In Sidereal Astrosophy, we look to the wisdom revealed in the position of the star-beings present now in the dome of the sky. During the 4 weeks of Advent (the 1st Sunday of Advent begins today November 29th 2020) the Sun is passing through the stars of Scorpio. The term “Advent” – is Latin for ‘that which is coming’. So this is the time of preparation, of waiting in the dark, for the return of the light, at Winter Solstice, & it is deeply connected with the challenge of the Scorpion. – Can we overcome the consequences of error & evil that has separated us from our true divine nature? Advent can be seen as the time of transforming the fallen parts of our souls, so we can truly meet the Christmas birth. It is a Winter Metanoia – a reflection of the Summer-tide call for repentance by John the Baptist, born opposite the Christ child on the wheel of the year.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the darkness & death of nature mirror the descent of humanity from the light into the darkness of matter at the Fall. This time of Advent, reflects our journey away from the Divine Sun into the lower realm as represented by Scorpio – in the course of the rebellion called the ‘War in Heaven’ with the later infusion of Luciferic tendencies upon the human astral body.
Rudolf Steiner describes this rebellion in Occult Science: An Outline, & from another perspective in, The Spiritual Hierarchies and their Reflection in the Physical World: “Beings from the sphere of the Mights (Dynamis), to put it tritely, were detached; they were placed in the course of evolution so as to bring about obstacles instead of acting as progressive influences. We have come to know this as the War in Heaven….[later in Lemurian times]..The beings who stayed behind, whom we call Luciferic beings approached the human astral body –they were unable to reach the “I” – and injected into the astral body the results of the War in Heaven…humans now had been given the possibility of error and evil, but at the same time also received the capacity to rise above error and evil through their own strength…Thus we can see that only because the Dynamis were given adverse orders did humans receive the possibility of reaching their goal by means of their own powers, something that even the Seraphim cannot attain through their own endeavors. That is the crucial fact…Humans have to fulfill a completely new mission in the world, the mission we have just characterized, and descended into the earthly world in order to accomplish it. Christ came into the world as man’s free helper; not as a God working from above, but as the first-born among many.”
Advent is that time of the year when we can come to terms with the consequences of the error & evil that is in our own astral nature, reflected in our society so strongly today, as well as doing the work to develop the strength to overcome these tendencies, so that we might prepare the way for the birth of Christ in us at Christmas-tide. This is our activity now for every human being during Advent. It is in this confrontation & transformation of evil in our lives, in our time, that we can begin to renovate the stars of Scorpion, to offer back to the divine what has fallen away, out of freedom.
Advent is a true festival of our current time in world evolution – a karmic call for humanity to awaken to our path of spiritual development with its focus on the confrontation with evil.
The transformation of the Scorpion, not this time into the eagle, but into the dove, this must be our work – Opening to the Christ flame, the true I Am, born anew in the chalice of the heart at Christmas.
Also interesting to note that tomorrow 30 November 2020, is a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse! What is seeking to be born from the shadow? What is longing for deliverance?
The Christian Community reading for this week speaks of this turbulent time:
1st Advent – Luke 21:25-36
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And men will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory.
And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and lift up [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.
Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of Man’s being shall not pass away until all has happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be smothered by an excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly like a snare…for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man”.
We celebrate Advent to awaken our connection with the cosmic purpose in the Universe. Can we use this time to become more aware of the way in which we are disconnected from our source? Can we strive to awaken our purpose, as we work to remember our Divine origin.
I think of the Mother God gestating the emergent body of Jesus within her. Every breath she takes, every beat of her heart, every thought in her mind, devoted to forming the perfect human being capable of holding the divine.
I think of the approaching soul of Jesus, the pure, innocent Nathan soul, described in Luke’s Gospel, preparing to enter into this immaculate body – This soul which has never incarnated into a human being before.
I can’t help comparing that original purity & dignity of humanity with the way people treat each other now-a-days – so much derision, disrespect & hatred, all the discrimination, how can these lies appear to so many as truth, a selfishness that they are willing to kill for?
Then I try to think about how this is part of some great plan to wake us up, to divide the wheat from the chaff, so that we can reclaim our place in the universe as conscious, Christened human beings.
During this time, we deepen our relationship to the world around us by recognizing & celebrating the strength & beauty of all four kingdoms of the natural world.
During the first week, we pay tribute to the mineral world.
During the second week, we focus on the plant kingdom.
In the third week, we celebrate the kingdom of animals.
And the fourth week speaks to the human being, & our destiny as Angel Beings.
As we pass through these weeks, it moves us toward a deeper understanding of our place in the universe, of all that supports us, & all that we aspire to, as well as all that needs our care & protection.
The four candles represent many four-fold wonders, such as the four seasons of the year or the four virtues of Peace, Faith, Hope, and Charity.
Rudolf Steiner’s Calendar of the Soul, , translated by Roy Sadler, helps:
v35, Advent,
Can I absorb true being
that it may find itself anew
within my soul’s creative urge?
I feel a power trusting me
to make myself with modesty
a member of the Cosmic Self.
v35 and its mirror, v18, are the only question verses.
If we rise to the Advent challenge and become a member of the Cosmic Self
the Spirit Child can be born in us in a month’s time at Christmas.
Six weeks later the Soul Calendar has a unique line, its only trochaic one.
Rudolf Steiner describes the iambic rhythm as the meditative movement
the soul requires to relate to the world. But at Candlemas just one line,
‘Eingedenk vollzogener Geistgeburt’, balances all the other Soul Calendar lines.
If we can become a member of the Cosmic Self at Advent, feel the Spirit Child
set free from womb of soul at Christmas & are mindful of the Spirit’s Birth fulfilled
at Candlemas, Easter can arise in our souls and what follows progress.
v44, Candlemas,
And when I grasp the senses’ new allure
the clarity of soul,
mindful of the spirit’s birth fulfilled,
imbues the world’s bewildering, sprouting growth
with my creative will of thinking.
The Candlemas mirror at Whitsuntide,
and the verse for the southern hemisphere now,
v9,
And when I let my own will go
life’s cosmic warmth, the summer’s herald,
will fill my soul and spirit being;
my spirit vision is commanding me
to lose myself in light, and ardently
my foresight’s calling, ‘lose yourself
to find your Self’.
Advent Sunday’s mirror at Lammastide
as the soul becomes pregnant with the Spirit Child,
v18,
Can I make wide my soul
that she unite with seed
of Cosmic Word conceived?
I feel my foresight asking me
to find the strangth my soul will need
to form her spirit garment worthily.
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29 November 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Bella Luna comes Full at 3:30 a.m. Monday morning CST. She shines between Aldebaran below, & the Pleiades above. Aldebaran is easier to see through the moonlight than the 7 Sisters are.
A penumbral eclipse of the Moon happens early Monday morning for North America. The Moon’s north side will skim through the penumbra, the pale outer fringe, of Earth shadow. The Moon will be deepest into the penumbra at mid-eclipse, at 3:43 a.m. Monday morning CST. WE may see a trace of shading on the Moon as much as 45 minutes before & after that time.
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1898 – Birthday of C.S. Lewis, one of the Inklings
1939 – Deathday of Eugen Kolisko, an Austrian-German physician & educator, born in Vienna. He studied medicine at the University of Vienna, & in 1917 became a lecturer of medical chemistry. Eugen Kolisko is remembered for his pioneer work in anthroposophy. He was introduced to anthroposophy through his classmate, Walter Johannes Stein. In 1914, he first attended lectures given by Rudolf Steiner. Consequently, he became a member of the Anthroposophical Society, & in 1920 was invited as an instructor to the newly established Waldorf School at Stuttgart by Emil Molt.
Kolisko specialized in preventative medicine, & at the Waldorf School he worked with other teachers in creating a curriculum that focused on the spiritual & physical development of school children. He was instrumental in construction of several artistic therapies, such as anthroposophic music therapy & eurythmy. During the 1930s, he left the Waldorf School in Stuttgartbecause of the Nazi’s, relocating to England in 1936, where he undertook the establishment of a private educational institute. Kolisko died of cardiac failure outside London.
1947- UNO divides Palestine
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Wed. 2 December 2020 – 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm CT
The Karma Project with the Central Regional Council“…We can understand that someone who goes to a place where he may succumb to an infection will have been driven there under the influence of a certain level of karmic consciousness…”
~Rudolf Steiner, Manifestations of Karma, Chapter 6, “Karma in Relation to Accidents”,
link: https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA120/English/RSP1984/19100521p01.html
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82715186258
Meeting ID: 827 1518 6258
For more info. contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu
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Thursday’s Dec. 3/10/17 for Advent 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm CT
Johannine Painting Circle with Nancy Melvin
At Elderberries Urban 1st Aid – Art as Medicine 4251 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago
Urban First Aid – Art As Medicine is initiating a Johannine Painting Circle that will begin on Thursday, December 3rd at the Elderberries space on Lincoln Avenue, next to the Rudolf Steiner Branch of Chicago. Nancy Melvin will be our instructor during the season of Advent.
Calling all wistful painters who long to explore but are afraid for lack of skill.
We will work very simply. Not painting an image, rather an exercise in perception, a meditation using simple brush work to develop a keen eye for relationships, worked in silence with the finest of watercolor paints and papers.
Immersing ourselves in the flow of the year, we open ourselves to the Advent season. The richest botanical colors of the year have flared and now passed. Bold yellows and sharp puce, flaming reds, dark burgundies and deep blue greens dominated our vision just last week. Let us come together to find color on our paint brushes and immerse ourselves in the elementary color exercises given to First Graders at a Waldorf School.
Angela Lord’s book, Color Dynamics is a practical workbook that you can purchase from Hawthorn Press to augment our sessions if you’d like. After attending the first session to learn the set up, practice and clean up, you can miss our group and still do the work at home with your own materials and join us when you can. Socially distant tables with paints and paper provided.
There are no paywalls. You are invited to make a contribution that will help the cost of supplies and initiative. A sliding scale from $0 to $15. If you’d like to gift a higher amount this will support others who are unable to contribute financially.~Nancy Melvin
Nancy Melvin is a watercolor, lazure, natural dye and textile artist who is married to a trompe l’oeil muralist who also specializes in signage, oils, gold leaf and woodblocks. They run Melvin Studio together and raised two Waldorf students. Nancy taught at Chicago Waldorf and Great Oaks Waldorf School before founding MADE HERE, her clothing line currently at Union Handmade, 3860 N. Lincoln Ave and Buddy in the Chicago Cultural Center.
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Sunday 20 December 2020, 2 pm – 3pm CT
‘Awakening to the Light in the Darkness’: A Christmas Contemplation with Rev. Craig Wiggins. In-Person at The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago & online
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041?pwd=ai94YmhnS1k3cWN3TFFlL3ozTDgxdz09 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041 – Passcode: Peace
For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org
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Wednesday 23 December 2020 – 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm CT
Unwrapping our Cosmic Gift: Thoughts on the Christmas Conference 1923
with the Central Regional Council. Themes inspired by Prokofieff’s book: May Human Beings Hear it! include: Turning Points of Time; Christ, Sophia and Michael; Foundation Stone Meditation.
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83533262486
for more info. contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu
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24 December 2020 – 5 January 2021, 11 am – 11:30 am CT
ASA Holy Nights 2020-21 “A Rose By Any Other Name…”
International online gathering on the Theme of the Divine Feminine.
Hosted by Laura Scappaticci & Tess Parker, featuring the Sophia Working Group.
27 December – Leading Thoughts by ~hag
29 December – with Ultra-Violet Archer calling in on the Full Moon from Sweden
For more info. contact Tess Parker tess@anthroposophy.org
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Thursday 31 December 2020-21 Our Annual Conscious NYE Gathering 8 pm-1 am CT
In-Person at Elderberries Bio-dynamic Outpost & The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago
This Year’s Theme is a Masked Ball – Live Music, Folk Dancing, Potluck, Mask-making with Lucien Dante Lazar, more TBA
$20 per person http://donate.rschicago.org/
Stay tuned for details. For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org
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Wednesday 6 January 2021, 2 pm – 4 pm CT
Joan’s Epiphany ‘What Joan of Arc Calls for Today’
In-Person at Elderberries Bio-dynamic Outpost & The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago & online Today on the Birthday of Joan of Arc we welcome special Guest Nancy Poer
We will also explore ‘The Destinies of Individuals and of Nations’, Lecture 5, ‘The Nature of the Christ Impulse and the Michaelic Sprit Serving It’ by Rudolf Steiner with Leading Thoughts by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Social Sculpture: “The Passage” with Luicen Dante Lazar, + Singing & Eurythmy
For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041
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