Daily Archives: March 14, 2023

MMMMM

Bernardino Luini

Greetings friends – So many have shown an interest in the phenomena that is Mary Magdalene which I touched on for the death day of Pope Gregory in my last essay, that I thought to share a bit about the process of how spirit works.

During the Holy Nights, I use the Festival times as milestones in the rorschach of the year – & open to receive inspirations into what the cycle of the coming year is calling for. During this significant year leading from the anniversary of the burning of the 1st Goetheanum to the Centennial of the Refounding of Anthroposophy – What has come forth feels revelatory.

Our Epiphany Festival ‘Follow the Star’ on the Birthday of Joan of Arc, explored the gifts of the Magi, & the Baptism – with Singing & Eurythmy – the perfect theme to start the New Year.

In alignment with the energies of the Spring Equinox I am bringing in Claudia Fontana from Ann Arbor for a weekend Eurythmy workshop: ‘The Categories of Aristotle’.

The big revelation for EASTER 2023 came on the morning of January 1st after a powerful NYE contemplation as part of the ‘Fire in the Temple’ gathering at Camphill Beaver Run. I woke up knowing that I was being called to work with Mary Magdalene!   I even saw in my mind’s eye the title of the Festival: ‘Mary Magdalene & the Women at the Tomb.’

This shook me a bit – since this individuality can be seen as controversial, & that was the last thing I want to be associated with, since many already consider my work with the new Mysteries of Anthroposophia to be unconventional. But I have certainly learned that when the call comes, none of that mishegoss matters.

Juan de Flandes

I have long resonated with the mysteries of Lazarus-John, because of my profound connection to the Rosicrucian impulse. So I wasn’t too suprised that the other flash of inspiration was to celebrate the Festival of Lazarus Saturday (the Saturday before Palm Sunday) this year.

Even before The Holy Nights I had taken up reading the Gospels, & Mary Magdalene’s Being kept poking me, strongly urging me to find & decipher her thru-line in the various Gospel accounts. I knew the apocryphal Gospels of Tomas & Philip spoke about her, & I found The Gospel of Mary Magdalene online. So after I returned from Beaver Run I started taking notes & collating material – telling my team here in Chicago that Mary Magdalene was coming in for Easter!

I find that after I receive an inspiration for a Festival or lecture or workshop, the Universe conspires to give me everything I need to serve.

So I was delighted when I returned from my Northern California tour, where I had brought a CrossQuarter Festival to Three Springs Biodynamic Farm, to find that a friend had sent me a notice about a 7 week zoom meeting called ‘Who is Mary Magdalene’? with Faith DiVecchio. I had missed the 1st session but Faith graciously allowed me to come in after that.

Faith is currently studying at the Christian Community Seminary & is able to bring deep insights into the being of Mary Magdalene. She holds the zoom space with a hygienic reverence that leaves plenty of breathing space. I love how she simply brings the Gospel readings & then allows the group to take them in, sharing their own impressions, & then moving into discussion & conversation. Every person in the intimate group blows me away with their insights; it is a soul opening communal experience. Being a lover & collector of spiritual images myself, I truly appreciate how Faith brings great works of art into every session for us to ponder & again share what becomes inspired within us.

https://www.sueellenparkinson.com/prints/mary-magdalene

Another powerful synchronicity came the same week I heard about Faith’s group, poet Fred La Motte invited me to a 4 day conference called ‘Re-Uniting With Our Roots: Mythica’s Second Annual Mary Magdalene Conference’ which explored the Gospel stories with an incredibly diverse array of artists, poets & musicians sharing their devotion & original creations.

Sisisterhood ~Sue Ellen Parkinson, one of the presenters

The focus was on celebrating the power of the Divine Feminine to encompass every human relationship; putting an emphasis on sisterhood – to heal the much maligned female friendship.

Jesus Casting out the 7 demons ~Sue Ellen Parkinson

And many have continued this work into a 40 day immersion thru Lenten-Tide to explore further the history, art, music & contemplative practices associated with Mary Magdalene. Kathleen Aspo does a great job curating the various voices thru Mythica her foundation for Education, Contemplation & the Arts.

Then I found out my dear friends Lila & David Tresemer wrote & produced & performed in a play about Mary Magdalene that had original music & choreography!

And David Tresemer PH.D & Laura-Lea Cannon wrote the Preface to the translation of ‘The Gospel Mary Magdalene’ that Faith recommended which they called ‘Who is Mary Magdalene?

And then a few weeks ago my beloved husband CG who is taking a class with Patrick Kennedy said that he mentioned Mary Magdalene in one of his sessions working with the Old Testament. So I started looking into Exodus & found a connection in my understanding of MM with The Shekinah, the expression of the Divine Feminine in the Hebrew tradition, & the powerful symbol of The Mercy Seat of the Arc of the Covenant. This seemed to point to a correspondence with The Egyptian Mysteries of Isis…& on & on…

Steven Hale, a regular contributor in the comment section of RR, has been sharing various clues & quotes about MM including, The Gospel of Peter, which I had not known about, & also insights from Steiner.

So much is pouring in…

As I mentioned in my last essay ‘Do what you are doing’ it really feels like there has been a shift in the world ethers allowing a new initiatory force to reach ‘those who have ears to hear’ & the will to take up the example & teachings of the “Apostle to the Apostles” – Mary Magdalene.

Faith DiVecchio is right in the flow of this energy, offering another 7 week exploration on zoom, & an upcoming in-person retreat.

And you can join us for our annual Easter Festival:  

William Adolphe Bouguereau

Mary Magdalene & the Women at the Tomb – A Festival of Recognition

with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, & Faith DiVecchio

Song-Circle with Velsum

Holy Saturday 8 April 2023

1 pm – 3pm CT hybrid event in-person at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago & on zoom

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7050174041

Meeting ID: 705 017 4041

For more Info. contact Hag@RSChicago.org Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator for the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618 (map)
www.rschicago.org/donate

madonna-with-st-mary-magdalene-and-st-john-the-baptist-Andrea-Mantegna.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1592 – Ultimate Pi Day: the largest correspondence between calendar dates & significant digits of pi since the introduction of the Julian calendar

1794 – Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin

1879 – Birthday of Albert Einstein! (1879 the year Michael became the Time-Spirit)

Image result for Georg Philipp Telemann

1681 – Birthday of Georg Philipp Telemann, a German Baroque composer & multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family’s wishes. He held important positions in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach,& Frankfurt before settling in Hamburg in 1721, where he became musical director of the city’s five main churches. While Telemann’s career prospered, his personal life was always troubled: his first wife died only a few months after their marriage, & his second wife had extramarital affairs & accumulated a large gambling debt before leaving Telemann.

Telemann was one of the most prolific composers in history & was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time—he was compared favorably both to his friend Johann Sebastian Bach, who made Telemann the godfather & namesake of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, & to George Frideric Handel, whom Telemann also knew personally. He remained at the forefront of all new musical tendencies & his music is an important link between the late Baroque & early Classical styles

Image result for Ludwig Emil Grimm,

1790 – Birthday of Ludwig Emil Grimm, a German painter, art professor, etcher & copper engraver. His brothers were the well-known folklorists Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm

1804 – Birthday of Johann Strauss I, an Austrian Romantic composer. He was famous for his waltzes, & he popularized them alongside Joseph Lanner, thereby setting the foundations for his sons to carry on his musical dynasty. His most famous piece is the Radetzky March

Here is a Video with a brief Biography of Marie Steiner-von Sivers: ‘A Cosmic Being’

1867 – Birthday of Marie Steiner von Sivers – born into an aristocratic family in Włocławek, Poland, then part of Russia. She was well-educated, fluent in Russian, German, English, French & Italian. She studied theater & recitation with several teachers in Europe.

Marie von Sivers “appeared one day” at one of Rudolf Steiner’s early lectures in 1900. In the autumn of 1901, she posed the question to Steiner, “Would it be possible to create a spiritual movement based on European tradition and the impetus of Christ?” Rudolf Steiner later reported: With this, I was given the opportunity to act in a way that I had only previously imagined. The question had been put to me, and now, according to spiritual laws, I could begin to answer it.

Marie Steiner-von Sivers & Rudolf Steiner were married on Christmas eve 1914, & she was one of his closest colleagues. Marie von Sivers collaborated with Steiner for the rest of his life & carried his work beyond his death in 1925 until her own death in 1948. She accompanied him & helped him as secretary, translator, editor, & organizer of his lecture tours & other public activities. She assisted Steiner’s work with her own resources & in 1908 founded the Philosophical-Theosophical Press (later Philosophical-Anthroposophical) to publish Steiner’s work

She made a great contribution to the development of anthroposophy, particularly in her work on the renewal of the performing arts (eurythmy, speech & drama), & the editing & publishing of Rudolf Steiner’s literary estate.

Starting in 1912, the art of eurythmy was developed by Rudolf Steiner. Under Marie Steiner-von Sivers’ guidance, it developed in three directions, as a stage art, as an integral part of Waldorf pedagogy, & as a therapeutic method. Under her tutelage, two schools of eurythmy were founded, in Berlin & in Dornach, Switzerland.

Marie von Sivers was trained in recitation & elocution & made a study of purely artistic speaking. She gave introductory poetry recitals at Steiner’s lectures & assisted him in the development of the 4 Mystery Dramas (1910–1913). With her help, Steiner conducted several speech & drama courses with the aim of raising these forms to the level of true art. Ms Steiner died on December 27th 1948

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1883 – Deathday of Karl Marx. Rudolf Steiner revealed that Marx was a landowner in Northern France in the early 9th century, & that one day his property was seized by a rival. Marx was then forced to work under the new owner of his former property. The new owner reincarnated as Friedrich Engels, who embarked on a compensatory cooperation with his former rival. So it is that old impulses of destiny may work on in a new incarnation. No wonder that Marx became a fierce enemy of all private property, having himself experienced in a previous life how insecure the private ownership of property can become. Those seeking deeper insight into this historic-karmic background of Marx & Engels & their activities are referred to Steiner’s lecture of 6 April 1924. GA 236.

Related image

1923 – Birthday of Diane Arbus, American photographer & writer noted for photographs of marginalized people—dwarfs, giants, transgender people, nudists, circus performers—& others whose normality was perceived by the general populace as ugly or surreal. In 1972, a year after she committed suicide, Arbus became the first American photographer to have photographs displayed at the Venice Biennale.  Millions viewed traveling exhibitions of her work in 1972–1979. The book accompanying the exhibition, Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph, is the bestselling photography monograph ever, still being reprinted today

1932 – Deathday of George Eastman, American inventor & businessman, founded Eastman Kodak

The Categories of Aristotle – a process of contraction…
Is there a path to expansion…..?

PUBLIC LECTURE AND EURYTHMY WORKSHOP WITH CLAUDIA FONTANA

Friday 24 March 2023 – Lecture 7 pm CT – 8:30 pm – Purchase tickets at the door or pay online
$12

Saturday 25 March 2023 – Workshop – 9 am CT– (10:30 am 1/2 hour break – 11 am) 12:30 pm CT CT– Purchase tickets at the door or pay online $50

The Categories of AristotleA process of contraction…exploring a path to expansion

Does one have to be a philosopher of great erudition to approach Aristotle’s gift to humanity……his Categories?

Perhaps , YES! But an initial acquaintance with them can lead out of the confinement of the intellectual concept to an experience of expansion supported by Eurythmy.

In the evening lecture Claudia will introduce the life of the Categories before they became concepts – Bringing the symbols in a sequence of sounds  (called the Evolutionary Sequence ) out of their conceptual form, to life, supported by Eurythmy and examples of poetry.

During the workshop we will enter into the movement of the poetry presented  during the lecture. This will be accessible to Eurythmists as well as to anyone interested in the life of language, poetry and our alphabet.

at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society
4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map)
https://www.rschicago.org/happenings/calendar 
www.rschicago.org/donate

For more info contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Claudia Fontana saw a Eurythmy performance when still a teenager. Unbeknownst to her at the time, that performance was the gate to her destiny path. Soon thereafter she studied Eurythmy in Vienna and subsequently spent fourteen years as a performer with the Dornach, London and Stuttgart Eurythmeum ensembles. Teaching became the next challenge which she happily met in the United States, Europe. Before Covid, she spent seven years teaching all levels in Thailand, Malaysia and China. She resides in Ann Arbor, MI still performing and teaching.

“Lazarus – Come Forth” – An exploration of the 1st Christian Initiation, thru the Word & Eurythmy

with Rev. Jeana Lee, Mary Ruud & Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Starting at Sundown on Friday 31 March 2023
7 pm – 8:30 pm CT at the Christian Community 2135 W. Wilson Leading Thoughts & Close of Day with Rev. Jeana Lee

Continuing on Lazarus Saturday 1 April 2023
10 am – 12 noon CT Night School Check-in w/ Hazel Archer – Eurythmy w/ Mary Ruud
at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 4249 N. Lincoln Ave

$10 more or less or pay what you will
Please bring a potluck dish to share for the luncheon after the Festival

For more info. contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator Hag@rschicago.org

Antonio Palma

Mary Magdalene & the Women at the Tomb – A Festival of Resurrection

with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, & Faith DiVecchio

Song-Circle with Velsum, 

Holy Saturday 8 April 2023

1 pm – 3pm CT hybrid event in-person at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago & on zoom

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7050174041

Meeting ID: 705 017 4041

For more Info. contact Hag@RSChicago.org Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618 (map)
www.rschicago.org/donate

PRESENTS:

The Mystery of Ascension with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

This course is available on Zoom. You will be emailed a Zoom link closer to the time of the class. The course will be recorded and you will receive a link to watch it. Go to the Infinity Foundation web site to enroll

Course Number 231154 / Zoom
Date: Thursday, May 11
Time 7:00 – 8:30 PM CST
Cost $33/23 payment 10 days in advance

Gerald Shepherd

When we tune into the Cycle of the Seasons, we experience that as the Earth breathes out in the Springtime, the beings of nature reach upwards towards the heights. The longing of the human soul also strives to meet this mood of ascension, which attunes all life to the cosmic expanses.

Together we will gain insights in how to rise up to our Higher Self by participating in this harmonizing spring-dialogue between the worlds.

This reconnection between heaven & earth was prefigured in the story of Jacob’s ladder from the Old Testament. Through his dream of the ‘stairway to heaven’, Jacob gave us a prophecy in the picture of a golden ladder on which choirs of Angels traverse between the ‘Above & Below’. The Mystery of the Ascension of Christ, 40 days after the Resurrection at Easter, fulfilled Jacob’s Prophecy. Christ as the Being of Love became the living bridge connecting us to the eternal.

Through this workshop we will learn how humanity will also be transfigured in the fullness of time. The company of the Angelic Hierarchies wait for us, their younger siblings, to ascend, first of all in our thinking, to meet them in fellowship, as they work all the while by our sides.

Nancy Poer

~Vitae Sophia~A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor 

with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Velsum Voices & Eurythmy

Saturday 27 May 2023 a Hybrid event in person* & on zoom

We are called to redeem the ether spheres to create an Ecclesia, a chalice for The Sophia. Then the spirit flame can spread out to become what Steiner called a “World Whitsun”, which began in earnest at the Christmas Conference. The Whitsun Festival highlights one of the greatest challenges of being human: placing our individual gifts, in right relationship within the social realm. This challenge is especially strong now during this ‘pandemic’. Our groups striving to know Spiritual Science must work together as a community, to have the possibility to create a new culture where a sacrament is possible in every encounter. Our individual strength is enhanced by weaving our gifts together, kindling our social world in conscious community.

Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83663366670?pwd=L292UzlOR1pkZjBXSWpxK1B2b0o1dz09 Meeting ID: 836 6336 6670 / Passcode: 397593

For more Info. contact Hag@RSChicago.org Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
*Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618 (mapwww.rschicago.org/donate


Find a collection of the many RECORDINGS of Presentations, Programs & Festivals HERE