Greetings Friends on this Christmas Eve – Adam & Eve’s Day –
I wanted to share this gift before I sign off for the Holy Nights. Save the Date & make your plans Now to be part of this Sacred Passage.
Velsum Voices Presents: New Nightingale, New Rose
Saturday, 28 January 2023, at 2 pm PT
A Benefit Concert to support Nancy Jewel Poer and the community events at White Feather Ranch
In the Peace Garden at White Feather Ranch, Placerville, CA
Come join us for Velsum’s West Coast Debut!All Ages ~ All Love Donations Appreciated
Dress in warm clothes for a hearty heart-filled afternoon of music and celebration.We will have an outdoor fire. If it is too chilly we can meet in the Ranch House.Pack your own picnic lunch or dinner.
‘Velsum‘ is a musical initiative formed through Lucien Dante Lazar and Ultra-Violet Archer. Celebrating harmony, rhythm, prayer, and the human voice, Velsum’s songs are inspired to develop our human capacity for Love and Logic. Each song is permeated with a sincere interest in the other, the self, the world, and the cosmos. Velsum’s music is a product of listening – we hope that by listening to these songs, you feel heard!
Lucien and Ultra met as children at the Chicago Waldorf School, and became friends and collaborators as young adults. They now write, record and perform original music through the initiative Velsum. They debuted the show ‘New Nightingale, New Rose’ last winter at Angelic Organics Farm, and have performed it throughout the Midwest. Through weaving harmonies, poetic recitations, and movement, ‘New Nightingale, New Rose’ invites the audience on a quest for love and wisdom. A joyful experience awaits young and old! Here is a short video clip of Velsum, and here you can find their link to all links! https://linktr.ee/velsum
Ultra-Violet Archer – (b. Chicago, IL, 1999) is a songwriter and music producer, exploring music as a tool for healing and storytelling. After studying at Oberlin College & Conservatory and spending a year in Järna, Sweden, at the International Youth initiative Program, she currently studies music at Columbia College Chicago. She strives to make music that invites people to honor the parts of themselves they feel but can’t yet put into words. https://linktr.ee/UltraVioletArcher
Lucien Dante Lazar (b. Chicago, IL, 1994) is an interdisciplinary artist whose praxis is founded in the intersections of art, science, and spirituality. He received his BA from Bard College (2016), his MFA from California College of the Arts (2020), and is currently working on his PhD in the Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness program at California Institute of Integral Studies. His dissertation will concern the pedagogy of spiritual development through the diversity of the arts.
Blessings dear friends on this eve of the eve of Adam & Eve’s day – For many years I have offered readings for each of the Holy Nights, but this year I will be at the ‘Fire in the Temple’ conference at Beaver Run in Penn. – fasting from all things cyber.
I will also work with the indications given by Astrosopher Jonathan Hilton in a reverent Speaking with the Stars during this Holy Time out of Time, as well as the Midnight star pictures given by Alan Thewless.
It came to me this afternoon that along with reading Steiner’s 5th Gospel, I will also work with the Gospel of John, as given in the New Testament & from the lectures by Steiner, while exploring how I can link my heart to the 1st Goetheanum inscribed into the ethers after the burning 100 years ago, to work towards a Cosmic New Year, & prepare for the renewal of the Christmas Conference in 2023.
“When Jesus of Nazareth died on the Cross, at that moment there was born for the earth something that was previously to be found only in the Cosmos.
The death of Jesus of Nazareth was the birth of the Cosmic Love within the sphere of the earth.
This is, so to speak, the first knowledge we are able to read from the Fifth Gospel.” ~Rudolf Steiner , THE FIFTH GOSPEL, GA 148, Lecture II
Here is the link to the recording of Adriana’s presentation The ‘Envy of the Gods’ – The ‘Envy of Human Beings’.
In this time of reflecting back & looking forward, in my imagination I see the future as a line arcing out in front of us. The past is a line extending behind. But space is curved. So at that mysteries midpoint in the leminscate, the future meets the past – & the eternal circle is joined in wholeness. And guess what? – we call that, The Present – The Now – A sacred space, the place, in time & space, where we can meet ourselves wherever we go. We even meet ourselves when we greet each other. And so we can share this present together, this gift of now, unwrapping it together in the spirit of Peace, Love & Wisdom…
Open to the dark of the vast universe between stars… The mystery of the tomb & the waiting womb
Wrap this darkness gently about you like a comfortable blanket…Float gently now in its depths…Grow here, nourished by an invisible cord that connects you to the Source of all life…Floating gently in the dark…Softly rocking in the dark…And although it is dark, we realize that what surrounds us is not empty, but – like the womb – full of life. Take a moment now to sense the swirling, nurturing energy of the dark.
And now, as the energy increases, there is a spark…& the dark gives birth – See that spark of new life now as it glows, watch that spark now, watch it as it grows. Glowing brighter & brighter, it grows into a flame. And as you look at this flame, its light fills you with warmth…the light fills you with love. And as you feel the increased love & warmth within you, the visible intensity of the flame slowly diminishes, & as it does, in its place, slowly coming to light, is the outline of a present. A gift…Becoming more tangible, until you can see its form clearly. Look how it is wrapped in a glistening filament of light. This gift has your name on it, inscribed with glimmering fire. Is your name written in a special color? Is the inscription special in any other way? Approach your wrapped present now more closely. What shape is it? How big is it? What color is the wrapping? Pick it up: Is it light? heavy? And now go ahead, unwrap your gift…How easy or difficult is it to unwrap? Does it take time to reveal itself? Do you need a tool to loosen the binding? Or does the veil just drop away…?
When you finish opening your present….Receive your gift. What is it? Look at it carefully. Experience it fully. Accept it. Accept your gift with joy. Feel your heart warm with the love of this present moment, the continuous universal love with which this gift is given to you again & again. And now, if it is your will, from your heart, send out gratitude for this gift, send out thanks for this gift, send it out – like light – like a bright beacon back to the Great Mother, back to the Father Ground, out to the Universe – Send out your eternal thanks for this gift of now…
Now, it’s important to find a place for this gift. A safe space where you can access this gift, a place to put this gift to work, so that when you use it, what you share may bless the world, as well as give you the strength you need during the whole of the New Year. What is your gift to the world?
Lighting a candle: Deep in the ground of the human soul Of victory assured The Spirit-Sun is living All through the winter of the inner life The faithful heart divines it. ~Rudolf Steiner
See you in the dark Find you in the light On Epiphany… Xox ~hag
Amy Giacomelli.
~Follow the Star~
Epiphany Friday 6 January 2023
Option to Join us 1st for ‘The Word on Fire’- Eurythmy with Jan Ranck 4:30 pm ($25 suggested contribution)
Potluck: 6 pm – Festival: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
To cap the Holy Nights, we gather to co-create an Epiphany on the Birthday of Joan of Arc, recalling the gifts of the Magi, & the Baptism, for an art-full community envisioning of the New Year 2023
Thank you to all who joined us on the Longest Night of Winter Solstice for the presentation offered by Adriana Koulias. The recording & PDF of her Power Point will be posted soon on the Rudolf Steiner Branch Web Site
This POD (Poem Of the Day) was inspired by the night:
Come celebrate the unseen powers that sustain the world… Pay reverence to what’s underneath: The Holy column of support The liminal benediction from above The christened periphery An awakened still-point within Elusive, uncanny & darkly delicious…
Harken to inner vitality peaking with thinking as smart as it gets acting as if every move is a dance…
It’s the Sun-@-Midnight time on the wheel of the year…
To participate in the grand Cosmic-cycle this phase invites us to throb in luminescence with soft vitality & active silence peppering the cold acoustic with our hot breath…
Be a fluid bolt of ingenious reverence Etherizing the righteous blending of grace & power in communal service to the Divine “I” in every eye As we imprint the Holy Nights with sublime intent… ~hag
“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.” ~Aldous Huxley
The 5th Night of Hanukkah
304 – Deathday of Saint Florian a Christian holy man, and the patron saint of Linz, Austria; chimney sweeps; soapmakers, & firefighters. The “Florian Principle” (known in German language areas as “Sankt-Florians-Prinzip”) is named after a somewhat ironic prayer to Saint Florian: “O heiliger Sankt Florian, verschon’ mein Haus, zünd’ and’re an”, equivalent to “O Holy St. Florian, please spare my house, set fire to another one”. This saying is used in German much like the English “not in my back yard“, when the speaker wants to point out that some person tries to get out of an unpleasant situation by an action that will put others in that very same situation. The name Florian is considered synonymous with fireman in the German speaking world. In some cases call for a fireman will actually be spoken as calls for Florian.
856 – Damghan earthquake kills an estimated 200,000 people, the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history
1808 – Ludwig van Beethoven conducts & performs in concert at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, with the premiere of his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto (performed by Beethoven himself) & Choral Fantasy (with Beethoven at the piano)
Jim Zinanti
~Follow the Star~
Epiphany Friday 6 January 2023
Potluck: 5:30 pm – Program: 7 pm-8:30 pm
To cap the Holy Nights, we gather to co-create an Epiphany on the Birthday of Joan of Arc, calling in the aid of Christ-Sophia-Michael, for an art-full community envisioning of the New Year 2023
Eurythmy with Jan Rank
Singing with Velsum Voices
Leading Thoughts with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Doors Open at 5:45 pm – Please Bring Food & Drink to Share
Entering into the Longest Night Entering into the Birth of Light Consecrating the prophetic Nativity Of a new Solar year In Yule-Tide Exultation In the light of Transformation…
The battle between old & new – Dark & Light…
The Winter Solstice is the dark before the dawn, a time of renewal, giving us the most primordial myths of humankind: In Old Norse mythology, the Sun goddess was swallowed up by the wolf of darkness, but was reborn as her daughter, the maiden goddess of the underworld, who rose again to illumine the world.
In Greece & Rome, midwinter marked the birth of Sun gods, such as Mithras & Dionysus, who died & journeyed into the underworld, winning gifts for humankind before their miraculous rebirth.
Dahlia Khodur
In the Hellenistic world, initiates into the Mysteries of Isis had to undergo a ceremony of death & rebirth in which they entered the underworld to gaze upon the “Sun at Midnight.” This ceremony, which had its origins in ancient Egypt, speaks of the journey of the soul into the fecund depths of the subconscious mind, where we meet the Guardian at the Threshold, which opens to the dark sea of spirit from which all creation comes forth, purified & born anew.
To this day people gather at sacred sites as far apart as Newgrange in Ireland & the temple of Karnak in Egypt, to celebrate the miracle of the Sun’s return at the darkest time of the year – In the pitch-black sanctuaries of caves & earth chambers, to wait for the birth of new light & life.
All ways we must honor the dark before calling in the light.
The esoteric meaning of this time of year can be gleaned from the ancient mystery schools & its essence applied consciously now.
Let each of us journey down into the cave of the soul to drink from the secret well of wisdom & find the hidden flame within the dark – then return bearing our own unique gift of Light for the world.
The hag has gone to seed – & become bone…a fresh soul-frame for the new year. Let us stand in uprightness at the door & dare to open the portal to face the abyss – To release ourselves from the outer world for a sacred moment, that we may invoke our own immaculate conception – That we may surrender to the ‘waking dreaming’ – To celebrate the dark, where the inner life is honored & nurtured by the many Marys within…
The power of Peace – The Birth of Love – The Light of Wisdom
… ‘The wine dark sea’… … The active dark womb… … The dark space between the stars…
Let the Power of Faith lead us from the darkness into the birth of our own unique inner light…
The Darkness is coming… But never fear… The darkness is coming… But the light is near… The darkness is coming… The darkness is here…
Engel Kunst
The gift of the light (Gesture: Both hands scoop up light & bring it to your heart) We thankfully take, But nothing may be, Just alone for our sake. The more we give light (Hands move outward) The one to the other It shines & spreads life (Arms move out horizontally, spreading light) Growing still further, Till every spark is set aflame. (Right hand in front of chest shows the proof of a flame.) Till every heart, Joy shall proclaim. (Eurythmy Ah — arms up, palms upward)
~hag
21 December 2022 “Speaking with the Stars”: The winter solstice occurs at 3:48 pm CST today.
Mercury reaches greatest elongation east of the Sun (20°) at 9 am CST this morning. The solar system’s smallest planet is visible in the evening twilight.
Nearby, blazingly bright Venus is to Mercury’s west (lower right). Although Venus is closer to the horizon, it’s so bright that it will remain easy to spot until it sets about an hour after the Sun. In just a few days, a delicate crescent Moon will join this pair in the Christmas Eve sky.
Finally, Mars passes north of the bright red giant Aldebaran in Taurus at 10 pm CST tonight.
Online & in-person at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago
Dear Friends – This special presentation is supported by your generous donations. $10-$50 or pay what you will www.rschicago.org/donate(credit card or PayPal)
Please type ‘Adriana’ to designate your payment
For those attending in-person doors open at 5:30 pm for our Potluck meal.
Please bring food & drink to share.
For more Info. contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Work on building the First Goetheanum, which was designed and supervised by Rudolf Steiner, began after the laying of the double dodecahedron foundation stone on the 20th of September 1913. Construction proceeded for a decade under enormous difficulties in the political, economic and cultural realms, brought on by the advent of the First World War. After the war when the building was near completion, the First Goetheanum was destroyed by an arsonist on New Year’s Eve 1922/1923.
This NYE 2022-23 will be the 100th anniversary of this event and the world is again facing many difficulties, political, economic and social. Adriana’s lecture will explore what Rudolf Steiner meant by the ‘Envy of the Gods and the Envy of Human beings’ and how a consciousness of this during the coming 12 Holy Nights can provide the necessary strengthening for the coming twelve months.
During this presentation Adriana will speak about the three gifts given by Rudolf Steiner in 1913: The naming of Anthroposophy, The Fifth Gospel, and The Laying of the Foundation Stone of the First Goetheanum. She will explore with us how we can link our hearts to the old Goetheanum during the coming 12 Holy Nights to prepare ourselves for the coming 12 months in 2023, so we can work towards a Cosmic New Year.
In this way we will celebrate the Jubilee of the Christmas Conference and the resurrection of the living impulse of the First Goetheanum in the most auspicious way.
For Rudolf Steiner tells us: ‘My dear friends, may this link our hearts to the old Goetheanum which we had to consign to the elements. May it link our hearts also to the Spirit, to the Soul of this Goetheanum. With this vow before whatever is best within our being we want to live on not only into the new year. In strength of deed, bearing the spirit, leading the soul we want to live on into the new cosmic year.’ ~Rudolf Steiner, ‘The Envy of the Gods and the Envy of Human Beings.’
Adriana Koulias was born in 1960 in Brazil. Adriana moved to Australia when she was 9 years old where she lives today. She has studied art, operatic singing and nursing. She has been studying Anthroposophy (awareness of our humanity) as given by Rudolf Steiner for 33 years and has since 2002-3 integrated this knowledge into several novels and a number of books, international lectures and articles online and in magazines.
Beloved Friends – As the Advent & now the Hanukkah candles are lit – I contemplate: These are the darkest days, the longest nights, fraught with internal midnights – a grey time when it’s easy to forget the bright crystal radiance of the newborn Sun – that is still to come. The perfect time to celebrate the dark in a Festival of Light…
When we meld intention with valor to embrace our darkest spaces in the fierce onslaught of restless tossing – we will deepen into the boundless birthing. Softening until we are ripe, like pomegranates that seep & pulse ruby red – an opening of the dark wound – taking us from the dark into new light.
May grace chime in our bell-hollows, so that Night Herself can become the conduit to the New Mary.
Yes, a Great Shift is happening, ready or not, here I come – go…
Closer & closer – a blending in the bow of color, out pictured as a cosmic conversation in the BecomingTwilight.
Come on, lets uncover our eyes, loosen our tongues & go out into the night, to hula-hoop the rings of Saturn round glad hips, while balancing Jupiter on our held-high-head as a benevolent crown so that we can reclaim our Human Kingdom.
Will we will to – align the solar system – by straightening our collective spine? – As we prepare to pass thru the star portal of Winter Solstice of 2022 – a ticklish bellybutton in the world moment.
The Milky Way is pouring from our pineal gland – Drink it all in – to activate our inner “I”.
See, Divine Helpers enter with each inhalation. Breathe them in – & sing them out, in a frosty bestowing. The Christmas Star is meant to re-tune our mind to your heart – That we stand together as Shepherd AND King.
YES, Together we Become – the new variant – the human evolution revolution.
~hag
19 December 2022 “Speaking with the Stars”: Have you ever watched a Sirius-rise? Find an open view right down to the east-southeast horizon, and watch for Sirius to come up about two fists below Orion’s vertical belt. Sirius rises sometime around 7 pm now.
Resurrection of the Temple (The first Goetheanum) by Rita de Cassia Perez, Adriana’s mother
The ‘Envy of the Gods’ – The ‘Envy of Human Beings’
Presented byAdriana Koulias*
A Winter Solstice offering preparing us for the Centennial commemoration
of the burning of the first Goetheanum.
21 December2022, at 5 pm PT, 6 pm MT, 7 pm CT, 8 pm ET
Online & in-person at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago
Dear Friends – This special presentation is supported by your generous donations. $10-$50 or pay what you will www.rschicago.org/donate(credit card or PayPal)
Please type ‘Adriana’ to designate your payment
For those attending in-person doors open at 5:30 pm for our Potluck meal.
Please bring food & drink to share.
For more Info. contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Work on building the First Goetheanum, which was designed and supervised by Rudolf Steiner, began after the laying of the double dodecahedron foundation stone on the 20th of September 1913. Construction proceeded for a decade under enormous difficulties in the political, economic and cultural realms, brought on by the advent of the First World War. After the war when the building was near completion, the First Goetheanum was destroyed by an arsonist on New Year’s Eve 1922/1923.
This NYE 2022-23 will be the 100th anniversary of this event and the world is again facing many difficulties, political, economic and social. Adriana’s lecture will explore what Rudolf Steiner meant by the ‘Envy of the Gods and the Envy of Human beings’ and how a consciousness of this during the coming 12 Holy Nights can provide the necessary strengthening for the coming twelve months.
During this presentation Adriana will speak about the three gifts given by Rudolf Steiner in 1913: The naming of Anthroposophy, The Fifth Gospel, and The Laying of the Foundation Stone of the First Goetheanum. She will explore with us how we can link our hearts to the old Goetheanum during the coming 12 Holy Nights to prepare ourselves for the coming 12 months in 2023, so we can work towards a Cosmic New Year.
In this way we will celebrate the Jubilee of the Christmas Conference and the resurrection of the living impulse of the First Goetheanum in the most auspicious way.
For Rudolf Steiner tells us: ‘My dear friends, may this link our hearts to the old Goetheanum which we had to consign to the elements. May it link our hearts also to the Spirit, to the Soul of this Goetheanum. With this vow before whatever is best within our being we want to live on not only into the new year. In strength of deed, bearing the spirit, leading the soul we want to live on into the new cosmic year.’ ~Rudolf Steiner, ‘The Envy of the Gods and the Envy of Human Beings.’
Adriana Koulias was born in 1960 in Brazil. Adriana moved to Australia when she was 9 years old where she lives today. She has studied art, operatic singing and nursing. She has been studying Anthroposophy (awareness of our humanity) as given by Rudolf Steiner for 33 years and has since 2002-3 integrated this knowledge into several novels and a number of books, international lectures and articles online and in magazines.
