After-Image: Alpha & Omega

Insight, Rudolf Steiner Quote
GF Watts' After the Deluge | Redtree Times
GF Watts

The after-image:

Dear friends a powerful seed of light was cultivated during our Election Night Vigil. It is already rooting itself out of the spiritual world, working thru the souls of our beloved dead & the powerful Spirit Beings that guide us in our human destiny.

I awoke the morning after, as I often do with the image of the Earth as a body of light – a Sacred Star – but this day I knew that the light must shine out from human hearts, like a sea of little Suns, radiating together with warmth & light.

I shared this with my beloved husband Chuck while we were having our morning tea: Another affirmation that this image of the ‘Corona’ which has settled like a collective shadow over humanity, is a global call to create a counter-image – the Crowning of creation – the human being as a Star.

amandasage.com | The Artwork of Amanda Sage | Art, Visionary art, Fractal art
Amanda Sage

Chuck shared that he has been working with Steiner’s Occult Science, & this powerful image of how the Thrones experienced bliss in the pouring forth of Will from themselves. This then allowed the Spirits of Wisdom to unite their Life-Body with this outpouring of Will. Next the Spirits of motion added their lowest body, their astral body. This combination allowed Old Saturn to become an ‘ensouled being’, which gained the ability to reflect life out into cosmic space. This allowed the Spirits of Form to become active, creating a differentiation in this ensouled being; Steiner gives the image of a blackberry (the beginnings of humankind). Then the Archai, from the periphery, who were having their human incarnation, were able to reflect their “I” to these ‘Saturn Beings’ & have their life reflected back to them, to see who they are.

Why does Steiner give us this cosmic picture of the beginnings of life? – To give us a role-model. – For WE are to become the creators of a new universe – the New Jerusalem. And this turning point which we are currently experiencing is our time to begin this work in earnest. We must awaken to the fact that everything we Will (our thoughts, words & deeds) pours out from us, & is reflected back to us from the physical world; & this shows us who we are. A lot of what pours forth from our will is unconscious, & so we are often blindsided or appalled by what is reflected back to us in the world. How can we awaken our Will to consciously create the world as a reflection of our Highest Self? And what can come of it when we join our collective Good Will together?

563 Alpha Omega Photos - Free & Royalty-Free Stock Photos from Dreamstime

This set off a lightbulb in my thinking. It became clear that what we are called to do is contemplate the Alpha & the Omega – to imitate the sublime offerings of the hierarchies, & with our conscious free will, pour out thru our heart-thinking an imaginative cognition of the ultimate human destiny – The Earth & all of humanity as a shining Star – the Sun of a new Christ-centered universe – This must become our collective Thought-Form.

File:Rosicrucian Academy of Alpha Omega.png - Wikimedia Commons

After breakfast when I checked my email I saw a response to my blog on Building the Watchtower, & Thought-Forms about Dion Fortune, from Steve Hale, who mentioned a few biographical insights about her, so I followed the link he sent & read to my surprise that she was initiated into the “Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega”! hmmm, perhaps she is sending us a message.

Still in the after-glow, I went off to our Wednesday Karma Study, & many friends who were at the vigil were there, so we talked about our experience: The importance of Goethean Conversation so gracefully brought to us by Angela Foster; the power of our personal metamorphosis thru Social Artistry offered thru Lucien Dante Lazar’s drawing exercise; The warmth & enthusiasm of the group…And Deborah Rogers shared how it only takes the square root of any number of people to create change. So out of a million people, you only need 1000, to turn the tide. Tom McGuire mentioned The ‘Tipping Point’, a book by Malcolm Gladwell as an example of this principle.

Goetheanum | General Anthroposophical Section

Yes, it’s true we Anthroposophers are relatively small in number, but with the help of Rudolf Steiner & all that Spiritual Science brings, we have great capacities to generate change from the inner world out, but only if we join our forces together. Then we can become a beacon for others; & this powerful Thought-Form of the Alpha & the Omega can grow & become the antidote we all seek.

Then Elisabeth Swisher shared a beloved verse by Herbert Hahn, which she wrote down for me on the back of one of her drawings from the vigil:

Erst wenn ich Lichtes denke leuchtet meine Seele,
Erst wenn meine Seele leuchtet ist die Erde ein Stern,
Erst wenn die Erde ein Stern ist bin ich wahrhaft Mensch!
~Herbert Hahn

Only when I think light my soul shines,
Only when my soul shines is the earth a star,
Only when the earth is a star am I truly a human being.

“The transformation of thought into living activity in meditation and prayer carries living light into the etheric world!…In meditative work that connects with a truth- thinks light- we create a quality of light for the etheric world….” (Matthias Gierke, MD in an article about “Earth as spiritual star” in Lilipoh magazine.

WOW, how perfect, thank you angels! I got shivers, such a powerful affirmation working thru our community. And we all agreed that perhaps this could be an anchor for our Thought-Form – to be conceived each day at noon.

Seeing 12:12 and the Merkaba Field - Forever Conscious

This morning the thought came to suggest we tune in at 12:12 pm every day with this verse as the seed for a short meditation (even 1 minute)whereever you are, so that the imagination can move like a wave covering the whole earth.

Dear Ones, if this idea resonates with you – Please pass it on to your friends -Talk about it with your family, discuss it with strangers at the park – spread the good word, that:

WE, as Anthroposophia, in service to Humankind, & to our Mother Earth, CAN initiate change, thru positive Thought-Forms, by consciously rising in our thinking, every day at 12:12 pm, meditating the Steiner verse:

Only when I think light my soul shines,
Only when my soul shines is the earth a star,
Only when the earth is a star am I truly a human being.

to collectively build a cogitative imagination of a healing, ‘protective egregore’, a ‘Guardian Watcher’ to work with our highest intentions for the evolution of humanity – & the ever present help of the Spiritual World – that the Earth may become a Star.

Ornaments - VOSSCINATION | Traditional ornaments, Ornament arrangement, Ornaments

And for those that want to take the imagination further & use the image of the Alpha & the Omega: We can think on the Power of The Word – the first & last letters of the Greek alphabet, (with all the vowels & consonants in-between & the mystery of Golgotha in the middle) to be The Word of God, The Christ, revealed in the Book of Revelation.

jesus christ enthroned icon mark dukes alpha omega sun moon stars pantocrator - Crossroads Initiative

“This is Alpha: the Saturn human being, the warmth human being living in wonderment…If we proceed in this way through the whole alphabet, we proceed through the world. After gradually taking into himself everything that is world, and filling his whole being with it, when he arrives at Vulcan the Omega having united with himself the whole content of the world, of this great All to which he belongs, the human being will have become the one he was at the beginning of the Saturn condition plus the whole world. He will be Alpha and Omega, man who unites in himself everything that is world. By saying ‘I am Alpha and Omega’ in the way John’s Book of Revelation does, we have designated what the human being will be at the end of the Vulcan condition. At the end of the Vulcan condition the human being, too, will be permitted to say: I am Alpha and Omega…In the beginning was the Word—this means the same as when Christ says ‘I am the Word’, or ‘I am Alpha and Omega’. ~Rudolf Steiner, “I am Alpha and Omega”: The Book of Revelation and the Work of the Priest. Lecture 3, Dornach, 7 September 1924

I would love to create a dialogue with those that are willing to take on this Thought-Experiment in earnest. Using the above verse (or another of your choosing) as the foundation of our visualization can be enough; but it could be you will want to elaborate, or the spiritual world will send you imaginations & inspirations; please do share.

See you dear friends, in the ethers every day at 12:12 pm.  (Please don’t worry if you can’t be there at 12:12 pm, just do it whenever you think of it, which may be many times a day, or perhaps only occasionally, don’t stress it, just do what you can with a loving heart-mind)

Yours in full faith

~hag

***

Pegasus Constellation Embroidery Design | Pegasus constellation, Constellation art, Constellations

5 November 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: When night arrives, the Great Square of Pegasus is still balanced on its corner high in the southeast. But within two hours it turns around to lie level like a box high in the south.

Paul Klee and Rudolf Steiner - Sophia Institute
Paul Klee

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1872 – Imme von Eckardstein posed the question of the cycle of the year, which brought thru Rudolf Steiner the “Calendar of the Soul” in 1912/13

1910 – D.N. Dunlop opens the Blavatsky Institute

***

SATURDAY 7 November 2020,

3 pm – 5 pm CT

Connections Revealed

online https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

Friends – We are going through a ‘dark night of the soul’ – a karmic necessity as part of world evolution, so what are we to learn from it? How do we maintain our ability to think independently and clearly through the growing miasma of fear? This Corona-Crisis is a battle for the ′′Crown of Creation” ie. the human being.  We are not only experiencing a political, social, economic or global health crisis; it is the essence of humanity that is being fought for. How do we accept our karma in the face of world events and yet maintain our ability to create our destiny in freedom?

The Connection Between Epidemics, the Souls of the Dead, & the Spiritual World – Leading thoughts by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg based on Spiritual Scientific research & indications from Rudolf Steiner

Inspirations by Lelan Harris – the executive director of Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative (WiseCosmos.org).  Lelan is a healer, teacher, and leader with over 40 years of experience in vocational roles such as pastor, professor, and Waldorf school administrator.  He offers developmental mentoring, spiritual training, and energy healing in order to raise up new generations of leaders in service at all levels to humanity, Earth, and cosmos.

Group Eurythmy with Mary Ruud

& Break out Sessions

Zoom Meeting hosted by Anne Nicholson
https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

Building the Watchtower

Insight, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars

I have moved to Substack https://hazelarcherginsberg.substack.com/p/10101010101010

Free video Presentations here: https://www.youtube.com/@hazelarcher-ginsberg8747/videos

Dear friends – I awoke this morning with the thought to continue to explore with you the work we will begin in earnest tonight, of joining together to co-create a collective ‘Thought-Form’ of Good Will – a “key-call” to the powers on the Inner Planes, to enlist their aid, not only for this Election Night, but for the healing of the world, which must become a daily practice.

To further explain ‘the working’, we can do together, let’s look at what this positive group energy can be, from a spiritual scientific point of view:

An egregore (pronounced egg’ gree gore) is a group thought-form, & when intentionally created, becomes a kind of entity with the power to help & influence. A group with a common purpose, like a family, a club, a political party, a church, or even a country can create an egregore, for better or worse depending upon the type of thought that created it. Are we now caught up in a global egregore of fear?

Tibetan Dharma Wheel

Tulpa which means “emanation” or “manifestation”, is the Tibetan concept of a being which is created thru thought power, a type of willed supersensible helper. Theosophists first brought the idea of Thought-Form to the modern public mind. But the Rosicrucian’s have been using this powerful tool for centuries, as part of their training, building a cosmic energy field for healing.

As a Rosicrucian we are taught that whenever we meditate, pray, study a sacred  image, or create an inspiring work of science, art, or literature, we radiate into space positive thoughts & emotions which benefit all other members & humanity in general. Thru concentration exercises we can build Thought-Forms in the astral where we can meet in spirit.

Sermons from Plymouth UCC
Samuel Berton

In Anthroposophy, (the modern renewal of Rosicrucianism), we call it ‘a Group-Soul’ (not sure what the German word is…?) We talk about the ‘Branch Angel’, or ‘Spirit of Place’. We are adding to this energy when we practice any of the exercises or meditations Rudolf Steiner gave us; or when we read his work; we feel like we are on a path laid out for us thru his guidance. Our goal is to co-create a new ‘Group-Soul United in Christ’.

The Angel of the Anthroposophical Society extends beyond the usual limits of space/time to include those across the Threshold, as well as the ancient Mystery Schools. In other words we are karmic connected, part of the Being Anthroposophia.

lexicon magazine - IMAGO MENTIS – the thought-form drawings of Annie Besant
Anne Besant

Other terms that have been used to describe an egregore are: archetype, group consciousness, zeitgeist, or morphogenic fields.

This psychic, astral entity will continue as long as thought energy feeds it. Egregores can be kept alive when new generations add their thought energy to the entity. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Spirit of Christmas are all egregores, so is the Devil or the Grim Reaper. It brings to mind Neil Gaiman’s book American Gods.

A ‘fad’ in popular culture is a temporary & very potent egregore. These principles are powerfully used in advertising & in the media & often take the form of repeated messages that become propaganda, or mind control.

It influences others as well. In the case of a negative egregore, Adolf Hitler used the subconscious hatred & anger in the minds of the German people after their defeat in World War I to create a demonic entity that caused world destruction.

The “lynch mob mentality” is an excellent example here. A small group can create an egregore, & that psychic energy can spread to the crowd who mindlessly follow. The crowd egregore arises quickly. Its passion carries the crowd, but because the crowd is not an organized, stable group with intention, the demon is quickly dissipated.

Wall Street is another example of the crowd mentality, when a few manipulators sell strategically & the whole market plummets.

As a psychic entity, the egregore exists between the material & spiritual worlds & is connected to both. It is a creation of the objectives or intentions of the members of a group, & exists as a connection to the divine. Anyone involved in a group, whatever kind of group it is, will be affected by the egregore of the group. For those that reach for a spiritual connection, the egregore assists & facilitates that connection. This process is intensified thru the initiation process, which is designed to open the mind to the spiritual thru the egregore.

The power of the egregore to help & sustain a group increases over time thru the repeated actions of its members. (daily affirmations, festivals, etc…) The egregore can raise its members from the material world & connect them to the divine, or in the case of a negative thought form, to the depths of human depravity. That is why it is so important to not get caught up in the current miasma of fear that seeks to block us from our true connection to the spirit.  

File:Annie Besant Thought Forms - Project Gutenberg etext 16269.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

As I wrote yesterday, in my Thought-Forms post During World War II, Dion Fortune, a prominent British occultist & author, gathered her followers in Britain together for a psychic war against Germany. Fortune invoked ancient spirits pledged to protect Britain, including King Arthur, Merlin, St. Michael & St. George, to create a protective egregore. Britain was never invaded despite the immense power of the Nazi war machine.

Dion Fortune, discussed the phenomenon of the group mind when it is in a frenzy typical of a Hitler speech: “But however potent the personality, however vast the resources, however popular the catch-phrases, if the movement is contrary to cosmic law it is only a matter of time till the whole group rushes madly down a steep slope into the sea. For in such a case it is the very momentum that is worked up which is the cause of its destruction. Give a false movement enough rope and it will always hang itself, falling by its own weight when that has grown sufficiently top-heavy to overbalance it”

After Germany was defeated the Nazi egregore gradually faded away because there were no more masses feeding it. So, in time, when the emotions & feelings that were feeding an egregore disappear, the egregore slowly dissolves; & yet it can rise up again as we have seen with the neo Nazi’s.

Tulpa - Wikipedia

Egregores can also attach themselves to buildings or places. Ancient cathedrals are often known for their healing powers or supersensible connections to the unseen worlds & powerful guardian entities. Caves where ancients used to worship have become the object of pilgrimages. These locality-based egregores can be fed with emotion & intent for hundreds of years by local residents or pilgrims. Examples of negative energies can be found in battlefields & sites of massacres, which invoke dread.

An Introduction to Thought Forms, the Pioneering 1905 Theosophist Book That Inspired Abstract Art: It Returns to Print on November 6th | Open Culture

Further clarifying definitions of an egregore:

  • “An energized astral form produced consciously or unconsciously by human agency. In particular, (a) a strongly characterized form, usually an archetypal image, produced by the imaginative and emotional energies of a group collectively, or (b) an astral shape of any kind, deliberately formulated to carry a specific force.”
  • “Any symbolic pattern that has served as a focus for human emotion and energy will build up an egregore of its own over time, and the more energy that is put into such a pattern, the more potent the egregore that will form around it. The gods and goddesses of every religion, past and present, are at the centers of vast egregores charged with specific kinds of power. This power is defined by, and contacted through, the traditional symbolism of the deity in question.”
  • “from a Greek word meaning “Watcher” – a thought-form created by will and visualization. A group egregore is the distinctive energy of a specific group who are working together, creating and building the same thought-form or energy-form.”
  • “An egregore is an angel, in Hebrew the word is Ir, sometimes called Watcher, and the concept appears in The Book of Enoch… the egregores, are angels on both sides of the camp – fallen angels as well as faithful ones.”
Coronavirus crisis on the Earth. COVID-19 by Olga Nikitina (2020) : Painting Oil on Canvas - Singulart

It seems to me that the world is under the spell of an unconscious negative egregore right now that feeds on our fear, & anxiety.

Columbia' and 'Uncle Sam' surveying, The World's Columbia Exposition - Chicago Worlds Fair… | World's columbian exposition, Columbian exposition 1893, World's fair

The Spirit of America has turned from the image of the Native American personification of the Dove of Peace- Columbia, into the grotesque visage of Uncle Sam.

FIG. 12. PEACE AND PROTECTION
Peace & Protection Thought Form

What do you say friends? Do you feel called to break that spell!?! – We have the choice to create positive thought forms together, to consciously rise in our thinking to collectively build a cogitative imagination of Michael, & Christ-Sophia, embracing us with their love & light. And for tonight – Election Night – to add Columbia the Spirit of America to the mix. – To co-create a healing, ‘protective egregore’, a ‘Watcher’ to work with our highest intentions for the evolution of humanity – that the Earth may become a Star…Where will you cast your vote?

~hag

Come commune with me for new works on this platform https://hazelarcherginsberg.substack.com/

***

TONIGHT:

All Souls Election Night Vigil

7 pm – 9 pm CT. Tuesday 3 November 2020

In-person in the Upper Room of the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 4249 N. Lincoln Ave.

& also online Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

Through Social Sculpture, we will hold space with each other, connect with our Angel, the ‘so called dead’, the Being of America…etc…to bring healing on both sides of the Threshold, during Election Night 2020, & on into the future which we are committing to consciously co-create.

hag: Light Candle – Anne Nicholson: Welcome –– Invite folks to write in the chat where they are from & the names of their beloved ones that they want to honor tonight.

Deborah Rogers: Verse

Angela Foster: The Art of Goethean Conversation

Lucien Dante Lazar: Metamorphosis begins (& continues throughout the evening)

hag – Why an election night vigil?

Lucien: Metamorphosis: part 2

Frank, Dottie, + ALL: The 3-Fold Social Order & ALIANT Alliance –

Lucien: Metamorphosis: part 3

Anne: Break-Out Session – groups of 3 for 15 minutes– Question: What image do you want to share to our collective picture of a better world? then: Thoughts gleaned from the break-outs in a Large group sharing

Elizabeth Kelly + ALL: Singing (‘For Janet’ by RS)

Lucien: Metamorphosis: part 4

Eurythmy? (we will see what the moment wants)

Lucien: Metamorphosis: part 5

Elizabeth Kelly + ALL: Singing (Dona Nobis Pacem)

Hallelujah in Eurythmy – ALL

Elizabeth Kelly: Verse

hag: Release the dead from the internet

Anne + All: Final Thoughts & goodbyes

***

Moon in the Winter Hexagon November 2020

3 November 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Waning Bella Luna crosses the Winter Hexagon over a period of four nights

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Birthday of Malachi – Jewish Prophet

Helmuth von Moltke | German military commander [1848–1916] | Britannica

1914 – Helmuth Von Molke formally dismissed, he then writes his memoirs “Responsibility for the War”.

***

SATURDAY 7 November 2020,

3 pm – 5 pm CT

Connections Revealed https://youtu.be/0v0eDBkbFxg?feature=shared

Friends – We are going through a ‘dark night of the soul’ – a karmic necessity as part of world evolution, so what are we to learn from it? How do we maintain our ability to think independently and clearly through the growing miasma of fear? This Corona-Crisis is a battle for the ′′Crown of Creation” ie. the human being.  We are not only experiencing a political, social, economic or global health crisis; it is the essence of humanity that is being fought for. How do we accept our karma in the face of world events and yet maintain our ability to create our destiny in freedom?

The Connection Between Epidemics, the Souls of the Dead, & the Spiritual World – Leading thoughts by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg based on Spiritual Scientific research & indications from Rudolf Steiner

Inspirations by Lelan Harris – the executive director of Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative (WiseCosmos.org).  Lelan is a healer, teacher, and leader with over 40 years of experience in vocational roles such as pastor, professor, and Waldorf school administrator.  He offers developmental mentoring, spiritual training, and energy healing in order to raise up new generations of leaders in service at all levels to humanity, Earth, and cosmos.

Group Eurythmy with Mary Ruud

& Break out Sessions

In-person at Elderberries Biodynamic Outpost & 3 fold Cultural Hub, in conjunction with the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago, 4249-51 N. Lincoln Ave.

Zoom Meeting hosted by Anne Nicholson
https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

Thought Experiment

Festival, History, Insight, , , , , , , , , , ,
Fortune, Dion – Occult World

Shortly after Christian Qabalist Dion Fortune came to Glastonbury, around 1920, she received psychic communications from a group of excarnate monks of its famous abbey, who called themselves the “Company of Avalon“. They told her that London was the head center of England, & Glastonbury was its heart; that the Isle of Avalon was the site of a “College of the Inner Initiates” & a “great center of the druidic faith” in pre-Christian times. She learned that this area had always been a place of spiritual regeneration where successive generations of initiates maintained contact with inner plane powers over the centuries – the door between the worlds has always been more open there than at any other place in Britain:

“There has never ceased to be a Mystery Lodge at Glastonbury. The succession has never failed; there has never been darkness there. The Tor has never lacked its Hermit. There has always been an Upper Chamber within the bounds of the circle of the marshes, where one soul in solitude meditated upon the mysteries. Those who have functioned in this way have kept the channels open by their concentrated thought, leaving the thinnest veil, like a psychic parchment, to protect the power behind it from those that would use it selfishly.”

Glastonbury: Avalon of the Heart eBook by Dion Fortune - 9781609254568 | Rakuten Kobo Greece

In her mystic visions, Dion Fortune could see the spiritual force that fuels this sacred landscape as a constant downpouring of the Holy Spirit, flowing unceasingly from a crystal chalice high above Glastonbury Tor. Inspired by these messages & by the numinous energy of the area, she acquired a plot of land that was once part of an old orchard at the foot of the Tor, where she set about forming a spiritual community. In 1924 a cluster of huts were hastily erected, & ‘Chalice Orchard‘, as she named it, came into being, serving both as a pilgrimage center or “hostel for Grail seekers,” & a sanctuary for meditation & ritual work. Here she gathered a small group, the Community of the Inner Light, which was to develop into one of the most influential magical orders of the 20th century, & is still in existence today under the name of the Society of the Inner Light. Dion Fortune called Glastonbury “Avalon of the Heart” & immortalized this term in a passage from her book of the same name:

“It is to this Avalon of the Heart the pilgrims still go – Some in bands, knowing what they seek -Some alone, with the staff of vision in their hands, awaiting what may come to meet them on this holy ground. None go away as they came.”

Amazon.com: Dion Fortune and the Lost Secrets of the West (9781910098035): Knight, Gareth: Books

Dion Fortune took frequent walks up to the summit of the Tor, which she called, “the Hill of Vision.” One of her visions up there was of a glorious parade out of Avalon’s mythic past winding through the landscape below:

“Through the valleys of Avalon moves an invisible pageant in an endless procession. The darkness before the dawn is shot through by the magic of Merlin the Atlantean. The dark, wild men of the mare go past, fierce eyes gleaming under matted hair. After them come the white-robed Druids, with their golden sickles, bearing the holy mistletoe, and the sacred herbs destined for the sacrificial niche in the Holy Well. Then comes the bowed figure of old St. Joseph, frail and solitary, bearing the Cup. King Arthur rides forth, a strong man in his strength, about his neck the crystal cross which was given him by the Mother of God at Beckary, Excalibur by his side. Guinevere rides behind him in her beauty, her golden hair flowing over her shoulders…Behind them follows the Lady of the Lake, seen as if through deep water, waiting the time when Arthur shall return to her after the last battle, borne in the black barge, watched by the weeping queens, and Excalibur shall come back into her hands, lost to men forever.”

Dion Fortune and the Threefold Way by Gareth Knight | 9781899585700 | Booktopia

Dion Fortune’s experiences in Glastonbury led her to develop a magical system which included three paths, symbolized by three colored rays, each pertaining to a particular strand of the Western Mystery Teachings:

The Orange Ray is the path of Magical Knowledge, the Hermetic way. It has an intellectual emphasis & focuses on working with symbolism & patterns, thru visualized or ceremonial forms. It was inspired by Dion Fortune’s explorations of the Arthurian mythos, which has seeped into the ancient stones of Glastonbury.

The Green Ray is the path of Elemental Power, which has a feeling life emphasis, & is focused on Earth magic, including nature spirits, elementals & faeries. Inspiration for the Green Ray arose out of her experience of living at the foot of the Tor, with the chthonic power of the Underworld below & the forces of wind, Sun & storm above.

The Purple Ray is the path of the Devotion of Will, focused on direct communion with the Divine. The influence of Glastonbury Abbey & its pervading air of sanctity which still lingers throughout the area like the faint fragrance of incense provided the inspiration for this branch of the Mysteries.

Principles of Esoteric Healing : Dion Fortune, : 9781870450850 : Blackwell's

Although she felt herself to be more suited temperamentally to the Hermetic Ray, Dion Fortune found herself called to take a leadership role in service of the Purple Ray. She fulfilled this through a branch of her order called the Guild of the Master Jesus, later known as the Church of the Graal. This branch embodied an esoteric Christianity influenced in part from her early involvement with Theosophical teachings, & Rudolf Steiner’s writings.

The illuminating power of the Christ is the redemptive force that harmonizes the pairs of opposites in the Cosmos; & in the individual unites the pairs of opposites, the higher & lower nature in the exaltation of consciousness.

The Circuit of Force: Occult Dynamics of the Etheric Vehicle | Dion FORTUNE, Gareth Knight | First Edition Thus

The central symbol of the Guild was the Grail as the vessel of the Christ-force.

The risen Christ was held to be more important than the crucified Christ, & the role of the cross assumed its rightful place in the Christian Mysteries of Life-Death-Rebirth by symbolizing the suffering & sacrifice that preceded the Resurrection. Emphasis was on the eventual triumph of Spirit in the life of Jesus, & in the life of the initiates of these Mysteries, who followed in His footsteps.

Dion Fortune's Rites of Isis and of Pan - Gareth Knight, Dion Fortune - Häftad (9781908011770) | Bokus

Yet the inner mysteries of the Church of the Graal went further than the traditional imitatio Christi. “Behind the Master shines the Light of the Graal, and the Sophia brings us the Graal. Therefore take for your symbol – for your concentration – the Graal, which enshrines the Christian power – and then shall come the fuller illumination.”

Le Graal Painting by Barbara Klimova
Barbara Kilmova

Fortune emphasized that the cup was to be the sacred symbol of the Guild because it was the vessel that could receive the divine influence of the Holy Spirit:

“The Graal is the Cup into which the power of the Holy Sophia is drawn, and in the Graal symbolism you find the esoteric significance of Christianity.”

The Church of the Graal was based on Dion Fortune’s concept of the “ancient Keltic Church” which although no longer present in the physical world is “eternal in the heavens.” It was seen as having its origins in Glastonbury, “the holiest earthe in Englande” which enshrines the legend of the Grail brought there by Joseph of Arimathea. This was the Grail seen as the cup Christ drank from at the Last Supper, & in which Joseph had collected Christ’s blood at the deed on Golgotha. In Dion Fortune’s version of the legend she described Joseph as an old man coming to Glastonbury with his eleven companions & building a humble church of reeds from the marshes in which to house the Grail. The twelve men dwelt in simple circular huts which surrounded the central shrine. Here they kept guard over the Holy Cup; “inscribing paths into the earth with their feet as they circled in meditation, to resemble the starry belt of the heavens where the Sun moves in his circle”.

In Dion Fortune’s retelling of the Grail legend, when a time of evil befell the world, angels came to take the cup away into safety. They gave it into the keeping of the Fisher King where it was guarded by three maidens. When the Fisher King died of his incurable wound, darkness fell more deeply on earth, & the angels then removed the Grail to the “heavenly Jerusalem.”

True to the tenets of the original church of the early Celts, the Church of the Graal encouraged the autonomy of each individual, man or woman, who sought God. Services were centered around a form of the Eucharist called, “the Ritual of the Cup,” in which the Christ-force was invoked thru “the calling down of power into a receptacle, that receptacle being the soul of man.” The service depended not only on the minister or celebrant, but on the active participation & full engagement of each member of the congregation. Through their focused visualization & intense concentration on a single theme, which included a “mighty Chalice of gold” a higher group-mind, or egregore, was formed, in order to “build up thought-forms upon the astral which shall serve as channels for the spiritual force…that each individual member of the group is then filled with the force in such measure as he is capable of receiving.”

The Training & Work Of An Intiate by Dion Fortune

For those wishing to embark upon an initiatory path, Dion Fortune also provided a training system. Three courses marked the stages on what was called the “Way of the Graal.” Candidates were known as, Seekers, Servers, &, lastly, Watchers.

On the successful completion of the third course, the initiate became a “Watcher of the Graal,” a priest in his or her own right, & could work with these mysteries autonomously, for “The Church of the Graal . . . is built by thought, eternal in each man`s heart. Each man is his own priest, and lifts therein the Cup of the Graal, and calls down the Flame of Fire, which is the Holy Spirit.”

Among his or her daily devotions, the priest was instructed to build the inner Church of the Graal thru the intensive formulating of an imagination, to establish its reality on the astral plane.

The Mystical Qabalah: Fortune, Dion: 9781578631506: Amazon.com: Books

Ok, yes, Dion Fortune was a fav. of mine as a young woman, I read every single one of her many books. But the reason I am giving this report is because I believe that as Anthroposophers we must become spiritual warriors, & endeavor to take up the practice of building up positive imaginations on the inner planes as a counterforce to the adversarial forces working in the world. Let her story continue & you will see a powerful example of what I am saying:

Immediately following Britain’s declaration of war in 1939 she began a series of regular letters to members of her community. With enemy planes rumbling overhead, she organized a series of visualizations to formulate “seed ideas in the group mind of humanity”, archetypal visions to invoke angelic protection & uphold British morale under fire. “The war has to be fought and won on the physical plane, but before physical manifestation can be given, we must create archetypal ideals. What is sown in our highest thought will grow and bear seed.”

The Mystic Discoveries Podcast, Ep 14: Dion Fortune with Paul Weston | Listen Notes

Wartime conditions made it impossible for people to assemble in one place; so she sent out a weekly letter, containing a lesson; & besides a Grail imagination, there was a detailed description of the Rose-Cross Meditation to be built up on the inner planes.

An hour was set when, no matter where they were, everyone involved, focused on this symbol as a “key-call” to the powers of the Inner Planes, to enlist their aid in England’s greatest time of crisis.

These imaginations were at the center of what can be called powerful ‘Thought Experiments’.

File:Thelemic Rose Cross Lamen.svg - Wikimedia Commons

The working began with the formulating of the Rose-Cross, carefully built up on the astral planes each week. It developed thru a series of changes, in a clear sequence – to make sure that the inner powers had been contacted & were responding. This is what Spiritual Science must do. The Rose-Cross was pictured as being situated in a cavern deep beneath Glastonbury Tor. The figures of the ‘Seven Masters’ & the Master Jesus then appeared around it. Later these were joined by the figure of the Virgin Mary, & the heavenly Isis, bearing the Grail.

More & more levels were revealed within the Tor. The cavern was at the lowest level in the roots of the Tor. Above it, reached by a spiral staircase, appeared a great library, the Hall of Learning. And above that was the Chapel of the Graal. The highest level was called the Watchtower, the inner equivalent of St Michael’s Tower. This was guarded by a mysterious shrouded figure, The Guardian of the Threshold, & was considered too perilous for the uninitiated to visit. During these workings, many of the meditators experienced a profound & brilliant spiritual illumination in the Grail Chapel, & they gaged their individual progress with the outer happenings involving the war.

Amazon.com: The Magical Battle of Britain (8601405757890): Fortune, Dion, Knight, Gareth: Books

From her book The Magical Battle of Britain Dion Fortune says:  “Let us meditate upon angelic Presences, red-robed and armed, patrolling the length and breadth of our land. Visualise a map of Great Britain, and picture these great Presences moving as a vast and powerful form along the coasts, and backwards and forwards from north to south and east to west, keeping watch and ward so that nothing alien can move unobserved”.

As the war developed, not only national, but also international accord was promoted. With unswerving optimism she guided her fraternity through the dark days of the London Blitz, continuing her weekly letters even when the bombs came thru her own roof.

Pyschic Self Defence by Dion Fortune

And according to reports, the night that ‘Operation Sea Lion’ – Nazi Germany’s code name for the planned invasion of the United Kingdom during the ‘Battle of Britain’, was due to launch, the community did a large group meditation completing the working of the Rose-Cross, setting up a shield around the British isles, that the bred repulsion of the British Navy in the psyche of the Nazi’s, which so overwhelmed them on the eve of the invasion that they changed their minds & stayed home. And so as history tells us ‘Operation Sealion’ sank.

The Esoteric Orders And Their Work - By Dion Fortune (Paperback) : Target

Dear friends –Tomorrow on Election Night, folks will gather in person at the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago & also on zoom, for a vigil, where thru Goethean conversation, art, song, eurythmy, & with the help of the so-called-dead, we will create a ‘Thought Experiment‘ a positive, protective, ‘Egregore‘; building a ‘Cone of Power’ with our collective cognitive imaginations, to counteract any adversarial forces, & join forces with the strength of the spiritual powers aligned with love & light. And even if you can’t join us on zoom during election night, join us in your heart-thinking as we build imaginations for a future that includes initiatives like the Three-Fold Social Order. We can also visualize the forces of love & light pervading the consciousness of all of humanity EVERY DAY. Let’s share the fruits of our labors, gleaned from our Spiritual Science, to dispel fear & illness, to create imaginations that will reshape our world in the image of Christ as the meaning of the earth. 

~hag

Evidence That Early Magnetic Field Around Earth Was Even Stronger Than Scientists Previously Believed

All Souls Election Night Vigil

7 pm – 9 pm CT. Tuesday 3 November 2020

In-person in the Upper Room of the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 4249 N. Lincoln Ave.

& also online Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

Through Social Sculpture, we will hold space with each other, connect with our Angel, the ‘so called dead’, the Being of America…etc…to bring healing on both sides of the Threshold, during Election Night 2020, & on into the future which we are committing to consciously co-create.

Welcome – Anne Nicholson

Verse – Deborah Rogers

The Art of Goethean Conversation – Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Metamorphosis – Lucien Dante Lazar. Through a 5-point artistic metamorphosis that will weave throughout the evening we will rise in our thinking, & engage our will, to work with the beings of color, form & gesture from point to periphery.   

Intermingling: Initiatives for NOW – The 3-Fold Social Order & ALIANT Alliance – Elderberries  + ALL

Break-Out Session – groups of 3 for 15 minutes

Singing + Verse – Elizabeth Kelly

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

***

Saturday 7 November 2020,

On-line https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

3 pm – 5 pm CT

‘Connections Revealed’

with Lelan Harris, Mary Ruud & Hazel Archer

The Connection Between Epidemics, the Souls of the Dead, & the Spiritual World – Leading thoughts by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg based on Spiritual Scientific research & indications from Rudolf Steiner

Inspirations by Lelan Harris – the executive director of Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative (WiseCosmos.org).  Lelan is a healer, teacher, and leader with over 40 years of experience in vocational roles such as pastor, professor, and Waldorf school administrator.  He offers developmental mentoring, spiritual training, and energy healing in order to raise up new generations of leaders in service at all levels to humanity, Earth, and cosmos.

Group Eurythmy with Mary Ruud

& Break out Sessions

Online hosted by Anne Nicholson on Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

The Ancestors Stir

Festival, History, Poetry, Remembering, , , , ,
Spooky Halloween art show from Long Island kids | Newsday
Tim Felter

It was an eerie Halloween in the hood last night. The usually packed streets were relatively clear. Folks put out special tables or passed candy thru PVC pipes to the trick-o-treaters. A lot of neighbors had house parties. Revelers called out Happy Halloween to each other, looking into your eyes with hope, & the joy of connection. Everyone wanted it to be a regular celebration, but despite (or perhaps because of) the usual high rate of alcoholic spirits, there was a pallor over the cheer. The wind was high & the sky had strangely beautiful rippling cloud formations that danced across the Full Blue Blood Moon.

Celestial Forces | Questions & Answers | Earth Haven Farm
Bonnie Melvin

We made a bon-fire with a few friends, & did a 500 biodynamic prep stir for the ancestors, in conjunction with performing the Halleluiah in eurythmy & singing songs to the ‘so-called-dead’. After an hour, some kids helped us distribute the ‘holy water’ in-between their main task of hunting for houses that were open to them as treaters. The land & the spiritual beings soaked it up. O so thirsty are the spirits for interaction with human intention.

Biodynamics - Waldorf Watch
Tonya Wright

At the CRC Soul to Soul online gathering earlier, it was clear that the dead are with us, wanting to commune, hoping to co-create with us a world of light.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is halloween-woaman.jpg

My grandmother always said that the spirits of the dead wander from sunset until midnight on All Hallows. After midnight – on November 1, All Saints’ Day – the ghosts are said to go back into the light.

But the October 31 date for Halloween has been fixed by tradition. The true astrological cross-quarter day falls on November 7. So we can see that All Souls is really a season lasting until Advent.

In early times, the forbearer of Halloween, (or as my Celtic ancestors called it, Samhain) happened on the night that the Pleiades star cluster culminated at midnight – In other words, when the 7 sisters climbed to its highest point in the sky at midnight on or near the same date as this cross-quarter day. Because of the precession of the Equinoxes, this now occurs on November 21.

Vanessa Lemen.

This morning the wind was howling so much & the spirits so restless I was up at 3 am, with a message from my dearly departed friend Joe G. which I got up to write down, but then I realized it was really 2 am, cause we are told to set our clocks back today (All Saints Day).  

Our Bodies Hate Adjusting To Daylight Saving Time. Here's How To Cope : Shots - Health News : NPR

Fall Back they say. Usually this finagling with time bothers me. How dare ‘they’ just decide to change time, which plays havoc with our waking & sleeping rhythm. But for some reason this year, with everything else that’s shifting, I am thinking of it as a wakeup call, a reminder to not be complacent, taking time for granted – A prompt to see Time as relative, touching what is eternal.  

Stores Already Boarding Up In LA And Elsewhere For Election Day – Deadline

And, of course, on top of all this, in 2 days time it is Election Day. Dear friends, don’t get caught up in the anxiety & fear that is already swirling in the media. Turn off the tv & Come join us instead, in creating a sacred space in person & online, to envision our true human destiny, thru Goethean Conversation, & Art, amidst the astral chaos:

All Souls Election Night Vigil

7 pm – 9 pm CT. Tuesday 3 November 2020

Interpreting Global Issues Through Picasso's Guernica | Pulitzer Center
Dusee Aeye

In-person in the Upper Room of the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 4249 N. Lincoln Ave.

& also online Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

Through Social Sculpture, we will hold space with each other, connect with our Angel, the ‘so called dead’, the Being of America…etc…to bring healing on both sides of the Threshold, during Election Night 2020, & on into the future which we are committing to consciously co-create.

Welcome – Anne Nicholson

Verse – Deborah Rogers

The Art of Goethean Conversation – Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Metamorphosis – Lucien Dante Lazar. Through a 5-point artistic metamorphosis that will weave throughout the evening we will rise in our thinking, & engage our will, to work with the beings of color, form & gesture from point to periphery.   

Intermingling: Initiatives for NOW – The 3-Fold Social Order & ALIANT Alliance – Elderberries  + ALL

Break-Out Session – groups of 3 for 15 minutes

Michael-Star Movement – Lucien + Nancy Melvin + ALL

Singing + Verse – Elizabeth Kelly

In-person at Elderberries Chicago & online

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

***

LONDON, GREAT BRITAIN - SEPTEMBER 15, 2017: The Neo Gothic Glory.. Stock Photo, Picture And Royalty Free Image. Image 94278494.

Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner, Translated by Roy Sadler

It’s the third verse of the Light Quartet this week,
the voice of the Soprano’s inspired will for the spirit’s birth,
v31
The light from spirit depths
strives outwards like the sun,
becomes life’s strength of will
and shines in dullness of the senses
to free the forces
that ripen creative powers
in human work the soul initiates.

Its mirror verse is the voice of the Baritone,
incarnating spirit with imaginative power
in the first week of September,
v22,
The light from far and wide
lives on with inner power,
becomes the light of soul
and shines in depths of spirit
to free the fruits of cosmic self
that from them in the course of time
the human self will ripen.
Its opposite verse is the voice of the Tenor,
uniting with the spirit through the senses
in the last Easter verse, the week before Ascension,
a verse for life in the southern hemisphere now,
v5,
In light, whose fertile weaving into space
from spirit depths
reveals creative work of gods,
the being of the soul is shining, widening,
enlivened in the presence of the world
and resurrected
from narrow selfhood’s inner power.
Its mirror of the opposite, the complementary verse,
is the voice of the Alto, intuitive love uniting with the world
at the full moon in Leo (Rudolf Steiner’s birthday week),
v48,
In light, whose flowing from the heights
would be the world’s empowering of soul,
let shine world thought, the cosmic certainty
that solves soul riddles, and focusing
its radiant power in human hearts
awakens love.
This is a climax verse, fulfillment of thinking after human thought’s
first mention in v28 three weeks ago; and the last mention
of the heart (the 7th) and of love (the 3rd) until the heart appears
again at the winter solstice, v37, and love at Epiphany, v40.

***

A.J. Pontarelli

The All Souls webinar put out the Anthroposophical Society, last year. Here is a link to the video recording https://zoom.us/…/2TH4VfAFaaXl75T9UgSHwxat-CKtdappGNmvyxdz1…

Also last year on Halloween I did a presentation at the Theosophical Society, called ‘The Descent of Inanna” with a different approach to the theme, centering on the origins, & a performance in eurythmy of the ancient Sumerian Myth. You can watch the video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5J80cpOiJQ

***

Arnold Böcklin

1 November 2020

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

All Saints Day II by Wassily Kandinsky - Oil Painting Reproduction
Wassily Kandinsky

ALL SAINTS DAY “After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands…. [One of the elders] said to me, ‘These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9,14)

The earliest observance of a feast in honor of all the saints is an early fourth-century commemoration of “all the martyrs.” In the early seventh century, after successive waves of invaders plundered the catacombs, Pope Boniface IV gathered up some 28 wagonloads of bones & reinterred them beneath the Pantheon, a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods. The pope rededicated the shrine as a Christian church. According to Venerable Bede, the pope intended “that the memory of all the saints might in the future be honored in the place which had formerly been dedicated to the worship not of gods but of demons” (On the Calculation of Time).

The Anglo-Saxon theologian Alcuin observed the feast on November 1 in 800, as did his friend Arno, Bishop of Salzburg. Rome finally adopted that date in the ninth century.

Image result for The Massacre of the Innocents

The Massacre of the Innocents, part of the El Dia de los Muertos celebration, honors the biblical account of infanticide by Herod. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi, understood as the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy: “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more”.

1512 – The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time.

1570 – The All Saints’ Flood devastates the Dutch coast, breaking the dikes. The total number of dead in the tens of thousands, 100,000 people became homeless. Livestock was lost in huge numbers. Winter stocks of food & fodder were destroyed.

Image result for 4 – William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello is performed for the first time, at Whitehall

1604 – William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello is performed for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London

Related image

1611 – Shakespeare’s play The Tempest is performed for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London

Image result for 1755 – In Portugal, Lisbon is totally devastated by a massive earthquake & tsunami, killing 90,000 people

1755 – In Portugal, Lisbon is totally devastated by a massive earthquake & tsunami, killing 90,000 people

Image result for 1838 –Birthday of Khedrup Gyatso - 11th Dalai Lama

1838 –Birthday of Khedrup Gyatso – 11th Dalai Lama

Image result for 1870 – In the United States, the Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) makes its first official meteorological forecast

1870 – In the United States, the Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) makes its first official meteorological forecast

Image result for 1911 – The first dropping of a bomb from an aircraft in combat, during the Italo-Turkish War

1911 – The first dropping of a bomb from an aircraft in combat, during the Italo-Turkish War

Image result for 1918 – Malbone Street Wreck: The worst rapid transit accident in US history occurs under the intersection of Malbone Street & Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, with 202 deaths

1918 – Malbone Street Wreck: The worst rapid transit accident in US history occurs under the intersection of Malbone Street & Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, with 202 deaths

Image result for Ansel Adams takes a picture of a moonrise

1941 – American photographer Ansel Adams takes a picture of a moonrise over the town of Hernandez, New Mexico that would become one of the most famous images in the history of photography. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes hired Adams for six months to create photographs of lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. Adams was accompanied by his young son Michael & his best friend Cedric Wright on a long road trip around the west. They came upon the scene while traveling through the Chama River valley toward Española in late afternoon on November 1.

Image result for 8 – Off southern Manchuria, 6,000 people die as a Chinese merchant ship explodes & sinks

1948 – Off southern Manchuria, 6,000 people die as a Chinese merchant ship explodes & sinks

Related image

1950 – Pope Pius XII claims papal infallibility when he formally defines the dogma of the Assumption of Mary

Image result for 1951 – Operation Buster–Jangle: 6,500 American soldiers are exposed to 'Desert Rock' atomic explosions for training purposes in Nevada. Participation is not voluntary

1951 – Operation Buster–Jangle: 6,500 American soldiers are exposed to ‘Desert Rock’ atomic explosions for training purposes in Nevada. Participation is not voluntary

Image result for 1952 – The United States successfully detonates Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device, at the Eniwetok atoll. The explosion had a yield of ten megatons TNT equivalent

1952 – The United States successfully detonates Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device, at the Eniwetok atoll. The explosion had a yield of ten megatons TNT equivalent

Image result for 1955 – The bombing of United Airlines Flight 629 occurs near Longmont, Colorado, killing all 39 passengers & five crew members aboard. Blown up with dynamite placed in the checked luggage by Jack Gilbert Graham to kill his mother as revenge for his childhood & to obtain a large life insurance payout. Within 15 months of the explosion, Graham—who already had an extensive criminal record—was tried, convicted, & executed for the crime

1955 – The bombing of United Airlines Flight 629 occurs near Longmont, Colorado, killing all 39 passengers & five crew members aboard. Blown up with dynamite placed in the checked luggage by Jack Gilbert Graham to kill his mother as revenge for his childhood & to obtain a large life insurance payout. Within 15 months of the explosion, Graham—who already had an extensive criminal record—was tried, convicted, & executed for the crime

Image result for 1956 – The Springhill mining disaster in Springhill, Nova Scotia kills 39 miners; 88 are rescued

1956 – The Springhill mining disaster in Springhill, Nova Scotia kills 39 miners; 88 are rescued

Peace Corps - Wikipedia

1960 –John F. Kennedy announces his idea of the Peace Corps

***

Carrie Ann Baade

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Today I am
The thought of myself
In my Mothers forehead…
May I listen to the voice of the messenger
Bringing her song up from the dead –
A silver star bruised & hanging on a cloud
As I roll gold into life
Like the scarab
A Sinner marching with the Saints
I stretch canvas & continue
Practicing
~hag

***

Saturday 7 November 2020,

On-line https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

3 pm – 5 pm CT

‘Connections Revealed’

with Lelan Harris, Mary Ruud & Hazel Archer

The Connection Between Epidemics, the Souls of the Dead, & the Spiritual World – Leading thoughts by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg based on Spiritual Scientific research & indications from Rudolf Steiner

Inspirations by Lelan Harris – the executive director of Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative (WiseCosmos.org).  Lelan is a healer, teacher, and leader with over 40 years of experience in vocational roles such as pastor, professor, and Waldorf school administrator.  He offers developmental mentoring, spiritual training, and energy healing in order to raise up new generations of leaders in service at all levels to humanity, Earth, and cosmos.

Group Eurythmy with Mary Ruud

& Break out Sessions

Online hosted by Anne Nicholson on Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

Lift the Veil

Autumn, Celestial Event, Festival, Insight, , , , , , , , ,
Penny Leggner

On this All Hallows Eve, do you have the courage to look beyond the mask of the material world, into the spirit realm, the place of our beginning, the time of our unborness, the abode of our ending, when we shuffle off this mortal coil, only to begin again & yet again, as we strive toward the eternal…?

Take Heart - Gallery - TJM | The Art Sherpa
Mat Bouten

Take heart my friends, for every ending is a new beginning. At All Hallows–tide we stand at the Cross Quarter between Autumn Equinox & Winter Solstice, a time when great transformations are possible. Since with the veils between the worlds so thin, the power of all the worlds are available to us.

Initiation Acrylic Painting By Ulrich Osterloh | absolutearts.com
Ulrich Osterloh

What is it like to bring awareness to this most important human initiation, this true rite-of-passage? Can we work to consciously “Cross the Threshold”, as we do in meditation, in sleep & ultimately in our life between death & rebirth..?

Katlyn Breene

As far back as ancient Persia, Mesopotamia & Sumeria, we find many initiation myths like the Epic of Gilgamesh, & the Descent of Inanna, that describe communicating with the dead & a journey to the underworld.

Egyptian Book of the Dead (Plus Facts) - Give Me History

In Ancient Egypt we find: The Book of the Dead = ‘Book of Coming Forth by Day’ also called the ‘Book of Emerging Forth into the Light’; an ancient Egyptian funeral text illustrated with vignettes depicting the deceased & their journey in the afterlife. It was placed in the coffin or burial chamber. The Book consists of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person’s journey through the Duat, or underworld, & into the afterlife. It was written by many priests over a period of over a 1000 years.

Perhaps since in our time now we are recapitulating this epoch we might gain insight by looking into this text with modern eyes.

From ancient Greece we have the story of Demeter & Persephone, as Queen of the Underworld, connected to the secret festival of Thesmophoria, celebrated exclusively by the women. They dressed in white robes & observed strict chastity before & after the ceremony. According to Greek mythology, Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, was gathering flowers one autumn day when she was taken by Pluto, god of the underworld, to his subterranean kingdom. This was re-enacted as an initiation rite of death & resurrection. The 2nd night the women fasted & lowered wild boar, sacred to the goddess Circe & Hecate, into chasms in the earth as a sacrifice.

Francis Davis Millet

On the 3rd night the bones from former festivals were placed on altars & mixed with seed corn, which was then sown in the fields as a kind of magical fertilizer to ensure a good crop. Then they had a big feast. They would also cast herbs on their beds & sit on the ground to promote the fertility of the corn.

Although this festival was sacred & solemn, there was a lot of rather bawdy jokes in the style of the wild Crone Baubo, the sexually liberated Goddess of Mirth, who jested with Demeter to try & cheer her up after the loss of her daughter, & get her to bring fertility back to the earth again.

Paul Sérusier

The Romans had a similar festival in honor of Ceres. Also with the Eleusinian mysteries, we see initiation rites enacted to gain inspiration from the gods & the ancestors.

October Full Hunter's Moon Painting by Robin Samiljan
Robin Samiljan

The full moon of October is known as the Hunter’s or Blood Moon. And this year it’s a Blue Moon, the 2nd in the month. Traditionally, the hunters would be out in force. After the end of the breeding season, & before the severe weather comes to kill off many of these creatures anyway, they were taken for the cooking-pot, to supplement what might otherwise be a rather meager winter diet.

With all this death around, it is not surprising that people’s thoughts turned to human death.

A4 print 'Wheel of the Year' Wiccan version archival | Etsy | Wiccan, Original watercolor painting, Original watercolors

The Celtics call All Hallows Eve or Samhain their New Year. Autumn is also the time of the Islamic New Year.  Likewise for the Jewish people, with their New Year Rosh Hashanah; & at the end of the High Holy days Sukkot is celebrated, where they build a hut & invite the ancestors & the elemental beings to come to the feast. When you think about it, it makes sense to let the old year die away like the plant life, during this transition into the dark.

It is also traditional to look toward the future, & to dress up as what you want to Become for the New Year. To ask questions, like: Who have I been? Who am I now? & where am I going…? Who do I want to become?

And these are the kind of questions we can ask our beloved dead.

Celtic Tale - Digital Remastered Edition Painting by Paul Serusier
Paul Serisr

In Wales the souls of the dead are known as ‘the Silent Company’, but when they are welcomed with bwyd cennad y meinv, “the food for the embassy of the dead.” They become our helpers.

We can think of our ancestral allies in 3 ways:

 1. Ancestors of the Blood – A common ancestral guide is a relative whom you knew & had some kind of positive connection with in this lifetime, quite often a loving grandparent or great-grandparent.

2. Ancestors of the Soul – This is an ancestral guide from a past life who may have been some kind of teacher or mentor to you.

3. Ancestors of Humanity – These were heroes whose lives were dedicated to the service of human evolution, like Casper Hauser or Jeanne d’Arc. They can be called upon in times of crisis, as Dion Fortune & her group called upon King Arthur & Merlin during the 2nd World War. (I will speak more about this as we near election day)

In]Visible: Irish Women Artists from the Archives by Catherine Sheridan at the National Gallery of Ireland —
Terri Fenny

Dear friends, let’s take this opportunity to part the veil – letting go of our sense bound thinking, to consciously work with our spiritual helpers in this time of need. Let us set the table with our intention to join together in communion to celebrate the feast of life in all its aspects; as we build a picture of wholeness on the inner planes, which will ray out into all worlds.  

***

Blue Moon and red Mars in late October 2020

31 October 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: We have a Blue Moon today on Halloween, but that’s not all – bright red Mars – now just past its closest approach to Earth in two years – will appear in the sky near Bella Luna in her Full Harvest/Hunters costume. Blue Moon. Red Mars.

The Full Moon happens at the instant the moon is directly opposite the Sun (180 degrees from the sun in celestial longitude). This full moon moment comes on October 31, at , 9:49 a.m. CST.

When is the next full moon? What's a Blue Moon? | 13wmaz.com
And don’t forget to set your cloaks back tonight!

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VeraPavlova

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Daniel Maclise

All-an-tide (Cornwall)

The first day of All-hallows-tide, observed until November 7 (Western Christianity)

Halloween (Ireland, Canada, United Kingdom, United States etc…)

Hop-tu-Naa is a Celtic festival celebrated in the Isle of Man on 31 October. Predating Halloween, it is the celebration of the original New Year’s Eve (Oie Houney). It is thought to be the oldest unbroken tradition in the Isle of Man

Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season & the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year. It is the cross quarter between the autumn equinox & the winter solstice.

Image result for The Mound of the Hostages

The Mound of the Hostages, a Neolithic passage tomb at the Hill of Tara, is aligned with the Samhain sunrise. It is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature & many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain.

It was the time when cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures & when livestock were slaughtered for the winter. As at Beltane, special bonfires were lit.

Like Beltane, Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world & the Otherworld could more easily be crossed. This meant the Aos Sí, the ‘spirits’ or ‘fairies’, could more easily come into our world. Offerings of food & drink were left outside for them.

The souls of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend & a place set at the table for them.

Mumming & guising were part of the festival, & involved people going door-to-door in costume (or in disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food.

Divination rituals & games were also a big part of the festival.

The first day of the Day of the Dead, celebrated until November 2 (Spanish: Día de Muertos) The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family to pray for & remember members who have died, & help support their spiritual journey.

Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, & the favorite foods & beverages of the departed, & visiting graves with these as gifts. Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed within other deep traditions for honoring the dead.

On this day in 683 AD: The Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, is burned to the ground

683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba, catches fire & burns down. The literal meaning of the Arabic word ka`bah (كَعْبَة) is “cube”, or “House of God”, considered the most sacred site in Islam, a similar role to the Tabernacle & Holy of Holies in Judaism.

502 years ago, on Oct. 31, 1517, the story goes, that the small-town monk, Martin Luther, marched up to the castle church in Wittenberg & nailed his ‘95 Theses’ to the door, lighting the flame of the Reformation — the split between the Catholic & Protestant churches. Luther’s act is one of the cornerstones of world history, & remains a lasting symbol of resistance.

Nearly all of American history bears the imprint of that act of protest. Luther’s challenge, the protection he obtained, & the reformers he inspired laid the foundation for the establishment of colonial America.

In 1934, an African American pastor from Georgia made the trip of a lifetime, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, through the gates of Gibraltar, and across the Mediterranean Sea to the Holy Land. After this pilgrimage, he traveled to Berlin, attending an international conference of Baptist pastors. While in Germany, this man — who was named Michael King — became so impressed with what he learned about the reformer Martin Luther that he decided to do something dramatic. He offered the ultimate tribute to the man’s memory by changing his own name to Martin Luther King. His 5-year-old son was also named Michael — and to the son’s dying day his closest relatives would still call him Mike — but not long after the boy’s father changed his own name, he decided to change his son’s name too, & Michael King Jr. became known to the world as Martin Luther King Jr.

Another dynamic measure of the influence of Martin Luther is the quintessentially modern idea of the individual — of our personal responsibility before ourselves & our God, rather than before any institution, whether church or state. This was as unthinkable before Luther. The contemporary idea of “The People,” along with the democratic impulse that proceeds from it –  The more recent ideas of pluralism, religious liberty, & self-government all entered history through the door that Luther opened.

Luther’s second unyielding act of courage was at the ‘imperial diet’ held in the city of Worms in 1521, when he made it clear that he feared God’s judgment more than the judgment of church leaders in that room.

And suddenly the individual had the freedom & possibility of thinking for themselves.

Martin Luther was not inclined to tilt at papal windmills. In fact, until about 1520 he was a vigorous champion of the church. He desired desperately to help Rome elude the fate it ended up experiencing. In fact, in a case of Oedipusian irony he became the very man who brought about everything he had hoped to avoid. As his story illustrates, it was a sublime & ridiculous decoction of forces that created the perfect storm that burst over the European continent, creating what we now call the Reformation.

Today the Catholic & Lutheran churches are taking the memory of 1517 in hand. Pope Francis joined leaders of the Lutheran World Federation in Sweden to hold a joint service in a spirit of unity after 500 years of division.

Image result for Fra Bartolomeo,

1517 – Deathday of Fra Bartolomeo, Italian artist

Image result for Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated

1984 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. Riots break out in New Delhi & other cities – 4,000 Sikhs are killed.

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Joen Trimmster

POD (Poem Of the day)

~My soul duels with worms
Hidden in the clay of being
That would gnaw the scroll of mythos
Witch I carry in my heart whole
& speak thru the living word…
No worries
I will cut bait & continue singing…
~hag

Look for me there, in the dark…

Homework: Dress up as who you want to be in the coming year

xox

 ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

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31 October, 1 pm – 3 pm CT ​​​​​​​

‘Soul to Soul’ on-line Festival

with the Central Regional Council

& Special Guests

Soul to Soul’ Festival with the Central Regional Council & Special Guests 1pm – 3pm CDT (2pm – 4pm EDT) All Hallows Eve, Saturday October 31st, 2020

Every culture has a festival celebrating their Beloved Dead. For deep in our bones we know that those who have passed through the gates of death want to work with us on the physical world, reminding us that everything physical is an outer expression of spirit.

During this time of year the veils between the worlds are thin, and the spiritual realm beckons. Having put the iron will of Michael to work in our thinking, we now have the courage to look beyond the veil of the material world into the spirit realm, the place of our beginning and our ending, only to begin again and yet again…for every ending is a new beginning.

We will open with some poetry and music played by Carol Kelly, followed by an enactment of an original script by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, based on indications from Spiritual Science.

We will go into small breakout groups to explore the theme: “Who do you want to be in the new year”.

Eurhythmy Halleluiah

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89715703794
Meeting ID: 897 1570 3794

If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu

The CRC – Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Lisa Dalton

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All Souls Election Night Vigil

7 pm – 9 pm CT. Tuesday 3 November 2020

Interpreting Global Issues Through Picasso's Guernica | Pulitzer Center
Dusee Aeye

In-person at Elderberries Chicago & online

Through Social Sculpture, we will hold space with each other, connect with our Angel, the ‘so called dead’, the Being of America…etc…to bring healing on both sides of the Threshold, during Election Night 2020, & on into the future which we are committing to consciously co-create.

Welcome – Anne Nicholson

Verse – Deborah Rogers

Why an All Souls Election Night Vigil? – Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Metamorphosis – Lucien Dante Lazar. Through a 5-point artistic metamorphosis that will weave throughout the evening we will rise in our thinking, & engage our will, to work with the beings of color, form & gesture from point to periphery.   

Intermingling: Initiatives for NOW – The 3-Fold Social Order & ALIANT Alliance – Elderberries  + ALL = The Art of Goethean Conversation

Break-Out Session – groups of 3 for 15 minutes

Michael-Star Movement – Lucien + Nancy Melvin + ALL

Verse – Elizabeth Kelly

In-person at Elderberries Chicago & online

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041

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Saturday 7 November 2020,

In-person & On-line

3 pm – 5 pm CT

‘Connections Revealed’

with Lelan Harris, Mary Ruud & Hazel Archer

The Connection Between Epidemics, the Souls of the Dead, & the Spiritual World – Leading thoughts by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg based on Spiritual Scientific research & indications from Rudolf Steiner

Inspirations by Lelan Harris – the executive director of Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative (WiseCosmos.org).  Lelan is a healer, teacher, and leader with over 40 years of experience in vocational roles such as pastor, professor, and Waldorf school administrator.  He offers developmental mentoring, spiritual training, and energy healing in order to raise up new generations of leaders in service at all levels to humanity, Earth, and cosmos.

Group Eurythmy with Mary Ruud

& Break out Sessions

In-person at Elderberries Biodynamic Outpost & 3 fold Cultural Hub, in conjunction with the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago, 4249-51 N. Lincoln Ave.

Online hosted by Anne Nicholson on Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041