Gray.

In our ‘Weaving Stories’ session led by Tess Parker, we touched into all 3, tracing our relationship to the Sophia from early childhood, into the now, with a chance to inform the future.  

I gave a ‘prelude’ to the ‘Soul Journey’ to set the stage for Anthroposophia:

Prelude .:. A 100 years ago in 1922 Rudolf Steiner was bringing Spiritual Science to public audiences of 3000 or more. Many of the lecture themes involved the impulse for a renewal in the social sphere, emphasizing the transition from old to new methods of inner development. Steiner was attacked many times by the old guard, & his life threated by Nazi factions, for bringing to the public what was considered secret teachings before the New Michael Age. But Steiner knew that at the beginning of the 20th Century the spiritual world was calling for a renewal of the Mysteries, to foster the mission of the Consciousness Soul in the New Michael Age…Steiner called it the ‘New Mysteries’.

We are about to enter the very heart of our Sophia Convergence, & you are invited to step into a deeply intensive experiential Soul Journey into these New Mysteries…What do we mean with this phrase ‘New Mysteries’? Well, in the old mysteries the human being was like a passive vessel thru which the gods worked. The spiritual powers overshadowed the unconscious soul forces of the human being…The gesture was a pouring in – like a triangle pointing down – symbol for water. The New Mysteries, empower us with the opposite gesture – a rising up – like the symbol of fire – the triangle rising up – like the tongues of fire rising up from the heads of the apostles.

Steiner referred to this as the Reverse Cultus or Reverse Ritual, which sounds strange in English, but is a fancy way of saying: We must now do the work, we must choose out of our own free will, to rise up in our thinking to meet the spiritual, in ourselves, in each other & in the world…We are called to take up the indications for inner development given by Spiritual Science to activate Anthroposophia within our soul forces.

And the concept of ritual must also be renewed. Steiner says it is an action of the will, done in reverence. The reversal means we do it with this new gesture of rising up in awakened consciousness.

And of course we don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater – we are meant to bring the 2 triangles together to form a 6 pointed star – symbol of the Alchemical Marriage of fire & water Steiner gives us the 6 basic essential exercises to develop this 6 pointed star in our etheric heart.

The lecture which Steiner gave 100 years ago in 1922, on New Year’s Eve, an hour before the fire began burning in the 1st Goetheanum, was called: “THE SPIRITUAL COMMUNION OF HUMANKIND: Spiritual Cognition is a True Communion, the Beginning of a Cosmic Ritual Suitable for the Human Being of the Present Age”. This concept shows that when we spiritualize our thinking we are consummating a new kind of communion.

Steiner gave this concept right at a powerful moment of transition, when the 1st Goetheanum was about to become a burnt offering, sacrificed, & inscribed into the ethers, like the Temple of Artemis, in Ephesus – At this historic moment Steiner talks about the New Mysteries. In it we hear: “The first beginning of what must come to pass if Anthroposophy is to fulfil its mission in the world, is that the human being’s whole relationship to the world must be recognized to be one of cosmic ritual or reverse cultus…”

Here Steiner is referring to the fact that the supersensible Michaelic School must now be enacted here on Earth…Maybe you’ve heard of this Michael School? Maybe you have a remembrance of being there, in the 14th & 15th Centuries in the life between death & rebirth – perhaps with many sitting here today? The idea that we go to school & then just leave those teachings behind doesn’t make sense does it? We are meant to bring those teachings into our lives now on earth.

We know that with the burning, & thru the early death of Rudolf Steiner, the adversarial forces were able to diffuse this important impulse…But now, dear friends, after 100 years, these New Mysteries are calling to be renewed. We are meant to continue Steiner’s work. And this Soul Journey, is our humble attempt to at least begin to ‘follow that good star’ which Rudolf Steiner showed us at the Christmas Conference… And of course, the 1st prerequisite for the New Mysteries is that they must be received in complete freedom.

Ok, that is my little prelude…So now we have our lunch time – a time to not only socialize – but to mentally, physically, & emotionally prepare…For – ‘‘ANTHROPOSOPHIA: OUR ALCHEMICAL SOUL JOURNEY – A UNION OF WISDOM & LOVE”.

More tomorrow…

~hag

Wednesday May 4th 7 pm PDT on ZOOM for the Sacramento Faust Branch

From Necessity to Freedom – The Evolution of Human Consciousness

From the vaporous cleft of Mount Parnassus, and the birth place of Greek Philosophy, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the Holy Grail – From Prophesy to Warning, from Fate to Karma, From Destiny to Free Will.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

We appreciate your support of the ongoing work of The Faust Branch in making these offerings available. Admission for lectures: Faust Branch members $5, non-members $10. No one excluded for lack of funds. Admission fees may be made via PayPal

Join Zoom Meeting – Conversation 6:45 pm PDT, Presentation 7 pm PDT
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81856833235?pwd=Z29CQ1hVUWFEUjE1alkyb2RMSVIwZz09

Meeting ID: 818 5683 3235
Passcode: 576668

27 April 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: This is a great week to wake up early and look at the planets all in a line! The crescent Moon will glide by Venus and Jupiter, forming a lovely triangle on Tuesday morning, April 26, and especially Wednesday morning, April 27. Look an hour before sunrise. At the end of the week (Sat, 30th), Venus & Jupiter converge for their big conjunction. See info: Almanac.com/night-sky-april

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Socrates

470 BC- Birth Day of Socrates; teacher of Plato – “Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune”.~Socrates

399 BC – Death Day of Socrates. The Karma Lectures of Rudolf Steiner (vol. 4/10) indicate that this was his teacher ‘s father G.T. Schroer.

Tariq ibn Ziyad

711 BC –Islamic conquest of Hispania: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula…The Karma Lectures of Rudolf Steiner indicate Darwin to be a later incarnation (vol. 1/10)

1777 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Ridgefield

1810 – Beethoven composes Für Elise.

1861 – American President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus.

1882 – Death day of Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American essayist, lecturer, & poet who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism & a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society. Emerson wrote on a number of subjects, never espousing fixed philosophical tenets, but developing certain ideas such as individuality, freedom, the ability for humankind to realize almost anything, & the relationship between the soul & the surrounding world. “Philosophically considered, the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul”. He remains among the linchpins of the American Romantic Movement, & his work has greatly influenced the thinkers, writers & poets that have followed him…The Karma Lectures of Rudolf Steiner (vol. 4/10) indicate that he was formerly known as Tacitus – considered to be one of the greatest Roman historians.  He lived in what has been called the Silver Age of Latin literature. He is known for the brevity & compactness of his Latin prose, as well as for his penetrating insights into the psychology of power politics.

1945 – World War II: Benito Mussolini is arrested by Italian partisans in Dongo, while attempting escape disguised as a German soldier.

1950 – Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed formally segregating races.

From the Desert to the Great Plains

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church Santa Fe New Mexico

Yes, dear friends – I am just now reacclimatizing after our triumphant Sophia Rising Convergence. For some reason my phone is not synching with my computer so I am not able to access all my photos. I actually didn’t take too many as we were fully engaged. If you have some photo’s please share!

Tshsawi Ruins, Santa Fe

Right now I am contempating the imprint made by the cliffed mountains, the Pueblo homes, the desert landscape in emergent spring bloom – & the 123 souls from around the world who answered the call of the Sophia to form a chalice in the ‘KIVA’ Room, part of the only Native run hotel in Santa Fe.  Among the Pueblo people, kivas are used for spiritual ceremonies, community gatherings, rites & political meetings.

Many shared that the diverse weavings of Art, Science & Spirituality offered in the Convergence inscribed a powerful new impulse into not only each individual soul, but also into the ethers enlivening the collective spirit of the Anthroposophical Movement.

Something has certainly shifted. We shall see where it will lead…

More tomorrow. Until soon ~hag

Kari Frid

Wednesday May 4th 7 pm PDT on ZOOM for the Sacramento Faust Branch

From Necessity to Freedom – The Evolution of Human Consciousness

From the vaporous cleft of Mount Parnassus, and the birth place of Greek Philosophy, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the Holy Grail – From Prophesy to Warning, from Fate to Karma, From Destiny to Free Will.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & theI Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

We appreciate your support of the ongoing work of The Faust Branch in making these offerings available. Admission for lectures: Faust Branch members $5, non-members $10. No one excluded for lack of funds. Admission fees may be made via PayPal

Join Zoom MeetingConversation 6:45 pm PDT, Presentation 7 pm PDT
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81856833235?pwd=Z29CQ1hVUWFEUjE1alkyb2RMSVIwZz09

Meeting ID: 818 5683 3235
Passcode: 576668

26 April 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Bella Luna walks below the line of four early-dawn planets. The planets change position a bit from one morning to the next. Venus and Jupiter are 6° apart on the 24th, shrinking to 3° on the 27th. Venus and Jupiter will be just ½° from each other on the mornings of April 30th and May 1st, as they pass through a striking conjunction.


San Miguel Chapel dates to the founding of Santa Fe in 1610.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

The Chernobyl disaster – a nuclear accident near the city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine considered the worst nuclear disaster in history

RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler
EASTERTIDE II
Participate Without Thought
v2

Arising into senses’ all-enwoven outwardness
thought’s power sheds its separate strand;
the worlds of spirit find again
their human offspring,
whose soul must find in them
her seed, but in herself the fruit.

MICHAELMAS 111
Sunpower’s Radiance Of Thought
v28

I can, revived within,
now feel my own wide breadth of being,
my strength of sun-empowered soul,
whose radiance of thinking solves life’s riddles
and lifts the wish-fulfilling wings
left lame by hope.