Monthly Archives: May 2022

= I

Kay Balenshine

~with simple sandals
i walk before my Beloved
but in the house of heaven my feet are still…
my breast is a lyre that hums,
my lungs fill with living fire,
a cool breeze encircles me,
there is no need for haste…
~hag

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day (RSarchives) ESOTERIC LESSONS I
GA 266, # 34, Hamburg, 31 May 1908

“One must repeatedly let what one had heard in esoteric classes pass before one’s soul, and only then will one gradually get out the forces that are hidden in what’s given.

Most scientific thinking is unproductive. But when we occupy ourselves with what’s given to our thinking in esoteric classes we occupy ourselves with productive thoughts, and that’s a source of strength for our soul. Such thoughts must pass through our soul in the right order. Just as nothing could exist in an organism if a leg was attached where an arm was supposed to be, so everything in our thinking must be consequent. Let’s place such a thought structure before our soul today.

One says a lot about wisdom. But wisdom isn’t what’s often called wisdom today. One gets smart through experience, but wisdom is the force that streams into us from the spiritual world and then streams out again. Wisdom also comes from the mouth of babes. When what streams out comes more from the feeling, it’s wisdom, but when it stimulates a man into action so that productivity predominates, it’s love. But one has to know what love really is. Someone may feel sympathy for a man’s misfortune, but that isn’t real love. Sympathy only becomes love if one steps in and helps him. Wisdom and love make up the I. The I is love and wisdom that have become will. This is the higher triad.

When it’s reflected in the lower I, love and wisdom become thinking, willing and feeling, respectively. Reflected even further down they become the four temperaments. Men have composite temperaments, but angels only have one each. The first kind of angels are those who work the choleric temperament into human beings. Such people like to do things. Sanguine angels inject people with a temperament that makes them receptive to all sublime and beautiful things, although such people aren’t very active. They get enthused easily but don’t stick to anything very long.

Phlegmatic angels influence people so that they’re not interested in what others have created. They do not leave such a creation the way it is, they repeatedly change it, they make everything flowing and indefinite. This is already expressed in the word phlegma, which means slime. Phlegmatics can’t make decisions and resolutions and so they’re always missing opportunities. Their bodies have soft and indefinite forms, they walk softly as they weave back and forth. And yet such people can also be choleric in their insistence on particular foods that they like. Melancholic angels work on a person so that they see everything in himself, he’s only occupied with himself, he does nothing for progress. So he doesn’t enjoy creation and becomes dull and dark. One must judge all characters on the basis of what the individual does for the whole’s progress. If one reflects these qualities even further down then choleric corresponds to fire, air to sanguine, phlegmatic to water, and melancholic to earth — there everything becomes rigid and solid.

One should hold such figures before one repeatedly. They make it possible that our soul organism is built up in the right way. One must think through such figures clearly. Our inner life can’t be strengthened by thoughts that oscillate back and forth. The soul gets stronger if one places such forms before one’s spiritual eye.

31 May 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”

Denta Quxale

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (Rudolf Steiner’s orginal Calendar of the Soul, Wikipedia Commons)

The Feast of the Visitation’ – The visible actors (see Luke 1:39-45) are Mary & Elizabeth, although Jesus & John the Baptist steal the scene. John leaps with joy in the womb of Elizabeth, who in turn, is filled with the Holy Spirit & addresses words of praise to Mary—words that echo down through the ages. Then comes the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).

One of the invocations in Mary’s litany is “Ark of the Covenant.” Like the Ark of the Covenant of old, Mary brings God’s presence into the lives of other people. As David danced before the Ark, John the Baptist leaps for joy. As the Ark helped to unite the 12 tribes of Israel by being placed in David’s capital, so Mary has the power to unite all in her Son.

1809 – Deathday of Austrian composer Franz Haydn

Poetry Friday: Celebrating 200 Years Of Walt Whitman | KNAU Arizona Public  Radio

1819 – Birthday of Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, & journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism & realism, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene.

1875 – Deathday of occultist Eliphas Levy. Steiner refers to his Mexican incarnation in the Karma lectures Vol. 2

1942 – Deathday of Reinhard Heydrich, assinated in Prague. A high-ranking German Nazi official during World War II, one of the main architects of the Holocaust. Many historians regard him as the darkest figure in the Nazi elite; Adolf Hitler described him as “the man with the iron heart”.

1962 – Deathday of Adolf Eichmann, a German Nazi SS, one of the major organisers of the Holocaust. Eichmann was working with Reinhard Heydrich facilitating & managing the logistics of mass deportation of Jews to extermination camps. In 1960, he was captured in Argentina by Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service. Following a widely publicized trial in Israel, he was found guilty of war crimes & hanged on this day in 1962.

The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
June 1, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)
“Anyone who approaches these mysteries today must feel that they are confronting and challenging themselves by striving for the virtues of Parzival, while knowing that — because of modern conditions — they are in fact someone else also, the wounded Amfortas. Today we bear this divided nature within us: aspiring Parzival, wounded Amfortas. That is what self-knowledge must lead us to feel. From this recognition will flow the forces which make a unity again of this duality, and will thus advance us a little further in world evolution.”~ from Chapter 15,  Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 15 “Acknowledging Amfortas,” excerpts from Steiner’s lecture given at Berlin on 7 February 1913 (GA 144, lecture IV), will be the focus of the June 1 meeting.

A transcript of the entire lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link. Please consider giving to the development and maintenance of the digital library of Rudolf Steiner’s work.  Scroll to the bottom of this message to read more about the RSArchive.org and SteinerLibrary.org
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
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)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv

If you have questions, please contact Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com or Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu.

There is a knighthood of the 21st century
whose riders do not ride through the darkness
of physical forests as of old,
but through the forest of darkened minds.
They are armed with a spiritual armor
and an inner sun makes them radiant.
Out of them shines healing,
healing that flows from the knowledge
of the human being as a spiritual being.
They must create inner order, inner justice,
peace and conviction in the darkness
of our time. ~Karl Konig

Agenda for this meeting (CST)
 7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Mariarosa – pages 117-123b
          Marianne – pages 123b-129
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse

Spring Farm Day at Zinniker’s

About 30 folks met over the weekend for a fabulous Farm Day at the Zinniker’s. After much chill & rain it was a glorious afternoon. We noticed a big change when we arrived because Ruby the old mean farm dog didn’t come barking.  Petra said she had just recently gone into the group soul; & even though she only loved Mark & scorned the rest of us, she was sorely missed. The Zinnikers have a new 4 month old blue healer named Pepper, who has the opposite temperament, all sweetness – totally laid back for a puppy.

Many friends that I haven’t seen since the last farm day came & it was great to catch up. Amy Grau, is a wise heart-force in action. Connecting over the state of the world was affirming & brought a true Christic outlook to life for me. Angie Curtes came out from her farm in West Bend where she manages her family’s 80- acre Organic Certified farm, featuring a heat-controlled biodynamic compost system which lies at the heart of the farm, resulting in her business Grounded LLC where she grows medicinal crops for animal & human well-being, including Alfalfa-Grass Hay, Echinacea purpurea (Purple Cone Flower), & cannabidiol (CBD)-rich Industrial Cannabis Sativa Hemp.  GROUNDED also sells compost & offers large & small scale compost workshops.  We are going to have her come out with a truck load of compost that we can sell thru the Branch & the Christian Community as a fund raiser. There is something about Angie that lights up my heart. Every time I see her, which isn’t often enough, I feel a deep love & connection, which is rare for me.

Walter Goldstein of the Mandaamin Institute lives around the corner with his wife Benta. “Mandaamin” means Corn Spirit, in the native Algonquian language. Walter has been breeding corn in Wisconsin since 2011. This name is perfect since he uses ancient varieties of grain to enhance the quality & sustainability of modern corn crops.

To start, as folks trickled in, they found us picking the oak bark prep 505 out of the cow skulls. Oak bark is placed in the skull & left in water over winter. It helps pull the earthly forces back into the soil, when the water activity is working too strongly, like after too much rain, or at Full Moon.  It also helps protect against fungal diseases.  It helps the vegetation maintain its true archetypal form.  It adds calcium & phosphorus into the soil in a living form. The transformed plant material was lighter in color than usual; Mark thinks it’s because it has been a dry year.

Then we made our way thru the fields to that magic spot on the land where the cow horns are buried. Many shovels gingerly dug in, to unearth the 60 or so horns. This year they had a reddish color. The 500 Horn manure prep works on root development, giving vitality to the formative forces of the plants, promoting growth. The micro-life in the soil is activated, boosting the Ego component of the plants.

Next we made a parade thru the fields to another magic spot where we buried the 503 last September – the cow intestines filled with chamomile. This prep helps retain the nitrogen & calcium in the soil. It strengthens the plant’s regenerative life. It also stimulates manganese & boron, & acts on bringing in the good bacteria for nitrogen fixation in the soil.

The march continued to the 3rd spot where the 506 prep is buried – the mesentery (a huge the piece that joins part of the small intestine to the back wall of the abdomen of the cow) stuffed with dandelion flowers. (Petra said the only way they could get the butcher to save the mesentery for them was to call it by its culinary name ‘lace fat’. It is used especially in French cooking to wrap around a roast to let the fat in it baste the meat.) This prep stimulates the potassium & silica bacteria in the soil to enable it to work more effectively with the growth forces.  Silica makes the plants more sensitive.  It can help increase flowering & the filling out of the fruit. It brings nourishing qualities & also stimulates the magnesium, boron & selenium in the soil.

We took all these treasures back, & then emptied the cow horns. The kids loved tapping the horns & pulling out the rich substance. After this joyful labor we laid out the potluck feast – a little bit of everything, including, of course, Zinniker pot roast, homemade bread & fresh rhubarb crisp.

Tim Zinniker always makes the perfect bonfire. And this time instead of drums we brought the Maypole that Elizabeth & David Dorn gave us, & Elizabeth Kelly led us in a wonderful weaving Maypole dance, while Ultra-Violet & Lucien sang.

As twilight was coloring up the sky many families bid farewell. But I won’t leave until I go sing for the cows. So some of us took a hike to the back pastures where the herd was gathered for the night. This is my favorite part of being on the farm, communing with these majestic animals. As soon as they see us they come over to say hello. They especially loved when Lucien played his beautiful wood flute; they all stopped & starred. It was astonishing to observe their rapt attention & calm reverent stillness.

Pepper the new blue healer was running after the cows, barking & trying to nip a few that were curious & wanted to make friends. He played with one of the young bulls nose to nose for a long time. Mark shaking his head saying the pup has a lot to learn about herding & being a farm dog.

The twilight lingered & the painted sky was a thrilling display revealing the essence of the Ascension. What a blessing to be on that sacred land to experience this seasonal energy. We all lingered, hugging goodbye many times before we actually hit the road, making our way back to the city…

We’ll be back next week for the egg run. God Bless the Zinnikers & all the creatures big & small that they support.

xox

~hag

Here’s the link to last nights ALL REGIONS WHITSUN offering

30 May 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: The Tau Herculid meteor shower is expected to peak tonight & tomorrow morning. This brings to mind the labors of Hercules who is upside down in the heavens right now. Today is also New Moon stationed at the knee of Hercules.

The 12 Labors of Hercules

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day (RSarchives) The Gospel of St. John, Lecture 10, THE EFFECT OF THE CHRIST IMPULSE WITHIN HUMANKIND. Lecture 11, The Christian Initiation 30 May 1908

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (Rudolf Steiner’s orginal Calendar of the Soul, The Present Age magazine, Wikipedia Commons)

Jeanne dArc by François Nicolas Chifflart

1431 – Deathday of Joan of Arc, French martyr & saint, burnt at the stake by the British under Duke of Bedford.

1593 – Deathday of Christopher Marlowe, English poet & playwright

Peter the Great (1672 - 1725) Biography - Life of a Tsar of Russia

1672 – Birthday of Peter the Great Czar of Russia.  He led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist & medieval political systems with ones that were modern, scientific, based on The Enlightenment.

1778 – Deathday of Voltaire, French philosopher & author. Rudolf Steiner speaks of him as being a former pupil of the mysteries in Karmic Relationships Vol. 2.

1806 – Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel

1935 – Deathday of Daniel Nicol Dunlop , a Scottish entrepreneur, founder of the World Power Conference & other associations, a theosophist-turned-anthroposophist. Thought to have been a Templar in a former life. Dunlop saw Rudolf Steiner for the first time when he was still General Secretary of the German Section of the Theosophical Society, both of them expressed their intimate spiritual connection &respect for one another.  Dunlop started the anthroposophical “Human Freedom Group & anthroposophical Summer Schools. In 1928 he organized the first & only World Conference on Anthroposophy & in 1929 he was elected General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain. He had a deep friendship with Eleanor Merry, who supported his work, especially after the death of his own wife, Eleanor in 1932. As a result of conflicts & power struggles within the General Anthroposophical Society, leading to its splintering in April 1935, Dunlop was expelled together with a number of other leading members. He died shortly afterwards of an appendicitis. Dunlop enlisted the help of fellow anthroposophist Walter Johannes Stein in the hope of founding a World Economic Organization, but his death prevented this.

Ludwig Graf Polzer-Hoditz - Sophia Institute

1936 – Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz resigns from the General Anthroposophical Society on the 1 year anniversary of his friend D.N. Dunlop’s death, in protest after many of his contemporizes were expelled from the Society.

Memorial Day, 1937

1937 – Memorial Day massacre: Chicago police shoot & kill 10 labor demonstrators

1989 –The 33-foot high “Goddess of Democracy” statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators

The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
June 1, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)
“Anyone who approaches these mysteries today must feel that they are confronting and challenging themselves by striving for the virtues of Parzival, while knowing that — because of modern conditions — they are in fact someone else also, the wounded Amfortas. Today we bear this divided nature within us: aspiring Parzival, wounded Amfortas. That is what self-knowledge must lead us to feel. From this recognition will flow the forces which make a unity again of this duality, and will thus advance us a little further in world evolution.”~ from Chapter 15,  Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 15 “Acknowledging Amfortas,” excerpts from Steiner’s lecture given at Berlin on 7 February 1913 (GA 144, lecture IV), will be the focus of the June 1 meeting.

A transcript of the entire lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link. Please consider giving to the development and maintenance of the digital library of Rudolf Steiner’s work.  Scroll to the bottom of this message to read more about the RSArchive.org and SteinerLibrary.org
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
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)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv

If you have questions, please contact Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com or Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu.

There is a knighthood of the 21st century
whose riders do not ride through the darkness
of physical forests as of old,
but through the forest of darkened minds.
They are armed with a spiritual armor
and an inner sun makes them radiant.
Out of them shines healing,
healing that flows from the knowledge
of the human being as a spiritual being.
They must create inner order, inner justice,
peace and conviction in the darkness
of our time. ~Karl Konig

Agenda for this meeting (CST)
 7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Mariarosa – pages 117-123b
          Marianne – pages 123b-129
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse

Crucible

“…See the sun-drenched vine, with its juice spiritualized to etheric sunlight! It is a picture of the purification & fermentation process of the “I”. It shows you how drives can be transformed when they are purified thru life’s bitter crisis, & flower as the wisdom of age. Your “I” bears the kingly power within itself thru which you can transform all that is lower within you & raise it to the heights. Without these drives you would not be a full human being, but you must tame & refine them in the crucible of the royal power of the “I”. Then they will bear for you the loveliest fruits which will ripen in the autumn of life to become saturated with the wisdom of life. You extend your soul beyond itself when, compassionately sharing in all that is human, you open your Self to the world. For being human means: transforming the kingly power of the “I” in sharing responsibility for all that is human! Then the thought that I am only a member of all humankind & am co-responsible for all that happens is no longer foreign to me. With such an attitude the human being’s whole way of thinking gradually changes…” ~Rudolf Steiner, Knowledge of Higher Worlds

TODAY : A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor & Spirit Community with the Eastern, Central and Western Regional Councils of the Anthroposophical Society in America

Sunday 29 May 2022 –  at 3 – 4:30 pm PT / 4-5:30 MT / 5-6:30 pm CT / 6-7:30 pm ET

We will be working with Rudolf Steiner’s THE FIFTH GOSPEL GA 148, Lecture II, 2 October 1913, Oslo

The Whitsun Festival highlights one of the greatest challenges of being human: placing our individual gifts, our individual “I”, in right relationship within the social realm. This challenge is strongly felt during this time of the consciousness soul age. Our groups striving to know Spiritual Science must work together as a community, to have the possibility to create this type of culture, and the opportunity is here for each of us to meet, human to human, where a sacrament is possible in every encounter. Our individual strength comes from our personal development and is enhanced by weaving our gifts together with others, knitting our social world in conscious community.

For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

Topic: All Regions Whitsun

Time: May 29, 2022 05:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7050174041?pwd=WkNaNDlPS0VIMTJUUkE1ZkFMaDh5dz09

Meeting ID: 705 017 4041

Passcode: Whitsun

29 May 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”

Jupiter by Sallu Nextra

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day (RSarchives)

John Beard

RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated with added titles by Roy Sadler
ASCENSIONTIDE
Come, Foresight
v7

My Self is threatening to flee,
drawn strongly to the world’s inviting light.
Now you, my foresight, dawn your star
and my divining, firmly as of right,
replace the power of thought
that in the senses’ glory leaves me.

This is part of the square quartet, the only one where the 4 related verses form a perfect square in the Soul Calendar’s lemniscate pattern. They correspond to the middle of each quarter in the year. It’s not mentioned anywhere else but I think these verses can be regarded as transitions between the seasons. They are a kind of crossing over the threshold to a new soul mood – in this first quarter leading to a union with the spirit through the senses at Whitsun and on into the summer. But for that the soul must overcome the luciferic temptation to mere sensual feeling. A heavenly restoring prescience – ‘Ahnen’ in German – is called for. Ahnen is the only word that I translate in association with its sound. ‘Ah’ has the eurythmic openness to the future and in this verse I’ve added the word ‘star’, not mentioned in the original.

Verses 7 and 46 are the only ones with the word ‘threatening’. When a new spring comes without proper thought clarity it can numb our consciousness. For thoughtful perception the power of memory (of what the Soul Calendar calls to awake in us from the spirit’s depths at Christmas) is needed, in contrast now to foresight for a new summer union with spirit.

LENT I
Memory, Arise
V46

The world is threatening to numb,
my soul’s own inborn force.
Now memory, companion me
and in my sight enhance
the penetration of my glance
vitality of will alone sustains.

The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
June 1, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)
“Anyone who approaches these mysteries today must feel that they are confronting and challenging themselves by striving for the virtues of Parzival, while knowing that — because of modern conditions — they are in fact someone else also, the wounded Amfortas. Today we bear this divided nature within us: aspiring Parzival, wounded Amfortas. That is what self-knowledge must lead us to feel. From this recognition will flow the forces which make a unity again of this duality, and will thus advance us a little further in world evolution.”~ from Chapter 15,  Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 15 “Acknowledging Amfortas,” excerpts from Steiner’s lecture given at Berlin on 7 February 1913 (GA 144, lecture IV), will be the focus of the June 1 meeting.

A transcript of the entire lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link. Please consider giving to the development and maintenance of the digital library of Rudolf Steiner’s work.  Scroll to the bottom of this message to read more about the RSArchive.org and SteinerLibrary.org
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
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)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv

If you have questions, please contact Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com or Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu.

There is a knighthood of the 21st century
whose riders do not ride through the darkness
of physical forests as of old,
but through the forest of darkened minds.
They are armed with a spiritual armor
and an inner sun makes them radiant.
Out of them shines healing,
healing that flows from the knowledge
of the human being as a spiritual being.
They must create inner order, inner justice,
peace and conviction in the darkness
of our time. ~Karl Konig

Agenda for this meeting (CST)
 7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Mariarosa – pages 117-123b
          Marianne – pages 123b-129
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse

Here & There

~Under the Clouds
The Robins nod & bow & walk & fly…
All Beings
In the ethers spin
Exchanging countless exhaled breaths…
We are growing, remembering, forgetting, Becoming…
We are the many…
One face changing expression..
~hag

When the disciples experienced the Ascension, which was for them not merely the proof of the whole immeasurable significance of the Christ impulse for the formative forces of every human soul after death, but was at the same time, the event thru which they were able to attain the fullest most all-encompassing knowledge of the new relationship between microcosm & macrocosm.

~hag

Because of the Ascension the human soul can come into contact with the cosmic sphere where Christ derived the forces for His Resurrection Body. The sphere of the Father, where the Atma, or future Spirit Human, is derived.

~hag

And now, since in the Resurrection, Christ has united the forces of the cosmic midnight hour directly with earth evolution, this created a bridge for all human beings over the cosmic abyss, unlocking the gate between the cosmic midnight hour & the midday moment of cosmic existence. 

The Ascension provided the opportunity for The Holy Spirit, who illuminates individual ego-consciousness, to be able to appear in earthly evolution among human beings at Whitsun, to pour into them the true knowledge of the Mystery of Golgotha & the Ascension in full wisdom.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is a direct consequence of the Resurrection & the Ascension.

But to be able to receive this Universal Healing Spirit & Wisdom of the Divine Sophia we must wait – willingly & trustingly experiencing the pain of seeming separation. The clear headed awakening must allow an open space – a pure empty vessel for the spirit to fill. As individuals we must feel that loneliness, which Steiner describes in ‘How To Know Higher Worlds’ as a preparation for initiation.

Encircling with us in that sacred space we can join with other seeking souls. We can engage with our Angel. We can invite the so-called dead & our unborn descendants to hold the space with us, knowing that the Comforter, the Paraclete will come…

Then the Christ impulse can enter human souls thru the mediation of the Holy Spirit, so that we can retain ego-consciousness without being overwhelmed by Christ’s powerful Sun nature. The benevolent Sun, that gives life generating warmth to all existence, is a bridge, connecting the Above & the Below, the inside with the outside, the Me with the We…

~hag

28 May 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Jupiter and Mars appear almost equally close to each other on Sunday and Monday mornings. But watch their changing orientation. The actual conjunction is shown above, on Sunday the 29th.

Da Vinci

We understand only the very smallest part of human history and of our own life if we consider it in its external aspect, I mean in that aspect which we see from the limited view-point of our earthly life between birth and death. It is impossible to comprehend the inner motives of history and life unless we turn our gaze to that spiritual background which underlies the outer, physical happenings”. ~Rudolf Steiner, Karmic Relationships, Volume IV: Lecture III

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day (RSarchives)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (Rudolf Steiner’s orginal Calendar of the Soul, The Present Age magazine, Wikipedia)

Emmanuel Lafont

585 BC – the 1st prediction of a solar eclipse by the Greek philosopher & scientist Thales, which occurs while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in Halys, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other eclipse dates can be calculated

1696 – Birthday of Leopold Gyorgy Rakoczy, also known as Comte de St. Germain, an incarnation of the individuality known as Christian Rosenkrutz

1892 – In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club

1961 – Peter Benenson’s article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.

1995 – The 7.0 Mw Neftegorsk earthquake shook the Russian settlement of Neftegorsk, with 2,989 deaths &750 injured. The settlement was never rebuilt.

1999 – In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display

A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor & Spirit Community with the Eastern, Central and Western Regional Councils of the Anthroposophical Society in America

Sunday 29 May 2022 –  at 3 – 4:30 pm PT / 4-5:30 MT / 5-6:30 pm CT / 6-7:30 pm ET

We will be working with Rudolf Steiner’s THE FIFTH GOSPEL GA 148, Lecture II, 2 October 1913, Oslo

The Whitsun Festival highlights one of the greatest challenges of being human: placing our individual gifts, our individual “I”, in right relationship within the social realm. This challenge is strongly felt during this time of the consciousness soul age. Our groups striving to know Spiritual Science must work together as a community, to have the possibility to create this type of culture, and the opportunity is here for each of us to meet, human to human, where a sacrament is possible in every encounter. Our individual strength comes from our personal development and is enhanced by weaving our gifts together with others, knitting our social world in conscious community.

For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

Topic: All Regions Whitsun

Time: May 29, 2022 05:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7050174041?pwd=WkNaNDlPS0VIMTJUUkE1ZkFMaDh5dz09

Meeting ID: 705 017 4041

Passcode: Whitsun

The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
June 1, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)
“Anyone who approaches these mysteries today must feel that they are confronting and challenging themselves by striving for the virtues of Parzival, while knowing that — because of modern conditions — they are in fact someone else also, the wounded Amfortas. Today we bear this divided nature within us: aspiring Parzival, wounded Amfortas. That is what self-knowledge must lead us to feel. From this recognition will flow the forces which make a unity again of this duality, and will thus advance us a little further in world evolution.”~ from Chapter 15,  Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 15 “Acknowledging Amfortas,” excerpts from Steiner’s lecture given at Berlin on 7 February 1913 (GA 144, lecture IV), will be the focus of the June 1 meeting.

A transcript of the entire lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link. Please consider giving to the development and maintenance of the digital library of Rudolf Steiner’s work.  Scroll to the bottom of this message to read more about the RSArchive.org and SteinerLibrary.org
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
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)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv

If you have questions, please contact Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com or Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu.

There is a knighthood of the 21st century
whose riders do not ride through the darkness
of physical forests as of old,
but through the forest of darkened minds.
They are armed with a spiritual armor
and an inner sun makes them radiant.
Out of them shines healing,
healing that flows from the knowledge
of the human being as a spiritual being.
They must create inner order, inner justice,
peace and conviction in the darkness
of our time. ~Karl Konig

Agenda for this meeting (CST)
 7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Mariarosa – pages 117-123b
          Marianne – pages 123b-129
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse

New Sun

Jacques Le Grant

The Ascension of Christ — the sky into which the Risen One grows — is our very Earth itself. Through Him, the Earth is transformed into Heaven.” ~Emil Bock, The New Testament in the Light of Spiritual Science

Here is the link to last nights Ascension presentation for The Boston Branch.

To continue this contemplation, here are a few more thoughts that I didn’t have time to bring yesterday:

With Anthroposophy we know that the victory over death thru Christ’s deed on Golgotha makes it possible for humanity to continue to reincarnate into physical bodies. Our physical bodies have earth-gravity, but our etheric bodies have Sun levity, SO if Christ’s deed had not taken place, not only would our physical bodies deteriorated over time, but also our etheric bodies would have left the physical for good as well, & the existence of humankind would have come to an end, having no formative forces to give them life.

Christ remains in union with the Earth, which rescues for the Earth the Sunward-striving etheric body.

We know that until the Mystery of Golgotha, the Sun was the dwelling place of the Christ. The human etheric body, which was in danger of being drawn out towards the Sun, like clouds, & dispersed –is held together, contained thru Christ’s cosmic deed, so that we are not dispersed, but can remain individuals.

~hag

At the Baptism the Christ Being united with the physical body of Jesus of Nazareth & was therefore united with earthly evolution as a whole.

At the Transfiguration The Christ permeates the etheric body of Jesus.

In the scene of the transfiguration, Christ reveals his higher Sun nature –to the 3 chosen disciples – A visionary manifestation of the fully transformed etheric body, which radiates light like a Sun.

These events are mirrored, & transformed by the mystery of Golgotha. Ascension relates to the Transfiguration & Whitsun to the Baptism.

In the Ascension Christ showed the connection to the spiritual Sun forces which became manifest in the Transfiguration with the etheric bodies of all human beings.

When Christ entered into Jesus at the Baptism, His Sun-Being took over the ego of Jesus, the Zarathustra soul had to leave the body or be completely overpowered.

After the Resurrection the Christ impulse can live within humankind without taking over the ego-consciousness. But in order for this to happen Christ had to Ascend, to open the way for the Holy Spirit to descend.

The benevolent Sun, that gives life generating warmth to all existence, is a bridge, connecting the macrocosm with the microcosm.

Christ has united with the earth in order to make it the New Sun of a New Universe.

The Descent into Hell rescued the physical forces for humanity; the Ascension rescued the formative forces. We can picture the connection between the descent into Hell on Holy Saturday with the Ascension which is the metamorphosis of the scene of the Transfiguration; – & in Whitsun, the transformation of the Baptism.

Just as the experience of the Ascension lies between Easter & Whitsun, so between Good Friday & Easter lies the event known as Christ’s Descent into Hell. Both hold the image of Christ disappearing from sight.

The image of The ‘phantom body of Christ’ is the reconstituted New Adam.

And the ‘Resurrection Body’, points us in the direction of our future evolution, not back to the garden, but going forward, toward the New Jerusalem.

That is why after the Resurrection the Being of Christ couldn’t be touched by Mary Magdalana in the old garden. But then after the time of meeting the 2 on the road to Emmas, Christ in His Angelic form continued materializing & dematerializing at will. This ‘etheric body of Christ’ encompasses the whole of humanity. It is like a cell that is multiplying; growing ever more evident in the etheric realm. –

Rudolf Steiner calls it a redeeming of the group-soul of humankind. A group-soul unified thru Christ in Free Will.

The expression “Put on the Resurrection Body” used by the apostle Paul, is a true picture of what can happen for us. – An imagination of this is secreted in the allegory of the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz , an initiatory image of the 3-fold Festival of Easter-tide…

May we ever strive to ascend, honing our individual development, so that together we can ‘worthily fulfill’ the chalice in the Upper room of our conscious community, into which the Sophia can enkindle & overflow – pouring thru us into the world…

~hag

2022, May 27: Dazzling Venus, Lunar Crescent, Mars Nears Jupiter – When the  Curves Line Up

27 May 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Waning Bella Luna & Venus (occult Mercury) in conversation

The Best Sky Sights of 2022 – The Amazing Sky


Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
 (RSarchives)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (Rudolf Steiner’s orginal Calendar of the Soul, The Present Age magazine, Wikipedia)

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is mateo-cerezo_1637-1666_magdalena.jpg
Mateo Cerezo

Birthday of Mary Magdalene – “…Mary Magdalene focuses on the inner worlds of initiation. We imagine that, not through outer pomp and pageantry, but through gnosis or direct knowing, she seeks union with the Divine. Hers is the path of the sacred marriage, accomplished within.” ~ from the preface of ‘The Gospel of Mary Magdalene’ by Jean-Yves Leloup, David Tresemer, PhD, and Laura-Lee Cannon.

The Barque of Dante by Eugène Delacroix

1265 – Birthday of Dante (thought to be reincarnated as King John of Saxony. Beyond his political work, John was busy with literature. Under the pseudonym Philalethes he translated to German Dante’s Divine Comedy)

1564 – Deathday of John Calvin an influential French theologian & pastor during the Protestant Reformation, called Calvinism, influenced by the Augustinian tradition. The aim of Calvin’s political theory was to safeguard the rights and freedoms of ordinary people.

1840 – Deathday of Paganini an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, & composer – the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time.

1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi begins his attack on Palermo, Sicily, as part of the Italian unification.

A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries: Bubonic plague hits San Francisco

1907 – Bubonic plague breaks out in San Francisco


1907 – Birthday of Rachel Carson, American biologist, environmentalist, and author


1933 – The Century of Progress World’s Fair opens in Chicago – Anthroposophers Ehrenfried Pfeiffer & Guenther Wachsmuth came to this!

A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor & Spirit Community with the Eastern, Central and Western Regional Councils of the Anthroposophical Society in America

Sunday 29 May 2022 –  at 3 – 4:30 pm PT / 4-5:30 MT / 5-6:30 pm CT / 6-7:30 pm ET

We will be working with Rudolf Steiner’s THE FIFTH GOSPEL GA 148, Lecture II, 2 October 1913, Oslo

The Whitsun Festival highlights one of the greatest challenges of being human: placing our individual gifts, our individual “I”, in right relationship within the social realm. This challenge is strongly felt during this time of the consciousness soul age. Our groups striving to know Spiritual Science must work together as a community, to have the possibility to create this type of culture, and the opportunity is here for each of us to meet, human to human, where a sacrament is possible in every encounter. Our individual strength comes from our personal development and is enhanced by weaving our gifts together with others, knitting our social world in conscious community.

For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

Topic: All Regions Whitsun

Time: May 29, 2022 05:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7050174041?pwd=WkNaNDlPS0VIMTJUUkE1ZkFMaDh5dz09

Meeting ID: 705 017 4041

Passcode: Whitsun

The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
June 1, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)
“Anyone who approaches these mysteries today must feel that they are confronting and challenging themselves by striving for the virtues of Parzival, while knowing that — because of modern conditions — they are in fact someone else also, the wounded Amfortas. Today we bear this divided nature within us: aspiring Parzival, wounded Amfortas. That is what self-knowledge must lead us to feel. From this recognition will flow the forces which make a unity again of this duality, and will thus advance us a little further in world evolution.”~ from Chapter 15,  Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 15 “Acknowledging Amfortas,” excerpts from Steiner’s lecture given at Berlin on 7 February 1913 (GA 144, lecture IV), will be the focus of the June 1 meeting.

A transcript of the entire lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link. Please consider giving to the development and maintenance of the digital library of Rudolf Steiner’s work.  Scroll to the bottom of this message to read more about the RSArchive.org and SteinerLibrary.org
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
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)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv

If you have questions, please contact Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com or Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu.

There is a knighthood of the 21st century
whose riders do not ride through the darkness
of physical forests as of old,
but through the forest of darkened minds.
They are armed with a spiritual armor
and an inner sun makes them radiant.
Out of them shines healing,
healing that flows from the knowledge
of the human being as a spiritual being.
They must create inner order, inner justice,
peace and conviction in the darkness
of our time. ~Karl Konig

Agenda for this meeting (CST)
 7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Mariarosa – pages 117-123b
          Marianne – pages 123b-129
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse