Dear friends I forgot to mention last evening in our 5th Gospel study, that TONIGHT WE WILL NOT BE MEETING TO STUDY. Instead please join The ARC in Atlanta TONIGHT- Tuesday, December 29th, 6 pm – 8:30 pm CST – for a reading of Goethe’s fairy tale, The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily 

zoom code: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82656914578?pwd=MHN3Mmt3OEhtQlZTMlc1NHFtUm80QT09 

Meeting ID: 826 5691 4578 

Passcode: Goethe

***

6th Holy Night:  Constellation of Libra, Scales (ruling the kidneys & lumbar region) The Sphere of the Dynamis, Spirits of Movement, Virtues or Mights.

Virtue: Contentment Becomes Self-Composure

Here is a more conversational version of the 6th Holy Night on the ‘I Think Speech‘ Podcast.

♈ ARIES
♉ TAURUS
♊ GEMINI
♋ CANCER
♌ LEO
♍ VIRGO

♎ LIBRA

♏ SCORPIUS
♐ SAGITTARIUS
♑ CAPRICORN
♒ AQUARIUS
♓ PISCES

In Libra we come to the center of the Zodiac, the balance between the below -the lower signs which we have just traversed, considered the ‘dark signs’ where humanity still needs work; & the above – the upper zodiac, referred to as the ascended signs, where we are headed in our evolution.

From the Sphere of the Dynamis, the Spirits of Movement, dwelling in the Sun, bring the entire solar system into a state of mutual equilibrium. The reciprocal balance of the individual planets under their guidance finds a living expression in what Pythagoras called the ‘Music of the Spheres’, which reigns in the cosmos. On Earth they work from the periphery to balance the forces of the Thrones raying out from the center of the Earth, giving us such beautifully diverse landscapes.

These forces began to manifest on Old Moon, when the job of the Sprits of Movement was to bring a right relationship to the bodies of the Sun & Moon, which had separated from each other, creating a position in the cosmos that resembled a giant pair of scales needing to be balanced.

When The Christ Being made his descent thru the Constellation of the Scales, the 3^rd pre-earthly deed was accomplished, counteracting the threat in the thinking life, to redeem the human astral body & the Soul forces of thinking, feeling, & willing. If Christ had not sacrificed his own perfected Astral Body or Spirit-Self, uniting once again with the Nathan Soul, the human Ego would not have been able to come thru, & a balance between these 3 soul forces would have been broken, creating a separation into 3 races of human being: Thinking would have manifested in a type of Eagle-human; Feeling into a Lion-type; & Willing in a Bull-like human; creating in the astral body a dragon-like nature.

This sacrifice made it possible for the Dynamis to advance, evolving upwards into the ascending aspect of the Zodiac. Humanity will also advance when we take our thinking to the next level, in freedom. This is possible when we open to the opportunities availed us thru the Christ-Impulse, the work of Michael, our current Time Spirit, & our connection to Anthroposophia.

Today as I endeavor to stand in balance with my thinking, I am indebted to our devoted community of Anthroposohers, brought together thru our beloved teacher Dr. Rudolf Steiner. Let us seek to bring the highest evolution to bear.

Until Soon

Xox  ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

10:10 testament: Here is a verse that Dorothy Hinkle-Uhlig uses to become, & put light into action. The verse was given by Seamus Raymard , as part of a workshop called ‘Deepening our Relationship to Elemental Beings and Their task in Harmonizing the World’s Climate and Biodiversity’ at the Biodynamic Conference 2020 online.

I feel sunlight in my heart.
Sunlight streams into my hands.
Sunlight streams into my feet.
My heart’s force is a gift of the divine.
I will work with this divine gift.
Thus may I hope to become strong.
~Rudolf Steiner

***

29 December 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars“: Full ‘Cold’ Moon exact at 9:28 pm CST. Bella Luna shines in Gemini, left of Orion during the evening. She forms a nearly equilateral triangle with bright Capella high above it & orange Aldebaran to their upper right.

***

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

The Feast Day of King David, ancestor to Jesus.  There are various Old Testament reports on David: God is angered when Saul, Israel’s king, unlawfully offers a sacrifice,  & later disobeys a divine instruction to not only kill all of the Amalekites. Consequently, he sends the prophet Samuel to anoint David, the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem, to be king instead.

God sends an evil spirit to torment Saul. Saul’s courtiers recommend that he send for David, a man skillful on the lyre, wise in speech, & brave in battle. So David enters Saul’s service as one of the royal armor-bearers, & plays the lyre to soothe the king whenever the evil spirit is upon him.

War comes between Israel & the Philistines, & the giant Goliath challenges the Israelites to send out a champion to face him in single combat. David, sent by his father to bring provisions to his brothers serving in Saul’s army, declares that he can defeat Goliath. Refusing the king’s offer of the royal armor, he kills Goliath with his sling. Saul inquires the name of the young hero’s father.

Saul sets David over his army. All Israel loves David, but his popularity causes Saul to fear him (“What else can he wish but the kingdom?”). Saul plots his death, but Saul’s son Jonathan, one of those who loves David, warns him of his father’s schemes & David flees. He becomes a vassal of the Philistine king Achish of Gath, but Achish’s nobles question his loyalty, & he is left behind to guard the camp when the Philistines march against Saul. Jonathan & Saul are killed, &David is anointed king over Judah. In the north, Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth is anointed king of Israel, & war ensues until Ish-Bosheth is killed.

With the death of Saul’s son, the elders of Israel come to Hebron & David is anointed king over all Israel. He conquers Jerusalem, previously a Jebusite stronghold, & makes it his capital. He brings the Ark of the Covenant to the city, intending to build a temple for God, but the prophet Nathan forbids it, prophesying that the temple would be built by one of his sons. Nathan also prophesies that God has made a covenant with the house of David: “Your throne shall be established forever.”

During a battle to conquer the Ammonite capital of Rabbah, David seduces Bathsheba, & causes the death of her husband Uriah the Hittite. In response, Nathan prophesies the punishment that shall fall upon him: “the sword shall never depart from your house.” In fulfillment of these words David’s son Absalom rebels. The rebellion ends at the battle of the Wood of Ephraim. Absalom’s forces are routed, & Absalom is caught by his long hair in the branches of a tree, & killed by Joab, contrary to David’s order. Joab was the commander of David’s army. He laments the death of his favorite son: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you”. When David is old & bedridden, Adonijah, his eldest surviving son & natural heir, declares himself king. Bathsheba & Nathan go to David & obtain his agreement to crown Bathsheba’s son Solomon as king, according to David’s earlier promise, & the revolt of Adonijah is put down. David dies at the age of 70 after reigning 40 years, & on his deathbed counsels Solomon to walk in the ways of God

1170 – Deathday of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II

1890 – Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment

1890 – Deathday of Spotted Elk (Lakota: OH-PONG-GE-LE-SKAH) highly renowned chief of the Miniconjou, Lakota Sioux. He was killed by the US Army at Wounded Knee Creek, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation South Dakota, with at least 250 members of his tribe

1926 – Deathday of Rainer Maria Rilke, a Bohemian-Austrian poet & novelist

***

December 24- January 5 (No Meeting December 31)

OVER 1000 PEOPLE REGISTERED!

Daily Schedule:

11:00-11:10am CST – Welcome and silent contemplation with the new zodiac image and virtue

11:10-11:20 am CST – Divine Feminine Sharing

11:20-11:30 am CST – Group Sharing and Closing  

** Recordings Posted Daily **

December 24 First Holy Night Presenter: Angela Foster
December 25 Second Holy Night Presenter: Laura Scappaticci 
December 26 Third Holy Night Presenter: Joyce Reilly 
SUNDAY December 27 Fourth Holy Night Presenter: Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
December 28 Fifth Holy Night Presenter: Jordan Walker and Stefan Ambrose 
Tuesday December 29 Sixth Holy Night Presenter: Ultra-Violet Archer
December 30 Seventh Holy Night Presenter: Deb Abrahams-Dematte
~ ~ December 31 – Pause ~ ~
January 1 Eighth Holy Night Presenter: Lelan Harris
January 2 Ninth Holy Night Presenter: Michele Mariscal
January 3 Tenth Holy Night Presenter: Claudia Knudson
January 4 Eleventh Holy Night Presenter: Jolie Luba 
January 5 Twelfth Holy Night Presenter: Timothy Kennedy 

***

On Tuesday, December 29th, 6 pm – 8:30 pm CST, 

we will join The ARC in Atlanta for a reading of Goethe’s fairy tale, The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily 

This has a separate zoom code: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82656914578?pwd=MHN3Mmt3OEhtQlZTMlc1NHFtUm80QT09 Meeting ID: 826 5691 4578  Passcode: Goethe

***

New Year’s Eve, there will be NO zoom call

Thursday 31 December 2020-21 Our Annual Conscious NYE Gathering 6 pm-10:10 pm CT

In-Person at Elderberries Bio-dynamic Outpost & The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago

6 pm CST – Potluck and artistic mask making with Lucien Dante Lazar

Victoria Martin will be offering individual readings: Runes with either Palmistry or Astrology 6-9 PM Pick a Rune for the year ahead and add a Palm reading: a life portrait.

Or pick a Rune and add Astrology to see where the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction is in your horoscope now and for 2021: There will be tips on how you can use the conjunction and the Square to Mars-Uranus. The latter is near Dr. Steiner’s Birth Chart Mars-Pluto conjunction so that is significant for Anthroposophy! Reading will be recorded on an MP3 file and visually documented. $10 cash

Bring your horoscope or Victoria will calculate it please send Birth info DATE, TIME and PLACE of birth to Victoria ASAP (by Wednesday 5PM)  <viccimartin@gmail.com> or call/text 312-961-3380

8 pm– 9:30 pm CST – Live Music with Jutta and the Hi-Dukes 

10:10 pm CST – Project Thought-Seed 

The evening ends at 10:30 pm

$20 per person http://donate.rschicago.org/

For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org

***

Nancy Poer

Wednesday 6 January 2021, 2 pm – 4 pm CST

Joan’s Epiphany ‘What Joan of Arc Calls for Today’

In-Person at Elderberries Bio-dynamic Outpost & The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago & online Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

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 Lucien Dante Lazar,

+ An Artistic exploration, Singing & Eurythmy

http://donate.rschicago.org/

For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org

Blessings of the Season
~Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Festivals & Events Coordinator
for the Rudolf Steiner Branch
of The Anthroposophical Society

Cosmic Christmas Blessings on this “the World Initiation Night” my Dear Sisters and Brothers – From Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts by Rudolf Steiner, A Christmas Study: The Mystery of the Logos. Christmas, 1924

“…If the consciousness soul is able to strengthen itself sufficiently, to look back in inner vision to its divine-spiritual origin, it finds the cosmic Logos, as the Being who can lead it back. It fills itself with the mighty picture which reveals what took place on Golgotha. The beginning of this understanding is the loving comprehension of the Cosmic Christmas, the World Initiation Night, the festive remembrance of which is celebrated each year.

…The warmth of love is present in its highest form when it goes out to the Jesus child who appears on Earth during the World Initiation Night. In this way the human being has allowed the highest earthly spiritual fact, which was at the same time a physical event, to work upon his soul; he has entered upon the path on which he may receive Christ into himself…

To turn the human heart in love to these great cosmic facts: this is the true content of the festival of remembrance approaching the human being each year when he contemplates the World Initiation Night of Christmas. If such love as this lives in human hearts, it permeates the cold light-element of the consciousness soul…

To feel and experience Christmas in this way will enable the soul to realise how the glory of the divine-spiritual beings – whose images are revealed in the stars – announces itself to the human being, and how the human being’s liberation from the powers striving to alienate him from his origin takes place within the precincts of the Earth.”

3rd Holy Night: Boxing Day – Feast of St. Steven, Constellation of Capricorn, The Goat (ruling the knees & bones) The Sphere of the Archangel, Fire-Spirits.

Here is the shorter version of the 3rd Holy Night on the ‘I Think Speech‘ Podcast.

The birth of Jesus could only occur in the seasonal round during the influence of Capricorn, when the Earth is frozen & dark, ie. purified of the Ahrimanic forces, with the light of the outer Sun, focused into Spiritual Sun within. These forces were gifted to us from the Archangels on Old Sun. So whenever we perceive light, with our eyes, or with our hearts, the Archangels are behind it.

I can’t help thinking of this Steiner quote from The Cycle of the Year:  “While the summer out-breathing occurred, the Earth was ahrimanized. Woe if Jesus had been born into this ahrimanized Earth! Before the cycle is completed again and December approaches, which brings about the birth of the Christ Impulse in the ensouled Earth, the Earth must be purified by spiritual forces, from the Dragon, from the Ahrimanic forces. And the purifying force of Michael, which subdues the evil Ahrimanic forces, must unite itself, from September into December, with the in-flowing earth breath, so that the Christmas festival may approach in the right way, and the birth of the Christ Impulse take place in the right way…”

Is this global warming a sign of the coming incarnation of Ahriman in the West?

This push of activity from Ahriman manifests itself every year in the sphere of the Goat, where he is the chief antagonist of the 12 Archangels. Ahriman hopes ever & again at this darkest & coldest time of the year to prevent the rising of the Spiritual Sun in the earthly sphere. And every year he is overcome by the Archangel Michael so that the Christ Sun may rise for the earth. How can we as Michaelites help in this endeavor?

We see this image of Ahriman depicted, especially in the Middle Ages, thru the imagination of ‘Satan’ portrayed with the horns & lower body of a goat -all the negative characteristics of the animal nature – a tradition followed by Goethe in his character of Mephistopheles with cloven feet.

Interesting to think that the 7th American cultural epoch will stand under the sign of the goat. How can we prepare the way in the purity of the ideal?

The 12 Archangels were the 1^st beings to receive the Christ into themselves during the epoch of Ancient Persia. The Persians knew that the 12 Archangelic Beings, operating from the 12 signs of the Zodiac, work thru the 12 main nerves that connect the human brain with the rest of our body, in order to gradually summon forth what appears today as our intelligence. And Human intelligence is most awake, most light filled, precisely at the time of the year which stands under the rulership of the cosmic forces proceeding from the region of the goat.

Zarathustra (who later became the Matthew Jesus) called them the 12 Amshaspands, the envoys of the great Sun-Spirit Ahura-Mazdao, & described them as a kind of cosmic aura surrounding the Sun, holding the Christ-Impulse that was to be born in the sphere of Earth.

Capricorn is connected to the knee.  So when we kneel in prayer, we spiritualize our speech. Bending the knee is a sign of reverence, helping us draw near to the Archangels who rule the element of speech.

According to spiritual science, in the Venus epoch there will arise from the knee-cap, the outer form of the human head.

The Archangels worked thru the 12 disciples as their representatives.  In our time these Beings are the inspirers of the Holy Nights.

Each of the Archangels have their own qualities. The Archangel Gabriel had the task of bringing the divine forces to bear in the womb of Mary

May we bend our knee to speak from spirit-fired, christened heads & hearts

xox~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Virtue: Courage becomes the power of redemption

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day “The soul of the seer lives on from the festival of Jesus’ birth to that of the Epiphany in such a way that the Christ Mystery is revealed. It is during these Thirteen Holy Days and Nights that the soul can grasp most deeply of all, the import and meaning of the Baptism by John in the Jordan.” ~ The Birth of the Sun-Spirit as the Spirit of the Earth – THE THIRTEEN HOLY NIGHTS, Hanover, 26th December, 1911

26 December 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Look for the bright waxing gibbous moon to shine in front of the constellation Taurus the Bull. Bella Luna appears to clip the top of Orion’s upraised club. Despite the lunar glare – you should be able to glimpse the two major signposts in Taurus: the bright star Aldebaran and the Pleiades star cluster, otherwise known as the Seven Sisters. During the moon’s trek through Taurus in December 2020, it passes to the south of the Pleiades & then to the north of Aldebaran.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Feast of St. Stephen venerated as the Proto-martyr or first martyr of Christianity. According to the Acts of the Apostles he was a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy, at his trial he made a long speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him & was then stoned to death. His martyrdom was witnessed by Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who would later himself become a follower of Jesus

Mummer’s Day, or ” Darking Day” is an ancient Cornish midwinter celebration that occurs every year on Boxing Day in Cornwall. It was originally part of the pagan heritage of midwinter celebrations that were regularly celebrated, where people would take part in the traditional custom of guise dancing, which involves disguising themselves by painting their faces or wearing masks

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day on which post-men, errand-boys, & servants of various kinds expect to receive a ‘Christmas-box’. It originated in the United Kingdom, but is very popular in Canada, where this was the day to exchange gifts, or return the ones not wanted

1^st Day of Kwanzaa – a week-long celebration that honors African heritage, culminating in a feast & gift-giving. It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966–67. Seven candles in a candelabra symbolize the seven principles of Kwanzaa:

Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and to solve them together.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle

***

December 24- January 5 (No Meeting December 31)

OVER 1000 PEOPLE REGISTERED!

Daily Schedule:

11:00-11:10am CST – Welcome and silent contemplation with the new zodiac image and virtue

11:10-11:20 am CST – Divine Feminine Sharing

11:20-11:30 am CST – Group Sharing and Closing  

** Recordings Posted Daily **

December 24 First Holy Night Presenter: Angela Foster
December 25 Second Holy Night Presenter: Laura Scappaticci 
December 26 Third Holy Night Presenter: Joyce Reilly 
SUNDAY December 27 Fourth Holy Night Presenter: Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
December 28 Fifth Holy Night Presenter: Jordan Walker and Stefan Ambrose 
Tuesday December 29 Sixth Holy Night Presenter: Ultra-Violet Archer
December 30 Seventh Holy Night Presenter: Deb Abrahams-Dematte
~ ~ December 31 – Pause ~ ~
January 1 Eighth Holy Night Presenter: Lelan Harris
January 2 Ninth Holy Night Presenter: Michele Mariscal
January 3 Tenth Holy Night Presenter: Claudia Knudson
January 4 Eleventh Holy Night Presenter: Jolie Luba 
January 5 Twelfth Holy Night Presenter: Timothy Kennedy 

***

The Festivals Committee for the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago invites you to Our Annual Holy Nights
December 24, 2020, through January 5, 2021 

*Please note–No meeting December 29th and 31st. See special offerings below for these dates. 

The Fifth Gospel by Rudolf Steiner – Each evening we will study together 

on Zoom from 7 pm – 8 pm CST

Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92592034861?pwd=Mmo0eURaWDVqYVlabTdSY1ltcUFxdz09

Meeting ID: 925 9203 4861  – Passcode: Peace

On Tuesday, December 29th, 6 pm – 8:30 pm CST, 

we will join The ARC in Atlanta for a reading of Goethe’s fairy tale, The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily 

This has a separate zoom code: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82656914578?pwd=MHN3Mmt3OEhtQlZTMlc1NHFtUm80QT09 Meeting ID: 826 5691 4578  Passcode: Goethe

***

New Year’s Eve, there will be NO zoom call

Thursday 31 December 2020-21 Our Annual Conscious NYE Gathering 6 pm-10:10 pm CT

In-Person at Elderberries Bio-dynamic Outpost & The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago

6 pm CST – Potluck and artistic mask making with Lucien Dante Lazar

8 pm– 9:30 pm CST – Live Music with Jutta and the Hi-Dukes 

10:10 pm CST – Project Thought-Seed 

The evening ends at 10:30 pm

$20 per person http://donate.rschicago.org/

For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org

***

Nancy Poer

Wednesday 6 January 2021, 2 pm – 4 pm CST

Joan’s Epiphany ‘What Joan of Arc Calls for Today’

In-Person at Elderberries Bio-dynamic Outpost & The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago & online Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

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 Lucien Dante Lazar,

+ An Artistic exploration, Singing & Eurythmy

http://donate.rschicago.org/

For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org

Blessings of the Season
~Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Festivals & Events Coordinator
for the Rudolf Steiner Branch
of The Anthroposophical Society