Air & Essence

Chicago Event, Festival, Lecture, Poetry

10 May 2018 – Astro-Weather: These spring nights, the long, dim sea serpent Hydra snakes across the southern sky. Find his head, a rather dim asterism about the width of your thumb at arm’s length, in the southwest. (It’s lower right of Regulus by about two fists at arm’s length. Also, a line from Castor through Pollux points to it about 2½ fists away.) Lower left of this is Hydra’s heart, orange Alphard. Hydra’s tail stretches all the way to Libra in the southeast. Hydra’s star pattern, from forehead to tail-tip, is 95° long.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Bonnat

Feast Day of Job

Kathy Lee

1908 – Mother’s Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.

1818 – Death day of Paul Revere, American engraver & soldier. Revere was the Grand Master of the Freemasons of Massachusetts when a box containing an assemblage of commemorative items was deposited under the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House on 4 July 1795 by Governor Samuel Adams.

1924 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), & remains so until his death in 1972.

1933 – Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.

1940 – World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.

1940 – World War II: German raids on British shipping convoys & military airfields begin.

1940 – World War II: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands &Luxembourg.

1940 – World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain.

1940 – World War II: Invasion of Iceland by the United Kingdom.

1941 – World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.

1941 – World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom & Nazi Germany.

1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president.

1997 – The 7.3 Mw Qayen earthquake strikes Iran’s Khorasan Province, killing 10,567, injuring over 2,300, leaving 50,000 homeless, & destroying over 15,000 homes.

***

Betty Lighe

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Chaos adds its odd time meter
To the harmony of the spheres
Can we hear beyond the speed of light?
~hag

***

Eddie Catz

Ascension Thursday!

The Christ-Revelation ‘Coming in the Clouds’ is here- Showing us the bridge that brings a harmonizing spring-dialogue between the worlds. At the Ascension Christ becomes “Lord of the heavenly forces upon earth”.  The fulfillment of the secret promise of the Ascension, is the Second Coming.

It was said to the apostles, “He will come again, in like manner, as you have seen Him go up into the clouds of heaven.”  The Ascension is the seed of this Second Coming, & the Second Coming is the fulfillment of the Ascension.

The poet Novalis touched on this occult truth:
“In heavy clouds let Him ascend
And so also let Him downward tread.
In cooling streams let Him be sent,
In flames of fire blaze His descent,
In air & essence, sound & dew
To permeate our whole earth thru”

These lines from Novalis are a true prayer revealing the occult connection between the Ascension & the Second Coming. Here we also see that elemental beings form the earth under the patronage & protection of the higher worlds. In this way Ascension can be called the Festival of the Elements.

When we attune ourselves to beings such as Raphael, Archangel of spring, we can awaken to the way these spiritual entities constantly interact with earth thru the elements. The messengers of cosmic warmth in the rays of the sun activate the ascension of the element of water. Through its union with air, clouds originate. In the cloud, between depths of earth & heavenly heights, in the sphere of the etheric realm, a mobile balance manifests. – We see it in the blue sky, dancing with ever changing clouds. It is the primal image of metamorphosis, of organic forming & transforming- the never-resting developing, blessed by the heights. For this reason, blossoms & fruits are in reality not just products of earth but heavenly forms filled with earthly substance, like us.

And so for 40 days after the Resurrection, amidst this seasonal activity, the apostles received from the risen Christ his esoteric teachings; essentially the contents of the 5th Gospel given to us by Rudolf Steiner. -Then they witnessed The Christ, being received into the clouds, passing out of their sight – an expansion of His being – like the unfolding of a flower into the universe.

Rudolf Steiner tells us, that at the same time, the vivid spiritual reality of what would have happened to earth existence if the mystery of Golgotha had not occurred; came into their consciousness. – It was revealed to them that human bodies would have so deteriorated that all of humanity would have perished.

Our physical bodies have earth-gravity, but our etheric bodies have sun levity, so if the Christ deed had not taken place, our etheric bodies would have left the physical for good as well, & the existence of mankind would have come to an end, having no formative forces to give them life.

So as a result of the conversations over the 40 days with The Risen Christ, the apostles were able to receive the primal sources of a new imaginative clairvoyance, removing the veil hiding the true image of death, which is really a facet of the Father-God in the aspect of Creator – What is born must die, but thru Christ death becomes life.

So in the scene of the Ascension we have an indication of the all-encompassing influence of the Christ Being, as the Lord of Karma, upon the life of the human soul after death.  –

To read the entire lecture:  Ascension: Climbing Jacobs Ladder

Blessings & Peace –

~hag = Hazel ArcherGinsberg 

***

Ivan Filichev

Thursday 10 May 2018 – 7 pm – 9 pm

A Special Study for Ascension Thursday-

“Easter, Ascension, Whitsun and the Essntial Nature of the Foundation Stone of the Christmas Conference” by Sergi O. Prokofieff from his book “The Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation”

 ***

Saturday May 12th 2018 – 10 am

Work Party in the Warehouse Space with Mihai Rosu. Snacks to share encouraged. Dress for mess.

***

Liane Collot d’Herbois

Friday 18 May 2018, 7pm–9pm – The 3rd & final phase of Easter-Tide-

Whitsun: A Festival of United Soul-Endeavor,

Art Projections & Lecture with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.

Musical Performances TBA, 

Experiential Social Art,

Foundation Stone Meditation

for more info. Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

*** 

Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society, 4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map) Check out our Web site! Chicago, IL (Anthroposophical Society in America)

The Elderberries 3-Fold Space is currently available for rental on PEER SPACE for classes, events, meetings, retreats, art exhibits, family parties, etc…

 

Sunward-Striving

Chicago Event, Festival, Lecture, Poetry, Rudolf Steiner Quote

8 May 2018 – Astro-Weather: Jupiter is at opposition with the Sun as seen from Earth. The Benevolent King is also at its closest & brightest for the year.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Kelly Wright

“Greek philosophy beautifully compared the human soul with a bee. The world of colour and light offers the soul honey which it brings with it into the higher world. The soul must spiritualize sense experience and carry it up into higher worlds.” ~Rudolf Steiner 1906

1429 – Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.

1902 – In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.

1933 – Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast of self-purification and launched a one-year campaign to help the Harijan movement

1884 – Birthday of Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States, 33 degree Mason.

1922 – D. N. Dunlop resigns from the Theosophical Society

1891 – Death Day of Helena Blavatsky, Russian-English mystic & author, said to be the reincarnation of Cagliostro by Emil Bock. In her will, HPB suggested that her friends might gather together on the anniversary of her death & read from Sir Edwin Arnold’s The Light of Asia & from The Bhagavad Gita. Lotuses grew in unusual profusion one year later. Hence, May 8 became known as White Lotus Day.

1903 – Deathday of Paul Gauguin, French painter and sculptor. His work was influential to the French avant-garde & many modern artists, such as Pablo Picasso & Henri Matisse.

1929 – Death Day of Pauline von Kalckreuth, early anthroposophist

***

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~The sparrows song cuts the twilight
Opening the colors to dawn
I carry this melody in my belly
Close to the egg of silence in my womb –
Thus I give birth to Easter with every sunrise…

~hag

***

David Newbatt

Ascension part  4:

Christ remains in union with the earth, which rescues for the earth the sunward-striving etheric body. -But to be able to take effect in a human being’s spirit & soul nature, The Christ impulse must also be able to penetrate into the human soul during sleep. And this is only possible if a person consciously recognizes the significance of the Mystery of Golgotha. The spiritual effect can only proceed from a true recognition of its content.

 Mankind must come to realize that on the one hand Christ holds back the etheric body in its urge towards the sun; but on the other hand, mankind’s ego & astral body, can receive the Christ impulse only in the time between falling asleep & waking – which is only possible when knowledge of this impulse has been acquired in waking life.

 The festival of Ascension is a mystery not only of the forces of the macro-cosmic kingdom of the Son, into Earth-existence, but also the connection that opens us to the forces proceeding from the sphere of the Father.

The gospel of mark tells us: ‘Then the Lord, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into the heavenly spheres & sat down at the right hand of the World-Father as the fulfiller of His deeds’. 

As a result of the conversations over the 40 days with the presence of The Risen Christ, the apostles were able to receive the primal sources of a new imaginative clairvoyance – removing the veil hiding the true image of death which is really a facet of the Father-God in the aspect of Creator – what is born must die, but thru Christ death becomes life.

The scene of the ascension brought to manifestation the inner content of death as a revelation of man’s higher, imaginative consciousness, which has its source in the kingdom of the divine Father.

 According to the 5th gospel, the Ascension was for Christ Himself an event which is comparable only with death in human life, where the human becomes a fully spiritual being again.  –  At that moment the true meaning of death was made manifest to the apostles, they beheld it with their own eyes to be a process of union with the world of the Divine.

From that ‘turning point of time’ onward, Rudolf Steiner tells us that, one of the 1st experiences of every human being after death, is a contemplation of Christ’s Ascension, which can reveal to the person’s soul, the true picture of death & its connection to the spiritual world that lies closest to the earth, & with the highest sphere of the Father. 

For the person who on earth worked to understand the mystery of Golgotha, this picture of the ascension after death becomes an affirmation, but for the soul that has not worked towards true spiritual knowledge, it is a picture of reproach.  Helping us seek in freedom to understand this mystery in our next life.

Rudolf Steiner tells us: ‘It is the Christ-impulse that works on after death; it is this impulse under whose influence man frees himself from the Moon-sphere, penetrates the starry Sun-sphere & from the impulses given to him by beings of the starry world, is there able to work upon the forming of the physical organism for his next earthly life’. Dornach 15 Sept. 1922

Christ takes our Moon-Karma upon Himself, enabling our soul to find the path of the true Ascension, which leads to the world of the fixed stars.

In the scene of the Ascension we have an indication of the all-encompassing influence of the Christ Being, as the Lord of Karma, upon the life of the human soul after death. 

To read the entire lecture:  Ascension: Climbing Jacobs Ladder

Blessings & Peace –

~hag = Hazel ArcherGinsberg 

**

Dali

Thursday 10 May 2018 – 7 pm – 9 pm

A Special Study for Ascension Thursday– “Easter, Ascension, Whitsun and the Essntial Nature of the Foundation Stone of the Christmas Conference” by Sergi O. Prokofieff from his book “The cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation” read it here: Whitsun study_Prokofieff

***

Stephen B Whatley

Friday 18 May 2018, 7 pm – 9 pm, –

Whitsun: A Festival of United Soul-Endeavor,

Art Projections & Lecture with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.

Experiential Social Art with special guest TBA

***

Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society, 4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map) Check out our Web site! Chicago, IL (Anthroposophical Society in America)

The newly renovated (& lazured) Elderberries 3-Fold Space is currently available for rental on PEER SPACE for classes, events, meetings, retreats, art exhibits, family parties, etc…

 

 

 

 

Burst into Bloom

Celestial Event, Chicago Event, Festival

7 May 2018 – Astro-Weather: Last-quarter Moon tonight (exact at 9:09 pm. CDT). La Bella Luna rises around 2 am. By early dawn Tuesday morning, it’s far left of Saturn & Mars.

Read the latest post from Johnathan Hilton of the Astrosophy Center

Robert S Connett

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out. After his arrival at Antioch, the Jews begin a rebellion in Palestine.

558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.

680 – Deathday of Caliph Muawiyah, who Rudolf Steiner talks a lot about in Karmic Relationships: “In Dornach recently I was able to call attention to another connection of karma, one which caused me repeatedly during the War, and especially at the end of the War, to warn people against allowing themselves to be blinded by a certain outstanding figure of modern times. This was because the connection between Muawiyah,, a follower of Mohammed in the 7th century, and Woodrow Wilson, was clear to me. All the fatalism which characterised the personality of Muawiyah, came out in the otherwise inexplicable fatalism of Woodrow Wilson — in his case, fatalism of will. And if anyone wants to find corroboration, to discover the origin of the well known Fourteen Points, he has only to turn to the Koran. Such are the connections. These things must be kept absolutely free from sympathy or antipathy; it is not a question of criticism but only of the purest objectivity. But this very objectivity leads from one point in history at which a soul has appeared, to another such point. When humanity out steps in some degree the still surviving heritage of materialism, people will be willing to listen to such things and observe for themselves. And then they will feel quite differently about their place in modern civilisation because they will be able to see it not in a dead but in a living setting. That is the important point. The whole process of historical development will be imbued with life. And if man is to get beyond the blind alley in which he is now standing in his civilisation, he needs the living spirit and not the dead spirit of abstract concepts and ideas.” ~ Volume V, Prague, 5th April, 1924

1274 – In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens to regulate the election of the Pope.

1664 – Louis XIV of France begins construction of the Palace of Versailles.

1697 – Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.

1718 – The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.

1794 – French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.

1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision

1840 – The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 1317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.

1846 – The Cambridge Chronicle, America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts

1895 – In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical & Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector—a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.

1930 – The 7.1 Mw Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran & southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to 3000 people were killed.

1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with around 20 employees.

1812 – Birthday of Robert Browning, English poet & playwright

1833 – Birthday of Johannes Brahms, German pianist & composer

1861 – Birthday of Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author & poet, Nobel Prize laureate

2007 – Israeli archaeologists discover the tomb of Herod the Great south of Jerusalem.

***

 Blu Smith

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I come
To the stony place hidden
In the nook of a willow
By the great inland sea
It has the shape of memory
In its fragrance
My weeping unfurls
Into the earth
To be taken
Up by the thirsty laurel
Which bursts into bloom
With the souls of the dead
Like pale yellow flowers yet to come
Again like Spring
~hag

***

 Sören Emil Carlsen

Ascension Part 3:

The Christ-Revelation ‘coming in the clouds’ is here- Showing us the bridge that brings a harmonizing spring-dialogue between the worlds.

At the Ascension Christ becomes “Lord of the heavenly forces upon earth”.

The fulfillment of the secret promise of the Ascension is the Second Coming. It was said to the apostles, “He will come again, in like manner, as you have seen Him go up into the clouds of heaven.”  The Ascension is the seed of this Second Coming, & the Second Coming is the fulfillment of the Ascension.

For 40 days after the Resurrection, the apostles received from the risen Christ his esoteric teachings, essentially the contents of the 5th Gospel given to us by Rudolf Steiner. -Then the apostles witnessed The Christ, being received into the clouds, passing out of their sight – an expansion of His being, like a flower unfolding into the universe.

Rudolf Steiner tells us, that at the time of the Ascension the apostles beheld the vivid spiritual reality of what would have happened to earth existence if the mystery of Golgotha had not occurred. – It was revealed to them that human bodies would have so deteriorated that the whole of humanity would have perished.

Our physical bodies have earth-gravity, but our etheric bodies have sun levity, so if Christ’s deed had not taken place our etheric bodies would have left the physical for good & the existence of mankind would have inevitably come to an end, having no formative forces to give them life.

We know that Until the Mystery of Golgotha, the sun was the dwelling place of The Christ. Because Christ’s deed unities his being with the earth, the etheric nature of man, in its upward striving, can unite itself with the power & impulse of Christ in the etheric of the earth.

The human etheric body, which was in danger of being drawn out towards the sun, like clouds, & dispersed –is held together, contained by Christ, thru His cosmic deed, so that we are not dispersed, but can remain individuals.

To read the entire lecture:  Ascension: Climbing Jacobs Ladder

Blessings & Peace –

~hag = Hazel ArcherGinsberg

***

Dear Friends –

Thanks to everyone who came out to host the GC of the ASA. Here are a few pics from that gathering.

Below is one of the things we discussed at the Community Conversation:

Did you know that the Branch holds a hidden gem? That’s right; the back warehouse space is our diamond in the rough. Take a moment to discover it for yourself – Because we are in the midst of transforming it into a ‘Flex Space’ that will attract a tenant, either long-term or more Peerspace clients.  These kind of raw industrial loft-style spaces are very desirable in the rental market now. Here are the short term goals for this space:

  1. Insulate the ceiling
  2. Install a furnace / air conditioner and related infrastructure
  3. Perform some light restoration and painting.

Our Treasurer Mihai Rosu, who is an engineer, along with Council President Chuck Ginsberg, & a few folks from the community, have been working most weekends to accomplish these improvements, but we need to buy some supplies.

So here’s Your Chance to Invest in the Future!

The Branch Council is requesting tax exempt donations and/or loans, in order to meet our $7,000 goal for this restoration. The loans are for 2-3 years, simple interest of 5%, paid yearly. More favorable terms are welcome.

You may drop off any checks or mail them directly to the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago 60618.

If you’d like to support the Branch through service, come by on our ‘Work Party’ Days to help in the renovation. Contact Mihai Rosu

 

Thank you!

The Rudolf Steiner Branch Council hopes you will support these efforts, as we continue to provide Programs, and Festival Events, Monthly 1st Class Lessons, Study Groups, Library / Bookstore, and weekly Public Open House hours, in one of the few Branch homes in America to own their own building. 

(Also, look forward to receiving new information on an improved email communications system coming very soon)

~President – Chuck Ginsberg,   Treasurer -Mihai Rosu,   Secretary – Mary Ruud,   Festivals Coordinator – Hazel Archer-Ginsberg,   Programs Director – Andrei Onegin,   Kurt Estep

*** 

William Blake

Thursday 10 May 2018 – 7 pm – 9 pm

A Special Study for Ascension Thursday-

“Easter, Ascension, Whitsun and the Essntial Nature of the Foundation Stone of the Christmas Conference” by Sergi O. Prokofieff from his book “The Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation”

 ***

Liane Collot d’Herbois

Friday 18 May 2018, 7pm–9pm,

Whitsun: A Festival of United Soul-Endeavor,

Art Projections & Lecture with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.

Eurythmy, Experiential Social Art, Foundation Stone Meditation

*** 

Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society, 4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map) Check out our Web site! Chicago, IL (Anthroposophical Society in America)

The Elderberries 3-Fold Space is currently available for rental on PEER SPACE for classes, events, meetings, retreats, art exhibits, family parties, etc…

Rise Up I Shout

Chicago Event, Insight, Poetry, Rudolf Steiner Quote

4 May 2018 – Astro-Weather: A grand dance: METEORS FROM HALLEY’S COMET Earth is entering a stream of debris from Halley’s Comet, source of the annual Eta Aquariid meteor shower.  This year’s shower is expected to produce the greatest number of meteors in the small hours before dawn on May 5 & 6th. The meteors tend to enter the atmosphere at speeds of around 148,000mph — so don’t blink. The best time to watch these fast & often bright meteors is in the early morning hours, before twilight. Meteors tend to come in spurts that are interspersed by lulls.

ALSO:

Keep a watch on the changing patterns Venus makes with Her background stars from week to week. As Aldebaran & the Pleiades sink away, Beta Tauri (El Nath) above Venus closes in.

Summer is seven weeks off, but the Summer Triangle is making its appearance in the east, one star after another. The first in view is Vega. It’s already shining low in the northeast as twilight fades out.

Next up is Deneb, lower left of Vega by two or three fists at arm’s length. Deneb takes about an hour to appear after Vega does.

The third is Altair, which shows up far to their lower right by midnight.

As dawn begins on Saturday morning May 5th, the waning gibbous Moon shines between Saturn & Mars.

Salvador Dali

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY – Past/Present/Future:

250 AD – Feast day of St. Florian the patron of Upper Austria, chimney sweeps; soapmakers, & firefighters. The “Florian Principle” (known in German language areas as “Sankt-Florians-Prinzip”) is named after a somewhat ironic prayer to Saint Florian: “O heiliger Sankt Florian, verschon’ mein Haus, zünd’ and’re an”, equivalent to “O Holy St. Florian, please spare my house, set fire to another one”. This saying is used in German much like the English “not in my back yard. The name Florian is considered synonymous with fireman in the German speaking world. In some cases call for a fireman will actually be spoken as calls for Florian.

1493 – The Division of the world: The Spanish-born Pope Alexander VI decreed in a Papal Bull that all lands west & south of a pole-to-pole line one hundred leagues west & south should belong to Spain. Portugal objected because its status & rights had been omitted & overlooked. King John II of Portugal began negotiations directly with King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella of Spain to push the line west & allow him to lay claim to lands discovered east of it. The result was the Treaty of Tordesillas.

1875 – Birthday of Hermann Beckh a pioneering German Tibetologist & prominent promoter of anthroposophy.

Due to his unusual memory skills, & his many interests & talents, his peers encouraged him towards law. It became clear to him that he was not made out to be a judge when he had to impose a fine on a poor married couple for stealing wood. He paid the couple’s fine out of his own pocket & left his position.

He later took up the study of oriental languages, Indology, & Tibetology. In 1907, he received his doctorate with a thesis on Kalidasa’s poem Meghaduta.

In 1911, he met Rudolf Steiner & Friedrich Rittelmeyer, which led to his intensive study of Steiner’s work. On Christmas Day, 1912, he became a member of the Anthroposophical Society.

In 1916, Beckh was drafted into military service, shortly after he published two volumes about the Buddha & his teachings. Stationed in the Balkans, he was called to work in the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Due to his task, he learned the Scandinavian languages in addition to: English, French, Italian, Classical Greek & Latin, Hebrew, Egyptian, Sanskrit, Tibetan & Old Persian.

From 1920 onwards, he worked as a lecturer of anthroposophy. In March 1922, he joined the Circle of Priests of The Christian Community & worked until his death as a priest, seminary teacher, lecturer, independent researcher & writer. In 1928, “Mark’s Gospel: The Cosmic Rhythm” was published, in which he related the narration of the gospel of Mark to the path of the sun through the twelve zodiac signs. In Beckh’s exposition, Mark’s gospel could be understood more in connection with the “earthly” signs seen in the planets, & John’s gospel more in connection with the “stellar” zodiac  of the fixed stars. At the time of The Mystery of Golgotha the planets & the constellations were together, not separate as they are now, due to the progression of the equinoxes.  In the Introduction to the sequel, “The Cosmic Rhythm, the Secrets of the Stars & Earth in the Gospel of John” (1930), Beck favorably mentioned Wilhelm Kaiser’s “Die geometrischen Vorstellungen in der Astronomie” (1928), & referred to The Novices of Sais, of Novalis.  Beckh died in Stuttgart, in 1937.

~   ~   ~

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Light stands behind
The clouds gifting rain
A question in reflection
Hovers
Moving about in my bones
Rise up I shout
There is work to do

~hag

 

~   ~   ~

Yoram Raanan

Climbing Jacob’s Ladder – A Festival of Ascension, part 2 of a Lecture by ~Hazel ArcherGinsberg

Ascension is a festival of the hierarchies. Remember, that when Christ descended thru the heavens, & came into human form, the hierarchies lost His presence. They could only find Him by looking into the depths  – bearing witness to  the God Who entered physical existence to remind earthly humanity of its cosmic citizenship.

At the Ascension, the mystery of the resurrection was brought for the 1st time to the company of heaven – Signaling the return of the lost world of earth into the community of the stars. Since that time, the life of this planet is renewed with the cosmic forces that stream earthward. 

The sacrifice of Christ initiated on earth, was the antidote to the consequences of death brought on by the Fall – the redemptive deed that turns death into life.

The Concentrated seed of Christ’s deed, continues to grow in the earth thru the connection to the stars. When the Risen Christ returned ‘to sit at the right hand of the Father’, at the Ascension, He became the bridge between the above & below.

As the Christ has ascended, so too, in the fullness of time will humanity be transfigured. The company of the hierarchies wait, for us, their younger siblings to ascend in our thinking to meet them in fellowship, as they work all the while at our sides.

To read the entire lecture:  Ascension 2014 Climbing Jacobs Ladder

Blessings & Peace –

~hag = Hazel ArcherGinsberg

***

Saturday 5 May 2018 – SPECIAL EVENT – Our Branch is hosting The General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America

6 pm – Community PotLuck – Let’s show these 12 guests from around the country some good hospitality from the Heart-Land – Please bring a dish to share.

7:30 pm – Open Community Conversation with John Bloom & the GC of the ASA

***

Dali

Thursday 10 May 2018 – 7 pm – 9 pm

A Special Study for Ascension Thursday– “Easter, Ascension, Whitsun and the Essntial Nature of the Foundation Stone of the Christmas Conference” by Sergi O. Prokofieff from his book “The cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation”

***

Stephen B Whatley

Friday 18 May 2018, 7 pm – 9 pm, –

Whitsun: A Festival of United Soul-Endeavor,

Art Projections & Lecture with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.

Experiential Social Art with special guest TBA

***

Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society, 4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map) Check out our Web site! Chicago, IL (Anthroposophical Society in America)

The newly renovated (& lazured) Elderberries 3-Fold Space is currently available for rental on PEER SPACE for classes, events, meetings, retreats, art exhibits, family parties, etc…

 

Walpurgis Night

Central Regional Council, Chicago Event, Festival, Rudolf Steiner Quote

30 April 2017 – Astro-Weather: Now Jupiter shines to the right of bright Bella Luna after nightfall. Jupiter stands out among the background stars of central Libra from the time it rises around 8:30 pm CST until morning twilight is well underway. The giant planet is near its best for the year right now, reaching opposition & peak visibility next week (on May 8). Jupiter is brightest point of light in the evening sky once Venus sets around 10 pm.

***

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Walpurgis Night, In Germanic folklore Walpurgisnacht, also called Hexennacht, literally “Witches’ Night” – the eve of the feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess in Francia.  In Goethe’s Faust we see 2 scenes: ‘Romantic Walpurgis Night’ the night of a witches’ meeting on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, a range of wooded hills in central Germany; and later in Part 2 a ‘Classical Walpurgis Night’ is featured.

Death Of Seneca by Manuel Dominguez

65 – Seneca, teacher of Nero, murdered

1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States

1812 – Birthday of the enigmatic Kaspar Hauser: From Rudolf Steiner: An author, in order to indicate the mystery of his life, wrote that as he was carried out to burial the sun was setting on the one horizon and the moon was rising on the other. I speak, as you know, of Caspar Hauser. If you disregard all the pros and cons that have been asserted, if you look only at what has been fully verified, you will know that this foundling — who was one day simply there in the street, and who since he did not know whence he came, was called the Child of Europe — could neither read nor write when he was found. At an age of twenty years he possessed nothing of what is gained through the intellect but he had a remarkable memory. As they began to instruct him, as logic entered his soul, his memory disappeared. This transition in consciousness was accompanied by something else. He possessed at first an incredible, an entirely inborn truthfulness and it was precisely in this truthfulness that he went more and more astray. The more he nibbled, so to say, at intellectuality, the more it vanished. There would be many things to study were we to enter deeply into this human soul which had been artificially held back. It is not difficult for the student of Spiritual Science to credit the popular tradition, so unacceptable to the learned people of to-day, which relates that while Caspar Hauser still knew nothing, while he still had no idea that there were beings besides himself of different form, he exercised a remarkable effect upon quite savage creatures. Savage animals humbled themselves and became mild, something streamed from him that made such beasts gentle, although they savagely attacked anyone else. We could in fact penetrate deeply into the soul of this remarkable personality, so enigmatic to many, and you would see how things that cannot be explained from ordinary life are led back through Spiritual Science to spiritual facts. Such facts cannot be learnt by speculation but only by spiritual observation, though they are comprehensible to an unbiased and logical thinking.

1877 – Birthday of Alice B. Toklas, an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century. Life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein

1885 – The Niagara Reservation becomes New York’s first state park, ensuring that Niagara Falls will not be devoted solely to industrial & commercial use

1939 – The 1939-40 New York World’s Fair opens

1945 – Adolf Hitler commits suicide

1963 – The Bristol Bus Boycott is held to protest the Company’s refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom

***

Kirsty Mitchell

POD for Flora on Beltane:
May Day Maya
Pleiadian Goddess
Bright light of the 7 Sisters
Mountain Nymph transformed,
We ascend your beacon mound
& kindle there
The oakwood of the Bel-Fire
To rival the Sun
& call the Summer heat.
Zeus’s lover
Hermes Mother
Inspire processions
Of chimney sweeps & milkmaids
To leap the healing flames
& sky-clad singing:
“Ride a cock horse to Banburry Cross
To see a fine lady on a white horse”
Walk the circuit
& beat the bounds
With the young Summer King
& the Queen of the May
For the feast of flowers
Is calling forth the consort
Come, come, come unto me
& celebrate with the orders of Elementals.
Bold maidens bathing in the dew of May morn
Sword dancing & singing
In deep forest frivolity
Striking open ancient ley lines in bulls-eye archery
Marking the unrestrained tryst,
A Maypole in Holy-Rood-Mass
Wrapped & weaved in ribbons & ivy
For the May-Eve rites.
Robin Hood makes ready the hunt,
Maid Marian has gone-a-Maying.
~Lady Hazel

***

Laila Breker

This is the Eve of Beltane or May Day. Beltane, the old Celtic name for May Day, means bright fire or fire of Bel, the name of the Solar force, whose feast marks the beginning of the 2nd half of the year.

Wood from 9 sacred trees is gathered, & the great Bel-fire is built & ritualistically ignited by the High priestess or Arch-Druid. People would jump these ‘need-fires’ for fertility, healing & protection.

Torches lit from it were carried home to re-light the hearth fires. The folk would walk their animals in-between them to ensure a productive season – this is the mating season after all for man & beast.

There were other May Day customs, like walking the circuit of one’s property, repairing fences & boundary markers, processions of all kinds, archery tournaments, Morris dances, sword play, & of course making merry with music & drinking.

May morning is a time when the veil between the worlds can easily be pushed aside; but instead of the spirits coming into our realm from the other side, which is the case with Halloween, the polar opposite of Mayday on the wheel of the year -the fairies can enchant us over into their mystical realms.

This is a magical time, perfect for gathering ‘wild’ water, especially the May morning dew, or water from hidden wells & springs. These wild waters were collected & used to bath in for beauty, or to drink for health.

May Day is considered the start of summer – the time of milk & honey. This sensuous fertile energy is totally universal, & can be applied on many different levels. When we acknowledge these creative forces in the dance of our lives, it takes us to our own personal, modern-day version of dancing around the maypole, where we weave & combine the opposing energies within ourselves, blending them into one balanced source.

So yes, whether you know it or not, there will be at least one song that plays in your sub-conscious head on this eve of the 1st day of May, when you become perhaps, the Queen of the May, or Jack-in the Green. Our body like the body of the earth instinctively knows its Beltane, the time of vitality & passion & new growth. And the wisdom of our spirit seeks the natural union of polarities that occur at this time, giving us the opportunity for integration, in the alchemical dance of our souls…

Because under all the sexual innuendo & frivolity, it’s really all about the inner mystic marriage, the union of fire & water -opposites complimenting each other, to become one, bringing all the elements into balance.

You’ll just have to go dancing naked in the forest preserve on your own time…

For now, let’s work to unify the polarities of our being, by sparking the new fire of creative fertility & passion, & marrying it with the beautiful, healing waters of compassion & pure love. So we can truly celebrate the marriage feast of our lives, with a grounded, mindful joy.

So if it is your will – light your Bel-fire, marry it to the water, by floating it in the chalice of your choice. Take the time you need there…To do or not, what you will…Whisper your marriage vows into the water…or dance the 1st dance…or smash the glass…whatever your ceremony calls for…short simple or silent…it doesn’t matter…a 3 day bacchanal, with dancing puppets…it’s all good…cause it’s all about what’s inside…

Peace & Love

~Lady Hazel 

***

May 2nd 2018, 7 pm – 9 pm – John Bloom,  Vice President, Organizational Culture, RSF Social Finance, and General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America

Organic Money –  An evening exploring the work with money in new social forms.

How do we find a way to perceive money as a reflection of not only who we are but also how we work through relationships? With the idea of Rudolf Steiner’s threefold commonwealth as a back drop we will explore the connection between money and spirit. There will be ample time for dialogue, so come with your questions.

$10 suggested donation

Ayse Domeniconi

The Karma Project – A Western Approach to Reincarnation & Karma May 2, 2018 – 7:15 pm CST (8:15 pm EST)
https://mailchi.mp/…/central-region-may-3-audio-conference-…The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to our conversation with special guest Linda Bergh.

Linda Bergh is Psychologist Emeritus, a former Waldorf teacher, is currently a Biography Facilitator in Minneapolis (Novalis Institute), nationally and internationally. She is passionate about bringing Biography and Social Art to individuals, teacher trainings, and communities. She also works with Conscious Dying both locally (Minnesota Threshold Network) and nationally to bring awareness to the sacred threshold of death.

ON THE MAY 2 PHONE CONFERENCE CALL WE WILL HAVE A BIOGRAPHY FOCUS RELATING TO OUR THEME OF KARMA AND REINCARNATION.

Here is the suggestion for preparation from Linda Bergh who will be leading the call :

One of the ways we can be aware of the movement of karma/destiny is to do an exercise where we begin to notice with our attention and intention the surprises and changes that come in our day.

Plan to do this for a minimum of three evenings and days before our call on May 2. Write down the plan for the next day or think it through in as much detail as you can. People, places, time alone. work/home. Then the next day, notice what things were not on your plan. Notice the smallest details.

Examples:
* Who did you meet at a coffee shop that you were surprised by?
* Was there a phone call you didn’t expect, something to shift your thinking?
* Did you see something in nature you have never noticed and that awakened you?
* What event or meeting was cancelled or changed; or one you decided not to go to?
* Was there someone you began to think about decided to call or contact?
* Was there a book that you noticed on your shelf that has always been there but drew you today?

As you are able, jot these down during the day or at the end of the day, or think through the unexpected changes in as much detail as possible. And then that second night, write down or think through your plan for the next day again. Before you go to sleep, as you do a daily review, notice the surprises again, and take them into your sleep.

Do this process for three days. You could start this when you get this email, or you can wait to try it the three days before our call on May 2. Whatever is right for you.

There are no expectations, just noticing. This is a practice, like noticing the changes in a flower as it grows. During our call we will do another kind of destiny exercise that can help us get in touch with the way that Karma moves as Steiner describes.

From Theosophy:
“As the keeper of the past, the soul is continually collecting treasures for the spirit. We can be sure that not a single experience goes to waste, since the soul preserves each one as a memory, and the spirit extracts from each one whatever it can use to enhance its abilities and enrich its life. The human spirit grows as these experiences are worked over and assimilated.”

Audioconference Details

Option 1. Click link below if you wish to connect through your computer (a headset is recommended): https://zoom.us/j/535966270

Option 2. Call in using your telephone.
United States: (646) 558-8656 or: (669) 900-6833
Access Code: 535-966-270

Please join us!

Saturday 5 May 2018 – SPECIAL EVENT – Our Branch is hosting The General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America

6 pm – Community PotLuck – Let’s show these 12 guests from around the country some good hospitality from the Heart-Land – Please bring a dish to share.

7:30 pm – Open Community Conversation with John Bloom & the GC of the ASA

***

Dali

Thursday 10 May 2018 – 7 pm – 9 pm

A Special Study for Ascension Thursday– “Easter, Ascension, Whitsun and the Essntial Nature of the Foundation Stone of the Christmas Conference” by Sergi O. Prokofieff from his book “The cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation”

***

Stephen B Whatley

Friday 18 May 2018, 7 pm – 9 pm, –

Whitsun: A Festival of United Soul-Endeavor,

Art Projections & Lecture with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.

Experiential Social Art with special guest TBA

***

Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society, 4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map) Check out our Web site! Chicago, IL (Anthroposophical Society in America)

The newly renovated (& lazured) Elderberries 3-Fold Space is currently available for rental on PEER SPACE for classes, events, meetings, retreats, art exhibits, family parties, etc…