Be-heading

Bhenggoet Maulana

~flood me with purpose & pleasure
submerge me in living water
give me music, a bright star & a listening heart
for i am liquid twilight
ready for thunder
in a big sky of waiting rain…
~hag

29 August 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Though the waning moon is gone from the early evening sky, she’s very much present from the middle of the night through dawn. Watch Bella Luna march across Taurus from Sunday through Tuesday mornings.

Anne-Elizabeth Sobieski

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

History, historical life, will only be seen in the right light when a true consciousness of the connection between the so-called living with the so-called dead can be developed” – The Living and the Dead by Rudolf Steiner, Berlin, 5th February, 1918

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Gustave Moreau

33 – Beheading of John the Baptist

John the Baptist, truly the greatest of all Men – Still human, He hovers as an Eagle in the realm of the Angels. After his beheading He became the protector of the 12 disciples of Christ Jesus & especially of John the Evangelist.

TERRI DILL-SIMPSON

Did the Eagle land in the beginning of the 20th century on the shoulder of Rudolf Steiner to guide us towards a deeper understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha?

Nancy B Jackson

 “Elijah was destined to be one of the ruling figures in the régime inaugurated by Moses. There had to be Individualities who were not wholly contained in the human personality; one part of their being was in the earthly personality and the other in the spiritual world. Elijah was an Individuality of this nature. Only part of his being was present in his personality on the physical plane; the Ego-hood of Elijah could not penetrate fully into his physical body. He must therefore be called a personality ‘filled with the Spirit’. A figure such as Elijah could not possibly be brought into existence through the normal forces by which other men are placed in the world. In the normal way the human being develops in the mother’s body in such a way that through physical processes the Individuality who has been incarnated previously simply unites with the physical embryo. This could not be so in the case of an Individuality such as Elijah. Other forces had to intervene, concerned with the part of the Individuality that reached into the spiritual world. His development was necessarily attended by influences working upon him from outside. Hence when such Individualities are incarnated they appear as men who are ‘inspired’, ‘impelled by the Spirit’. They appear as ecstatic personalities whose utterances far surpass anything that might issue from their normal intelligence.

The man who lived as ‘Elijah’ was an outstanding example of this. The words uttered by his mouth and the actions performed by his hands did not proceed only from the part of his being actually present in his personality; they were manifestations of divine-spiritual Beings in the background.

When this Individuality was born again he was to unite with the body of the child born to Zacharias and Elisabeth. We know from the Gospel itself that John the Baptist is to be regarded as the reborn Elijah. But in him we have to do with an Individuality who in his earlier incarnations had not habitually developed or brought fully into operation all the forces present in the normal course of life. In the normal course of life the inner power or force of the Ego becomes active while the physical body of the human being is developing in the mother’s womb. The Elijah-Individuality in earlier times had not descended deeply enough to be involved in the inner processes operating here. The Ego had not, as in normal circumstances, been stirred into activity by its own forces, but from outside. This was now to happen again. But the Ego was now farther from the spiritual world and nearer to the Earth, much more closely connected with the Earth than the Beings who had formerly guided Elijah. The transition leading to the amalgamation of the Buddha-stream with the Zarathustra-stream was now to be brought about.

Everything was to be rejuvenated. Thus it was the Nirmanakaya of Buddha which now stirred the Ego-force of John into activity, having the same effect as spiritual forces that had formerly worked upon Elijah. At certain times the being known as Elijah had been rapt in states of ecstasy; then the God spoke, filling his Ego with a force which could be communicated to the outer world. Now again a spiritual force was present — the Nirmanakaya of Buddha hovering above the head of the Nathan Jesus; this force worked upon Elisabeth when John was to be born, stimulated within her the embryo of John in the sixth month of pregnancy, and wakened the Ego. But being nearer to the Earth this force now worked as more than an inspiration; it had an actual formative effect upon the Ego of John. Under the influence of the visit of her who is there called ‘Mary’, the Ego of John the Baptist awoke into activity. The Nirmanakaya of Buddha was here working upon the Ego of the former Elijah — now the Ego of John the Baptist — wakening it and penetrating right into the physical substance.” ~Rudolf Steiner, from The Gospel of St. Luke

“If we pass on to the sixth chapter of Mark we hear fully described how King Herod had John the Baptist beheaded. The tortured conscience of Herod arouses a strange foreboding in him. When he hears all that has occurred through Christ Jesus he says, “John, whom I beheaded, has been restored to life!” Herod feels that, though the physical personality of John had gone away, he is now all the more present! He feels that his atmosphere, his spirituality — which was none other than the spirituality of Elijah, is still there. His tormented conscience causes him to be aware that John the Baptist, that is, Elijah, is still there.

But then something strange happens. We are shown how, after John the Baptist had met his physical death, Christ Jesus came to the very neighborhood where John had worked. I want you to take particular notice of a remarkable passage and not to skim over it lightly, for the words of the Gospels are not written for rhetorical effect, nor journalistically. Something very significant is said here. Jesus Christ appears among the throng of followers and disciples of John the Baptist, and this fact is expressed in a sentence to which we must give careful attention: “And as Jesus came out He saw a great crowd,” by which could be meant only the disciples of John, “and He had compassion on them …” (Mark 6:34.) Why compassion? Because they had lost their master, they were there without John, whose headless corpse we are told had been carried to his grave. But even more precisely is it said, “for they were like sheep who had lost their shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.” It cannot be indicated any more clearly how He teaches John’s disciples. He teaches them because the spirit of Elijah, which is at the same time the spirit of John the Baptist, is still active among them. Thus it is again indicated with dramatic power in these significant passages of the Mark Gospel how the spirit of Christ Jesus entered into what had been prepared by the spirit of Elijah-John. Even so this is only one of the main points, around which many other significant things are grouped.

I will now call your attention to one thing more. I have several times pointed out how this spirit of Elijah or John continued to act in such a way as to impress its impulses into world history. I have often mentioned that the soul of Elijah-John appeared again in the painter Raphael. This is one of those facts that call attention to the metamorphoses of souls that take place under the impetus given by the Mystery of Golgotha. Because it was also necessary that in the post-Christian era such a soul should work in Raphael through the medium of a single personality; what in ancient times was so comprehensive and world encompassing now appears in such a different personality as that of Raphael. Can we not feel that the aura that hovered round Elijah-John is also present in Raphael? That in Raphael there were such similarities to these two others that we could even say that this element was too great to be able to enter into a single personality but hovered round it, so that the revelations received by this personality seemed like an illumination? Such was indeed the case with Raphael!” ~Rudolf Steiner, Gospel of Mark: Lecture 3

“The truth is, my dear friends, this earthly personality of Raphael was completely yielded up and was only present through what Lazarus-John gave to this soul to be poured out into colour and line for all mankind.

Such was the life of this being. And it was so, that this Raphael life could only be, as it were, absolved in another life of thirty years — in Novalis. And so we see Raphael die young, Novalis die young — one being, who came forth from Elijah-John, appearing before mankind in two different forms, preparing through art and through poetry the true Michael mood of soul, sent down by the Michael stream as messenger to men on Earth.

And now we behold the wonderful artistic power of Raphael come to life again in Novalis in poetry that stirs and enraptures the hearts of men. All that through Raphael was given to human eyes to see, — of this could human hearts drink deep, when it came again in self portrait of Novalis.

When we consider the life of Novalis, what an echo we find there of the Raphael life for which Hermann Grimm had so fine an understanding! His beloved dies in her youth. He is himself still young. What is he going to do with his life now that she has died? He tells us himself. He says that his life on Earth will be henceforth to “die after her”, to follow her on the way of death. He wants to pass over already now into the super-sensible, to lead again the Raphael life, not touching the Earth, but living out in poetry his magic idealism. He would fain not let himself be touched by Earth life.

When we read the “Fragments” of Novalis, and give ourselves up to the life that flows so abundantly in them, we can discover the secret of the deep impression they make on us. Whatever we have before us in immediate sense-reality, whatever the eye can see and recognise as beautiful — all this, through the magic idealism that lives in the soul of Novalis, appears in his poetry with a well-nigh heavenly splendour. The meanest and simplest material thing — with the magic idealism of his poetry he can make it live again in all its spiritual light and glory.

And so we see in Novalis a radiant and splendid forerunner of that Michael stream which is now to lead you all, my dear friends, while you live; and then, after you have gone through the gate of death, you will find in the spiritual super-sensible worlds all those others — among them also the being of whom I have been speaking to you today — all those with whom you are to prepare the work that shall be accomplished at the end of the century, and that shall lead mankind past the great crisis in which it is involved”. The Last Address given by Rudolf Steiner The Individuality of Elias, John, Raphael, Novalis, Dornach, Michaelmas Eve, 1924

Denella Pieretu

RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler

AUTUMN PRELUDE II
The Ripening Of Self

v22
The light across the world’s expanse
lives on with inner power,
becomes the light of soul
and shines in depths of spirit
to liberate the fruits
that let the human Self to ripen
from Cosmic Self within the course of time.

This is the second verse of the Light Quartet:
its mirror verse in November is the third one.
ALL HALLOWTIDE II
The Ripening Of Creative Powers
v31

The light from spirit depths
strives outwards like the sun,
becomes life’s strength of will
and shines in senses’dullness
to free the forces
that ripen creative powers
in human work the soul initiates.

Greetings friends –Farmer John of Angelic Organics Farm has offered to donate the fresh biodynamic produce for the conference! – We just need a vegetarian chef who can work on site to make the meals. Contact jenny.meyer17@gmail.com

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Happy Birthday today to Bart Eddy!

Join us at the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago 

  • 1st make sure you are registered at https://www.anthroposophy.org/fallconference and have indicated that you will be attending in person at the RSBranch Chicago.
  • Then Register by October 1st with the Chicago Branch using PayPal (this requires that you have a PayPal account of your own).

OR

  • Register and write a check and it mail by October 1st to: Rudolf Steiner Branch, Attn: Jenny Doty 4249 N Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60618

OR

Details for the in-person conference:

  • $75 will cover the expenses for facilities, 3 lunches and 3 dinners, snacks, and printing.

You will enjoy a pre-AGM dinner on Thursday Oct. 7 Doors open at 5 pm (AGM starts promptly at 6:3opm CT)
Lunch and Dinner on Fri.and Sat.
and Lunch post-conference on Sunday.
As well as Snacks/Coffee-Tea during the breaks.

  • $40 will cover only the bare expenses – no meals
  • Be a Master Builder Patron for $100 or more, to help pay for the tech costs!

Registration Link

Fundraising Page Image

Hey friends, You know I never ask for $ – so you know this has got to be an important request: Please help support the Anthroposophical Prison Outreach DANCE-A-THON 2021

Greetings kindred souls – This year for the APO fund raiser I plan to hold a Dance-A-Thon & Biodynamic Prep-stir on Friday 24 September 2021 at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in America – Chicago

DJ’s TBA – It’s a potluck community gathering, so please bring food & drink to share – Along with your donation to this amazing program.

We also plan to read some poetry from some of the inmates who are working with Anthroposophy!

If you live out of town you can dance in your neck of the woods in solidarity with us. Please show your generous support…

Xox ~hag, hazel@reverseritual.com

Donate here https://secure.anthroposophy.org/…/anth…/campaign.jsp…

Craig Wiggins

Festival Gathering: Tuesday 28 September on the eve of Michaelmas with Rev’s Jeana Lee & Victoria Capon

Potluck at 5:30
Talk at 7pm

At the Rudolf Steiner Branch, 4249 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60618

Meeting The Dragon With Our Four Fold Being – A talk and collaborative sculptural creation

Bring Food & drink for the potluck & a found objects to help build the dragon!
Then our inspiration can come to life through our collaboration.

Jeana Lee was recently ordained as a priest of the Christian Community Movement for Religious Renewal and sent to the congregation in Chicago.  Previously she taught chemistry and math at Green Meadow Waldorf high school.  She enjoys swimming in the lake and is interested in questions of sin and redemption.

Victoria Capon hails from the east coast and is new to Chicago. Before attending seminary she taught at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod. Now she is happily settling into serving the chicago CC congregation and exploring the Windy City

9 thoughts on “Be-heading

  1. Hi Hazel,

    I was just at the St. Paul Cathedral here in St. Paul (appropriately). Maybe you have been? In the main part of the cathedral, if you are standing in the middle, you have to each four corners a statue of John, Mark, Matthew, and Luke… which are about 12 feet tall each, I would say. Respectively, each Statue has a ‘figure’ near their ankles. Luke, a bull; Matthew, an angel; Mark, a Lion; and John, an eagle. Matthew is to the left of Christ and John to the right. Above Christ is another smaller dome, which directly above is a bird – like an eagle (or maybe its a dove?), and around the dome is angels.

    So, when you look at John’s expression, he is totally bugging out. He is holding a script, and his head is slightly looking up and his eyes are wide open. He literally looks like he is seeing something that is not physically there. The other statues do not have the same expression: Mark is looking down and seems a bit serious, Luke also looks serious but more peaceful and thoughtful, and Matthew looks very loving and sweet. Now, the Cathedral is named after Paul, but you only see his statue near the front of the church behind all the pews, and facing Christ. He’s holding a sword.

    Just wanted to share this, because I had just visited the church yesterday, and then read this post today. Thank you for sharing it!

  2. Hi Hazel,

    I must take one issue with you here. The beheading of John the Baptist did cause the Elijah-John stream to work from the outside in support of Christ. Thus, the EJ stream becomes the “Folk Soul of the Twelve”, in helping the disciples to perceive in sleep more of what was actually occurring right before their eyes. Steiner does make this vividly clear in the Gospel of Mark lectures, ref. GA 139.

    Yet, where you say this, a point of contention occurs. You wrote:

    “John the Baptist, truly the greatest of all Men – Still human, He hovers as an Eagle in the realm of the Angels. After his beheading He became the protector of the 12 disciples of Christ Jesus & especially of John the Evangelist.”

    It can be shown that Lazarus was not raised from the dead until three years had elapsed since Christ entered earth evolution. Thus, merely days before the Passover that would see Christ crucified was Lazarus raised from the dead in order to become John the Evangelist.

    https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+11&version=NASB1995

    Thus, John the Evangelist has to be removed from this equation involving the EJ stream being influential on the twelve. This is certainly true in consideration of the disciples that experienced the outer workings of the Elijah-John stream after the beheading, but then Christ instigated the seventh attesting miracle, which involved Lazarus. This occurred after three years in walking the districts of Palestine, and only then was Lazarus raised to become John the Evangelist.

    1. I am very clear that they have a strong connection. When Lazarus was in the spiritual world receiving the 1st Christian Initiation, he was meet by John the Baptist, who shared with him the title Johannes.

      And so it was that when he was resurrected by Christ he became John the Evangelist -the disciple whom Jesus loved. Then later after Christ’s Death, Resurrection, Ascension & the glories of the Baptism by Fire at Whitsun, when he was on the isle of Patmos, John the Baptist from the spiritual world, along with the Sophia thru the Mother of god, who was with him & was now his Mother since the time they stood together at the foot of the Cross, helped him write his book of Revelation.

      AND at the very beginning they were connected: for John the Baptist was Adam the 1st man & Lazarus-John was Cain!!!!

      1. Lazarus died in order that John the Baptist could return to earth in the body of Lazarus. The seventh attesting miracle that Christ conducted was the deepest and most profound because it required the reanimation of the skeleton. Read here:

        “Now, all the old initiates achieved a certain degree of mastery over their physical body as a result of the procedure to which they were subjected; but there was one capacity that no old initiation could ever bring under the dominion of the human spirit. Here we touch the fringe, as it were, of a profound secret, or mystery. In the structure of man there is one element to which the power of a pre-Christian initiation could not penetrate: the subtle physicochemical processes in the skeleton. Strange as it may sound to you, that is the case. Previous to the Baptism of Christ Jesus there never had been a human individuality in earth evolution, either among initiates or elsewhere, with power over the chemico-physical processes in the skeleton. Through the entry of the Christ into the body of Jesus of Nazareth the egohood of Christ acquired dominion even over the skeleton. And the result was that, as a unique event, there lived upon earth a body capable of employing its forces in such way as to incorporate the form of the skeleton — that is, its spiritual form — in Earth evolution. Nothing of all that man passes through in his earth development would endure were he not able to incorporate in Earth evolution, as a law, the noble form of his skeleton, were he unable gradually to master this law of the skeleton.” GA 114, lecture 10.

        This is what Christ did when he exhorted, “Lazarus Come Forth!” His power to reanimate the corporeal body of Lazarus enabled the Elijah-John stream to return to earth. Thus, the Baptist is returned to life. He becomes John.

        1. You are conflating this quote & it doesn’t even support your interpretation, which is too literal. For me it’s more subtle & spiritual. The being of John the Baptist incorporated into the individuality of Lazarus John & inspired him from within his sheaths.

          Steiner calls this ‘Spiritual Economy’.

          The quote you site was the deed done by Christ. When he says from the Cross: ‘It is done’, this is what he meant.

          1. The Gospel of Luke is even more literally exact in indicating the death of the individuality of Lazarus, who goes to Abraham’s bosom and remains there. “The Rich Man and Lazarus”, beginning with verse 19:

            https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+16&version=NASB1995

            So, of course, the issue is who *actually* was raised in the physical body of Lazarus, knowing that Lazarus did literally die and went to Abraham? Now, if you look at the first chapter of the Gospel of John, when Jesus approaches his cousin John for the baptism, John says: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world…. and I did not recognize him.” Then, the next day, John, standing with two of his disciples sees Jesus pass and says to them, “Behold the Lamb of God. ”
            Ref., John 1:35. This is indicative of the knowledge that John already possesses. Many years later, John would write the Book of Revelation, and the central figure in this book is “The Lamb of God.” This forms the major proof that the Baptist was raised to become the Evangelist.

          2. Indeed. Here is an essential depiction:

            https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Grunewald_Isenheim1.jpg

            But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household. John 19, v. 25-27

            We know that artists are often very intuitively inspired. Placing the Baptist under the Cross as the Disciple Whom the Lord Loved comes from essential artistic insight. And, it bears the Truth, which is most important.

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