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
It is interesting, indeed, that Steiner wrote Ita Wegman on June 11, 1924. You see, he gave a Karma lecture that very evening in Breslau, which touched on an important matter involving how he could never have incarnated at the same time as Goethe lived. Steiner says that it would have been unbearable, and would have had a poisonous effect on his soul.
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA239/English/RSP1973/19240611a01.html
Steiner would go on to indicate in lecture 3 of GA 238, given on September 10, 1924, that Aristotle and Alexander had just one more life lived together in a fleeting visit to Earth in the first Christian century in a district of importance to the anthroposophical movement. This incarnation is of untold significance, and Steiner had a reason for saying no more about it in his final volume of the Karmic Relationships.
Some of it bubbled to the surface in his final address here:
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/InEJRN_index.html
Immense gratitude, admiration and support for this rich information trove.
Hey lady – Thanks for being with me on this journey…
I miss working together…hmmm, perhaps we can do something soon,
Let me think on what I have coming up that can use some of your wonderful Eurythmy!
xox
Such a substantial comment and complement in your last post, I just want to express my gratitude for the spiritual work you are doing, I do appreciate it- thanks alot
Ursula
Thanks Ursula – It is a blessing to receive your affirmation.
And you are always welcome to add your thoughts to the discussions.
I would like to add to the story of Sigune and Shionatulander something that is often forgotten. Schionatulander gains the Bracken rope, the leash under great struggles and pain, and gives the rope to Sigune, as she wished. But Sigune lets go of the rope, she does not hold the rope. She wanted the rope again and sends Schionatulander off again. During this second attempt to get the rope, i.e. the ability to read the star writing, Schionatulander dies! Sigune probably recognizes what guilt she has loaded on herself and mourns Schionatulander until her death.
Thus, this tragic encounter between the two is a personal love story, in connection with a spiritual task.
In this context, I would like to recommend to all who can read German fluently the novel by the Swiss writer Adolf Muschg, The Red Knight. The Red Knight is another name for Parzival. In this novel, the story of Sigune and Schionatulander is also differentiated in a good “exact fantasy”.
Thank you Otto. Yes these scenes pointing to the spiritual task of reading the cosmic script is very important. We had to let it go, & thru sacrifice it can be gained once again, but only after much pain & suffering. This very symbolic rendering of our human evolution seen thru their reationship is the Parzival journey in a nutshell
“Needless to say, Alexander and Aristotle themselves lived on. Once only they paid as it were a fleeting visit to the earth in the first Christian centuries in a district not without interest for the Anthroposophical Movement. Then they returned again into the spiritual world and they were together in the spiritual world at a certain time after Haroun al Raschid and his counsellor had left the physical plane once more. They themselves, the real individualities of Aristotle and Alexander, took different paths from Haroun al Raschid and his counsellor. For they went forward with the Christian evolution. They went westward with the evolution of Christianity.”
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA238/English/APC1957/19240910a01.html
“When I was coming out of St. Peter’s in Rome under the strong impression made on me by Michelangelo’s work that you find on the right-hand side as you enter — the Mother with Jesus, the Mother who looks so young, with Jesus dead already on her knees. And under the after-effect of looking at this work of art (this was a leading of the kind I mean), there came to me, not as a vision but as a true Imagination from the spiritual world, a picture which is inscribed in the Akashic record, showing how Parsifal, after he has gone away for the first time from the Castle of the Grail, where he had failed to ask about the mysteries which prevail there, meets in the forest a young woman who is holding her bridegroom in her lap and weeping over him. But I knew that whether it is the mother or the bride whose bridegroom is dead (Christ is often called the Bridegroom), the picture had a meaning, and that the connection thus established — without my having done anything about it — had a meaning also.” GA 149, lecture 5
Yes, I love this antidote from Stiner which shows his deep connection.
Thanks
“We know that Parsifal’s mother, Herzeleide, bore him in great suffering and with dream-like visions of a quite peculiar character; we know that she wished to shield him from knightly exercises and the code of knightly virtue; that she arranged for the management of her property and withdrew into solitude. She wanted to bring up her child so that he would remain a stranger to the impulses that were certainly present in him; for he was not to be exposed to the dangers that had surrounded his father. But we know also that from an early age the child began to notice everything glorious in Nature; from his mother’s teaching he really learnt nothing except that there was a ruling God, and he conceived a wish to serve this God. But he knew nothing of what this God was, and when one day he met some knights he took them for God and knelt before them. When he confessed to his mother that he had seen the knights and wanted to be a knight himself, she put on him a fool’s garments and sent him forth. He met with many adventures, and later on — people may call this sentimental but it is of the deepest significance — the mother died of a broken heart because of her son’s disappearance: he had not turned back to give her any farewell greeting but had gone forth to experience knightly adventures.
We know that after many wanderings, during which he learnt much about knightly ways and knightly honour, and distinguished himself, he came to the Castle of the Grail. On other occasions I have mentioned that the best literary account of Parsifal’s arrival at the Castle is to be found in Chrestien de Troyes. There we are shown how, after often mistaking the way, Parsifal comes to a lonely place and finds two men: one is steering a little boat and the other is fishing from it. They direct him to the Fisher-King, and presently he encounters the Fisher-King in the Grail Castle. The Fisher-King is old and feeble and has to rest on a couch.
While conversing with Parsifal, the Fisher-King hands him a sword, a gift from his niece. Then there appears first in the room a page carrying a spear; the spear is bleeding and the blood runs down over the page’s hand; and then a maiden with the Holy Grail, which is a kind of dish. But such glory streams forth from it that all the lights in the hall are outshone by the light of the Holy Grail, just as the stars are overpowered by the light of sun and moon. And then we learn how in the Holy Grail there is something with which the Fisher-King’s aged father is nourished in a separate room. He has no need of the sumptuously appointed meal of which the Fisher-King and Parsifal partake. These two nourish themselves with earthly food. But each time a Dew course — as we should say nowadays — is served, the Holy Grail withdraws into the room of the Fisher-King’s aged father, whose only nourishment comes from that which is within the Holy Grail.
Parsifal, to whom it had been intimated on his way from Gurnemanz that he ought not to ask too many questions, does not inquire why the lance bleeds or what the vessel of the Grail signifies — naturally he did not know their names. He then goes to bed for the night, in the same room (according to Chrestien de Troyes) where all this has happened. He was intending to ask questions in the morning, but when morning came he found the whole Castle empty — nobody was there. He called out for someone — nobody was there. He got dressed, and downstairs he found his horse ready. He thought the whole company had ridden out to hunt and wanted to ride after them in order to ask about the miracle of the Grail. But when he was crossing the drawbridge it rose up so quickly that his horse had to make a leap in order not to be thrown into the Castle moat. And he found no trace of the company he had encountered in the Castle on the previous day.
Then Chrestien de Troyes tells us how Parsifal rides on and in a lonely part of the wood comes upon a woman with her husband on her knees, and weeping for him. It is she, according to Chrestien de Troyes, who first indicates to him how he should have asked questions, so as to experience the effect of his questions on the great Mysteries that had been shown to him. We then hear that he went on, often wandering from the right road, until exactly on a Good Friday he came to a hermit, named Trevericent. The hermit tells him how he is being cursed because he has wasted the opportunity of bringing about something like a redemption for the Fisher-King by asking questions about the miracles in the castle. And then he is given many and various teachings.” GA 149, lecture 5
Stiner’s synopse of the Tale holds many clues