POD
~Birthed by a bird song
Foretold in the stars
All that I am
Released in a Summer Storm
Said I should fly
~hag
11 June – Today – is the Death-day of Alexander the Great.
According T.H. Meyer: On this day in 1924, Rudolf Steiner wrote a letter to Ita Wegman, from Koberwitz, during the Whitsun Agricultural Course, speaking about her incarnation as his former pupil, when he was Aristotle, & she, Alexander The Great.
After death, Aristotle & Alexander, just as before, when they worked as Eabani & Gilgamesh, continued to be active in the spiritual world for a long period of time, touching down once for a brief time connected with the Parzival saga. (*see below)
Then in 869 AD the entelechies of Aristotle & Alexander met, in the spiritual world, with Haroun al-Raschid & his counselor.
This coincided with the Council of 869 in Constantinople during which the concept of spirit was eliminated from the 3-fold human being, & was replaced with the polarized concept of body & soul.
Haroun al-Raschid & the opposing forces that he represented did not want Christianized Aristotelianism, only the teaching of natural science that has gradually taken the form of today’s scientific materialism, devoid of any true conception or reverence for divinity & creation; devoid of spiritual science.
This meeting in the spiritual world was a confrontation that was later reflected in earthly life thru the Quest for the Holy Grail & the striving for a union of early Christianity with the Arabian cultures that had preserved Aristotle’s works.
“For the natural science that Aristotle was able to pass on to Alexander needed for its comprehension souls that were still touched with the spirit of the Ephesian age, the time that preceded the burning of Ephesus. Such souls could only be found over in Asia or in Egypt, and it was into these parts that this knowledge of nature and insight into the Being of Nature were brought, by means of the expeditions of Alexander. Only later in a diluted form did they come over into Europe by many and diverse ways – especially by way of Asia Minor, Africa and Spain – but always in a very diluted or, as we might say, sifted form. The writings of Aristotle that came over into Europe directly were his writings on logic and philosophy. These lived on, and found fresh life again in medieval scholasticism.”
“…For we can see how the expeditions of Alexander and the teachings of Aristotle had this end in view: to keep unbroken the threads that unite humanity with the ancient spirituality, to weave them as it were into the material civilization that was to come, so they might endure until such time as new spiritual revelations should be given…” ~Rudolf Steiner, World History and the Mysteries in the Light of Anthroposophy, 1910.
*Brief indications by Rudolf Steiner say: “…they lived, unknown and unheeded, in a corner of Europe not without importance for Anthroposophy, dying at an early age, but gazing for a brief moment as it were through a window into the civilisation of the West, receiving impressions and impulses but giving none of any significance themselves. That was to come later.” ~GA 240
This points us to the figures of Schionatulander (Rudolf Steiner) & Sigune (Ita Wegman), who play an important, yet mostly overlooked role, in the Parsifal legend.
Sigune loves Schionatulander but she longs to read the stellar script, called “Brackenseil” – seen on the leash belonging to the hound “Gardevias” which means: ‘Guardian of the Pathways‘.
In the attempt to bring it to her, after she had lost it, Schionatulander is killed by Orilus who is actually looking for Parsifal. Schionatulander dies instead of Parsifal; & he becomes a guardian spirit of Parsifal & those on the Quest for the Holy Grail.
In a private conversation with Friedrich Rittelmeyer, Steiner spoke about that incarnation: “I was obliged to incarnate in a stream completely foreign to me in order to acquire the Christian fervor which I needed for the Thomas Incarnation.“
Incarnating together again to bear a new striving – the transformation of the cosmic Intelligence thru the Christ Impulse – they enter the Order of the Dominicans. Out of the quiet ‘cloister cell’ comes a world-wide influence inspired by the most illustrious scholar of the ecclesiastical system of thought, known as Scholasticism – thru Thomas Aquinas (Rudolf Steiner); & by his side is his confesser, the young Dominican, Reginald of Piperno (Ita Wegman).
To grasp spiritual reality in pure thinking, to lead pure thinking with mathematical precision from idea to idea — this was the faculty developed by Scholasticism & bequeathed to the spiritual history of humankind thru its great teachers: Albertus Magnus (Marie Steiner) & Thomas Aquinas (Rudolf Steiner).
In contrast to the Christ Impulse which brings in the possiblity for the individual “I” consciousness to humanity – The Arabian culture adhered firmly to the old idea of cosmic, universal Intelligence. Thomas Aquinas brought the idea of personal Intelligence, to human thinking. The Arabian mind-set persisted in the contention that every human being can be fructified by the universal Intelligence, but that there is no personal thinking, no personal immortality – Much like the ancient Hindu teachings that say: at death a human being passes into the ocean of Cosmic Intelligence.
For Aquinas, whose thinking was combined with fervent Christian piety, the world of Ideas was connected with spiritual reality, coming to expression thru Beings he calls “Intelligences” living behind the world of the senses.
Thru the evolution of human consciousness, our thinking evolves from the cosmic realms of the “Intelligences” (the Planetary & Zodiacal Beings) to the earthly realm of human intelligence.
This is seen in the progression from the Elemental Beings connected with King Arthur’s Castle – to the countenance of Christ in the gaining of the Grail Castle.
In the “Arthurian stream” it was not yet realized that the Cosmic Intelligence had fallen away from Archangel Michael, & had come to human beings.
The Teachers of Chartres, like Alanus ab Insulis, working to foster the stream of the Grail Castle, were representative of the Intelligence that had now become Christian & human – a polar contrast to the Castle of King Arthur.
Steiner’s Spiritual Sceince shows us that the Teachers of Chartres, then working in the spiritual world, had realized the significance of personal immortality, realized that the Intelligence had become human, & were aware of the Christian thinking in the Grail stream, connected with the world of stars, but that this knowledge would have to sleep for a time in the spiritual world, so that the intellect could be born in freedom.
And now in our time the 2 streams must merge, to create a unity within the world.
From the Karmic Relationships lectures: “Aristotle and Alexander had centuries earlier witnessed, from the spiritual world, the departure of Christ from the sphere of the Sun towards Golgotha. This called forth in their souls “the challenge to set a new beginning – not to continue what had been on the earth before this mystery, but to begin completely anew.”
“Henceforth, Aristotle and Alexander must work – who already in antiquity were equal to the concepts and ideas of the fifth post-Atlantean age.” – Karmic Relationships, 1924.
Poem written by Rudolf Steiner to Ita Wegman:
There, where the light
In face of green demons
Is tremulous,
And the primordial Powers
Born of the light
To wrestling men
Proclaim the riddle,
Which from the demons
Only by men can be enticed forth
And brought to the Gods
There soul found soul
In order to offer someday to waiting Gods
The secrets of demons
In a darkened place
That light may be born,
Where for want of this deed
Eternal darkness held sway.
Such a place there is
It must vanish
Make it someday vanish,
So speaks the admonishing
Gaze of Michael.
And so it is dear friends, that The future Age of Love & Freedom, prepared thru the marriage of the 2 Streams, is characterized by the fact that human beings must learn to see thru the attacks made by the ‘demons’. We cannot run. We cannot hide. On the contary – We have to step in – We are called to uncover the secrets behind these demons – to awaken to what is really working within their deeds. And to pass on these mysteries of ‘evil’ to the Hierarchies of the ‘good gods’ – our ever present helpers, to receive the Wisdom needed so that we can take on the responsibility of transforming evil.
Since the advent of the Consciousness Soul Age we can use our imaginative cognition to move our thinking in a lemniscate from head to heart, & from heart to head.
We must learn the secret that the Fox told the Little Prince, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eyes.”
Let us step into the world, to meet our Higher Self, & to meet each other – to stand together in the glory of the Spirirt Sun. And at night, under the myriad canopy of Stars, we will be invited to share in the cosmic conversation of our collective evolution.
So may this anniversary of the Death of Alexander the Great, be our reminder to take up again & once again our tasks at hand.
~hag
11 June 2023 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Brilliant Venus (or as Steiner tells us: Occult Mercury) – our sky’s brightest planet – will take on the roll of queen bee when it passes by the Beehive star cluster. Look west shortly after darkness falls for Venus and the Beehive as they make an interesting and beautiful sight.
RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated with added titles by Roy Sadler
TRINITY II
Soul Consecration
v10
The being of the sun ascends to summer’s heights
and takes my human feeling far and wide
and into the sublime, the cosmic harmony
wherein a dawning vision’s intimating faintly,
‘in future you will know:
a holy being felt you now’
The mirror verse
EPIPHANY IV (IMBOLC)
World Consecration
v43
In winter’s depths
true spirit presence warms,
makes new appearance real
and through the heart’s force
intuits earthlife’s rise to glory;
the soul’s revitalising fire in the human core
defies world cold.
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day(RSarchives)
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (Rudolf Steiner’s orginal Calendar of the Soul, Anthrowiki, Wikipedia Commons)
323 – Deathday of Alexander The Great
1184 BC – Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned
1194 – Fire at Chartres Cathedral
1346 – Birthday of Charles IV (the last initiate to become Holy Roman Emperor)
1364 – Deathday of Agnes of Hungary, patroness of Konigsfelden monastery
1924 – Rudolf Steiner sends Ita Wegman a letter speaking about her incarnation as Alexander The Great.
1963 – Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam
1963 – John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that would revolutionize American society. Proposing equal access to public facilities, end segregation in education and guarantee federal protection for voting right
~Kindling Radiance~
A Community Festival Gathering Celebrating St. John’s-Tide
Saturday, June 24, 2023 at Zinniker Farm
5:30 pm – Potluck – Please bring food & drink to share
6 – 7 pm – Artistic Offerings – Poem, Song?… Express yourself!
7 – 9 pm – Bonfire Drum & Song Circle w/ Hazel & Ultra-Violet Archer
Bring lawn chairs & drums if you have them!Show support for Zinniker Farm –
$15 more or less Love Donation
Co-hosted by The Christian Community of Southeast Wisconsin, The Christian Community of Chicago, Mark & Petra Zinniker, Hazel at ReverseRitual.com
Why a St. John’s Festival?
At this time of year, when daylight hours are the longest, “the soul of the earth rises in longing toward the heights, seeking communion with the universe, with the light and warmth of the sun… and the stars.” ~Rudolf Steiner.
Three days after the Summer Solstice, we celebrate St. John the Baptist – a lone voice calling to us from the wilderness to change our hearts and minds – so that we can connect to the ‘True Vine’ & receive the new impulse of Love raditating into the world. Come join us as we come together as a community to support the Farm & celebrate the glories of Summer.
Interested? Please…
RSVP to margaretincommunity@gmail.com Subject: St. John’s
Let us know the number of people you are RSVPing for
And if someone in your group would like to offer a poem, song, story, etc. on the theme
Bring food & drink to share (plates and utensils provided)
Bring a friend, lawn chairs, drums, clothes and shoes for a working farm
All are welcome, but please keep your pets at home.
You can visit the pigs and chickens on the farm, but please remember these are farm animals and not pets. Please just look and say hello quietly and respectfully, with reverence and gratitude for their service.
Zinniker Farm is located at N7399 Bowers Rd., Elkhorn, WI 53121If you are in the area, come join us as we celebrate St. John’s-Tide on the Zinniker Farm.
Can’t make it in person? You can still support the Zinniker Farm and their regenerative work with your good will and contributions.
Regenerative farming is Stewardship that provides true results for the healing of the Earth. It is time to make a lasting investment.Please contact Mark & Petra Zinniker to find out how to make a direct contribution to their regenerative work or sign up at Patreon.com/Zinnikerfarm
