January Story (adapted from an Italian legend my Strega Nona used to tell)
It was early in the year still cold & biting was the wind. A poor mother & her sweet daughter Ella lived in a small cottage outside the city near the great woods. One morning, Ella put on her warmest winter clothes & went with her basket to look for a morsel of food for her good mother. Ella asked everywhere for a crust of bread or a bit of carrot, but no one could spare a bite. Ella did not want to take an empty basket home, so she went into the woods to look for nuts & roots hidden under the snow. On the way she found a little mouse whose tail was caught under a stone. Ella gently freed him, & the mouse said, ‘Thank you kind child, I have been trapped here for a long time. May good fortune find you’. Then he scampered away through the frosty forest.
As she wandered on, she noticed a tree whose branches were so weighed down with snow, she thought they would break. So she shook the tree until it could stand up straight again. ‘Oh my,’ said the tree, ‘that feels much better, thank you dear child, may good fortune find you.’
Ella went on through the forest, & saw a little robin shivering from the cold. She picked the robin up & wrapped her carefully in her warm woolen hat until the robin stopped shivering. ‘Thank you dear child,’ sang the robin, ‘I feel warm enough to fly now. May good fortune find you.’ The bird flapped her wings & flew toward a cloud covered sun.
Ella had now walked deep into the woods where she knew a hazelnut tree grew. ‘Perhaps I will find nuts here,’ she thought to herself. So she started to dig under the snow, & sure enough her hard work payed off for she did indeed find nuts enough to fill her basket. As she was digging here & there, a kind old woman with long silver hair appeared dressed all in white. She spoke to her with a voice as warm as light.
‘I am the Grandmother of the Year. My four daughters & I have seen how thoughtful you are. My children each have a question for you.’
One daughter came all dressed in light green. She smiled at Ella & asked her, ‘What is Spring like dear child?’
Ella answered, ‘Oh Spring is fresh & new & full of crocuses & daffodils & baby birds. I love Spring!’ The green daughter smiled at Ella & nodded.
Then a second daughter came all dressed in yellow, & asked, ‘What is Summer like dear child?’
‘Oh,’ said Ella, ‘Summer is a time to run & play in sunshine, tend the garden, pick flowers, & chase butterflies & fireflies. I love Summer!’ The yellow daughter smiled & nodded.
Then a third daughter appeared dressed in red. She asked Ella, ‘What is Autumn like dear child?’
‘Autumn,’ said Ella, ‘is full of dancing leaves like flames, apples & pumpkins, & it is harvest time. I love Autumn!’ The red daughter smiled & nodded.
Then the Grandmother of the Year’s fourth daughter appeared all dressed in pale blue. ‘What is Winter like dear child,’ he asked.
‘Winter snow sparkles like the stars’, replied Ella. ‘Our cheeks get rosy as we make snowmen, & we light candles in the house, & read books. I love Winter!’ This blue daughter also smiled & nodded.
Then the four daughters & the Grandmother of the Year who stood before her – disappeared. Ella rubbed her eyes, & thought she had been dreaming, but when she looked in her basket of old nuts, they had turned into gold, frankincense & myrrh!
When she returned home her mother rejoiced. They shared these riches with all who asked & were never poor or hungry again!
~hag
13 January 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”:
A satellite for 1 of every 15 points of light in the sky Astronomer Samantha Lawler has studied what will happen to Earth’s night sky if satellite companies follow through on their current plans to launch tens of thousands of communications satellites into Earth orbit. She wrote: “With no regulation, I know that in the near future, 1 out of every 15 points you can see in the sky will actually be relentlessly crawling satellites, not stars. This will be devastating to research astronomy and will completely change the night sky worldwide.”Read more about the race to save our skies.
“If you want to change the world, you have to change the metaphor.” ~Joseph Campbell
(“Twentieth Day Yule”), or Tjugondag Knut (“Twentieth Day Knut”), a traditional festival celebrated in Sweden & Finland on 13 January. Christmas trees are taken down on Tjugondag jul, & the candies &cookies that decorated the tree are eaten. In Sweden, the feast held during this event is called a Knut’s party (Julgransplundring, literally “Christmas tree plundering”)
“History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of the human being”. ~Percy Bysshe Shelley
1090 – Birthday of Bernard of Clairvaux, Mystic, Theologian, Co-Founder of the Order of the Templars
1497 – Deathday of St. Veronica of Milan. Being very poor & having no formal education, she attempted to teach herself to read. While making this effort one night, the Virgin Mary appeared to Veronica, & taught herin the form of three mystical letters: The first signified purity of intention; the second, abhorrence of murmuring or criticism; the third, daily meditation on the Passion. By the first she learned to begin her daily duties for no human motive, but for God alone; by the second, to carry out what she had begun by attending to her own affairs, never judging her neighbor, but praying for those who did wrong; by the third she was enabled to forget her own pains & sorrows in those of her Lord, & to weep hourly, but silently, over the memory of His wrongs.
Veronica became accustomed to nearly constant apparitions & religious ecstasies. She saw scenes from the life of Christ, yet these never interrupted her work. She joined an Augustinian lay order at the convent of Saint Martha in Milan at the age of 22. This community was very poor; Veronica’s job was to beg in the streets of the city for food.
She received a vision of Christ in 1494, & was given a message for Pope Alexander VI, so she traveled to Rome to deliver it. After a six-month illness, Veronica died on the date she had predicted, 13 January 1497.
1915 – The Avezzano earthquake shakes the Province of L’Aquila in Italy with a maximum intensity of XI (Extreme), killing over 32,610 people.
2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 1800
POD (Poem Of the Day)
~May I ride in calm waters toward destiny May my flesh be a sail propelled by the breath of true knowing May the rhythm of my heart stir music that embraces darkness May my spirit witness what my hands create, The words I utter, the worlds I think… ~hag
I am holding in my consciousness that we are in the season of Epiphany, which is often defined as a revelation, I can’t help picturing it as a cartoon image of the lightbulb over the head – indicating a sudden, intuitive insight – where it all makes sense. An Epiphany is often related to the appearance or manifestation of a spiritual being or phenomenon – But I don’t think a true Epiphany happens by chance, or comes as some fliting flash that fades away.
I think of the example of what we hear in the book of Matthew – how the Magi prepared, perhaps for lifetimes before they made it to Epiphany. And in the 5th Gospel we read how Jesus of Nazareth was prepared 1st thru 42 generations, & then for 30 years, before he received the Christ in the Baptism by John in the Jordan. And we have to work thru all of the 13 Holy Nights to reach the Epiphany, which is not just a day, but a season, that takes us into the 1st stirrings of Spring – still frozen & invisible, but tickling the roots, awakening the sap, willing it to rise…
Makka’s Gallery
Thru all that is happening to darken or distract us in the world, I have been trying to live into this, to see thru a glass darkly, looking, always searching, for the light hiding in the shadows, which can reveal the revelation – allow the appearance.
Umbra Perchiazzi
I have been thinking about the ‘Appearance’, ‘The Manifestation’, The Advent of Christ, in the Etheric World. And it just so happens that 112 years ago TODAY, Rudolf Steiner gives the 1st lecture ever on the Etheric Reappearance of The Christ (see link below) Sometimes when I contemplate this amazing mystery, it comes to me in the picture of an assembly – a convocation, a summit. But mostly I see it as an intimate meeting; or a like blind date, where we are introduced thru a mutual friend – thru our connection to Anthroposophia, which gives us the wisdom to see with new eyes. We receive from this part of ourselves the invite – the entre to the cosmic party. It’s an open invitation, but it takes more than just spinning around 3 times to remove the blindfold – to lift the veil that separates us from meeting this reality.
Leo Klein
The Christ, in his rhythmical Presence, presses forward into the etheric realm, into the realm of the formative forces which envelop the earth to fortify & maintain all life; & Steiner says “Humanity on its natural path of development touches on that sphere with our soul forces” – So that gets me asking, Ok, how do we do our part, on this natural path, to develop those soul forces of Thinking, Feeling & Willing, in this new way? How do we employ Imagination, Inspiration & Intuition without expectation, with the utmost faith & patience, to achieve the 1st glimmering – an awakening of our etheric eyes, a new supersensible sensing, which can experience the life-body?
Steiner says “We think we see with our eyes, but we don’t literally see with these outer organs. They are a kind of microscope, or telescope, or camera, a fairly dead body in us. We see by means of it, with etheric activity.”
He explains that we perceive colors as the result of etheric activity.If we look at green & afterwards at a white sheet of paper, we see it’s reversal as red. (hmm the Christmas colors, go ahead get out your crayons & give it a try) This seeing is due to the continuation of the etheric activity of the eye, which answers to the impressions of colors. We see a balance. We never see an actual color as it is, but always a balance.
We produce complementary colors thru the etheric activity of our eye; & what we see – the final physical effect, is a balance, even if we are not consciously aware of it. (Think 3D Glasses!)
But when we do make it our intention to be conscious, we became co-creators of this new etheric sight.
For more practical exercises in seeing into the etheric, I recommend working with Baruch Urieli’s amazing book: Learning to Experience The Etheric World – with the very interesting sub-title: Empathy, the After-Image & a New Social Ethic.
Rudolf Steiner suggests in his lectures ‘From Jesus to Christ’, (Which is what the Holy Nights are all about) that it is our own etheric activity which lightens up that sphere in which the Etheric Christ is present.
And I have come to see that thru our own activity in connection with The Sophia as a Being of Light, we can shed some Light on Love, waiting in the realm of our formative forces for us to perceive & interact with.
It is an activity, which in its clarity, & beauty, can be strengthened not only thru the specific spiritual discipline of the 6 Basic exercises, & the meditative path, but thru moral development, which brings a balance, in wholeness.
Bet Delavan
Working the 8-fold path & the 6B are certainly key. And for me right now Equanimity is helping to give a flow to my moral progress. When we take hold of the reins of our emotions & steer them where we want to go, it improves the etheric light which we can pour from our heart down into the limbs & then back up to our head, & out thru our eyes, into the etheric world to light up the Christ.
May this New Year bring us ever closer to a true vision of our shared spiritual reality
See you there
~hag
12 January 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Low in the sunset, Mercury & Saturn dance in the Sea-goat, while Jupiter looks on.
Yep, today is my Half Birthday! My astrologer friend Victoria Martin says 1/2 b-day’s are the ‘low point of the natal year’…grrr…& soon Mercury (occult Venus) will go retro…Ok 2022 here we come…
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do”. ~Leonardo da Vinci
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1910 – Rudolf Steiner gives the 1st lecture ever on the Etheric Reappearance of The Christ, to members in Stockholm Sweden. At the same time as the “initiation” of Krishnamurti in Adyar. True Nature of the Second Coming – Preparation for this Event through the Development of Etheric Vision ~RS Then on January 25th Rudolf Steiner begins the series The Reappearance of Christ in the Etheric for the members in Dornach
Kristena West
The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC ALL ARE WELCOME Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation January 12, 2021 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)
“Since the Mystery of Golgotha, someone who begins to ask questions will be able to find the right way of doing so, and will also get the right feeling for the new Isis Mystery. What matters today, then, is to ask the right questions, and develop the right attitude to the spiritual world view that can now be presented. Someone who merely wishes to judge can read any number of books and lectures without learning anything apart from mere words. Someone, on the other hand, who approaches in a questing mood, will learn far more than can be found in the words. He will find that these words bear fruit in the powers of growth that lie in his own soul. Anything the spirit teaches us must become real inner experience. That is the important thing.” ~Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy Grail, Chapter 7, “The Questioning Stance of Soul”, excerpts from Steiner’s lectures given at Berlin on 6 January 1914 … focus of the January 12 meeting.
These chapters from the book can be found online at the CRC’s website by clicking this link A transcript of the 6 January, 1914 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing study conversation. The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group. This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.” The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.
This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer). To connect to the audio/video-conference:
Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106 One tap mobile +13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
7:15 Welcome and Introductions 7:18 Verse 7:25 Study led by volunteers Note: CRC team will ID volunteers Travis – pg. 53 to 57 (top) Tom – pg. 57 to 61 7:50 Conversation 8:25 ID volunteers for next meeting 8:28 Close with verse There is a knighthood of the 21st century whose riders do not ride through the darkness of physical forests as of old, but through the forest of darkened minds. They are armed with a spiritual armor and an inner sun makes them radiant. Out of them shines healing, healing that flows from the knowledge of the human being as a spiritual being. They must create inner order, inner justice, peace and conviction in the darkness of our time. ~Karl Konig
What wants to be in-formed on the Earth now, & how can we give it expression? What is required to build a bridge to the spiritual stream that wants to manifest for us in the realm of formative forces. This etheric stream waiting with power at the edges of our consciousness must be able to pour into those that would make a chalice to embrace it, so that these Christic forces can incarnate thru us in the world.
This is the task of those working in the School of Michael now. We are called to recognize all that lives deep within the inner layers of the earth; as well as what is being offered from the periphery, to co-create formative forces that foster harmony & healing love; to build a communal etheric body, together; which will enable us to develop spiritual organs with higher faculties into the future.
Rebecca Arlena
This requires a fundamental change in our perception, & reception, of what the Being of Wisdom is for us now – & how this reflection is directly connected to the goals of the spiritual worlds – which are asking us to DO Anthroposophy, to practice Spiritual Science – to transform our soul forces, with a new kind of willing – to not only think about it, but deeply feel, & will it, not just for ourselves, but with a sort of collective modern Manicheanism, that acts as a curative catalyst for all. So that the Being of Anthroposophia is able to live, breathe & weave among us – not only in our concepts, but in the very ‘Etherization of our Blood’, working down into our limbs, in collaboration with the supersensible guidance of the School of Michael.
Chelsea Stetez
We must will to learn, to feel, & embody, this Spiritual Being among us. Then we will be able to build a collective etheric body as the vessel that will exemplify on the earth this Supersensible School. This new communal etheric body that must be consciously built by the whole community of the School of Spiritual Science – is linked to the power given to us thru Rudolf Steiner’s sacrifice, & thru the etheric body of Christian Rosenkreuz; so deeply connected to the mysteries of the etheric appearance of The Christ in our time.The eternal forces of these great initiates, full of the most creative expression of becoming & metamorphosis, must develop into a quickening for OUR life body – built up & personified, here & now, in our freed etheric hearts, as we work together to shape the new etheric body of the Cosmopolitan Michaelic Stream. Then the real life forces streaming out of the universal etheric will become a source of vibrant new creative life, for all humanity. We must strive to be able to sense & live into this source; to be inspired by its light & warmth, as we ‘Walk the Talk’ of true Spiritual Science.
Lenny Drilfort
Sergei O Prokofieff, who was a deeply striving human being gives us these words: “It is after all the most important task of the anthroposophists of the twentieth century, to give the etheric body of Rudolf Steiner—by means of their work dedicated loyally to the essential spiritual impulse of Anthroposophy—such a power, that this etheric body will enable his pupils, that will be enlightened by it, to experience the Christ in a direct way. Or in other words: that the Christ Himself will be able, from the end of the twentieth century on, to work through the etheric body of Rudolf Steiner among his pupils.”
Prokofieff awakens us to this gift from Rudolf Steiner, which must inform our work of embodying the esoteric – thru a communal practice -which must be actualized in concrete, practical life. Yes, friends, I woke up with this thought because the dead are working with us, Gene Gollogly, Dr. David Gershan & Sergei & others are conduits broadcasting to us the ‘Will of Worlds’. And we are the limbs of the gods that must make it happen. See you on the frontlines, that border between the seen & unseen.
~hag
astronomy.com Roan Kelly
10 January 2021- “Speaking with the Stars”: Early-morning observers up before the Sun can enjoy a full view of Hydra the Water Snake this morning. Covering roughly 1,303 square degrees, this is the largest of the officially recognized 88 constellations in our sky.
1881- From a letter written to Joseph Kock we learn that in the night of the 10-11 January1881, Rudolf Steiner had an experience of the ‘eternal ‘I’ as he was studying Schelling
“Since the Mystery of Golgotha, someone who begins to ask questions will be able to find the right way of doing so, and will also get the right feeling for the new Isis Mystery. What matters today, then, is to ask the right questions, and develop the right attitude to the spiritual world view that can now be presented. Someone who merely wishes to judge can read any number of books and lectures without learning anything apart from mere words. Someone, on the other hand, who approaches in a questing mood, will learn far more than can be found in the words. He will find that these words bear fruit in the powers of growth that lie in his own soul. Anything the spirit teaches us must become real inner experience. That is the important thing.” ~Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy Grail, Chapter 7, “The Questioning Stance of Soul”, excerpts from Steiner’s lectures given at Berlin on 6 January 1914 … focus of the January 12 meeting.
These chapters from the book can be found online at the CRC’s website by clicking this link A transcript of the 6 January, 1914 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing study conversation. The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group. This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.” The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.
This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer). To connect to the audio/video-conference:
Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106 One tap mobile +13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
7:15 Welcome and Introductions 7:18 Verse 7:25 Study led by volunteers Note: CRC team will ID volunteers Travis – pg. 53 to 57 (top) Tom – pg. 57 to 61 7:50 Conversation 8:25 ID volunteers for next meeting 8:28 Close with verse There is a knighthood of the 21st century whose riders do not ride through the darkness of physical forests as of old, but through the forest of darkened minds. They are armed with a spiritual armor and an inner sun makes them radiant. Out of them shines healing, healing that flows from the knowledge of the human being as a spiritual being. They must create inner order, inner justice, peace and conviction in the darkness of our time. ~Karl Konig
Greetings friends – Warmth of the Shepherds soul & wisdom of the Kings to All! Can you feel our Epic Holy Nights Storytelling resounding – glinting & fructifying the ethers..? Here is the link with the 13 readings & all the recourses of our Epic of Gilgamesh – Enjoy
My beloved CG & I took a little road trip North to the wilds of Lake Geneva WI. to digest the nourishment from the spiritual worlds, & the good will of community during this potent time – such a powerful bridge between the old & New Year. Our respite was cut short when we got a call from our girl that the furnace went out & that when she came to feed Lucy the cat it was 35 degrees in the house. Yikes…
While hiking along the lake on January 7, I was thinking of Gene Gollogly, who crossed the threshold suddenly one year ago on that date. The sky was crystal clear & the Sun had a rainbow aura in the subzero air. As I moved my limbs, trudging thru the snow, I pictured also my dear friend Dr. David Gershan expanding into spiritual world (from Nancy Poer: ‘David Gershan had taken the booster shot 48 hours before he died on 3 Jan. I have the sense that Gershan has had his chosen death timing, with perhaps the shot being a chosen aspect. It is my hope he will be an awakened bridge from the spirit on this whole thing and can work to awaken and strengthen and inspire us in truths once he settles in’)
Other Anthroposophical souls that passed during this Holy Time of the re-birth of the light: Gertrude Reif Hughes on 5 Jan. 2022, & both Numael Pulido, & Speech artist Sophia Walsh on 7 January 2022.
This was sent out by Nancy Poer: ‘A year ago on January 6, 2021, this film was part of a beautiful, long prepared Epiphany Festival for Joan of Arc (who was born on Epiphany) by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, and the group in Chicago (Lucien Dante Lazar: The Passage; Mary Ruud: Eurythmy; Mary Spalding: Joan’s biography). With an odd juxtaposition, at the very same time as this film was being shown for people participating around the world, the capitol was being stormed in Washington, DC.
Joan and her magnificent deeds need to be known everywhere now. Nowhere in history do we have more valiant bravery, or the extraordinary capacity to do the impossible against all odds. Her deed was to stop the unholy alliances of the elite who ruled Europe, working to prevent the age of the Consciousness Soul (1413) from fulfilling its task. A heaven sent emissary, Joan’s spiritual guides sustained her, Micha-el the great Archangel who guides our current age of freedom, cosmopolitan awareness, acceptance of diversity and service to the higher good. Her guiding saints, Catherine and Margaret gave her compassionate solace amidst the staggering challenges she faced.
We know her exact words because her greatest fear came true, she was betrayed, captured, sold to the English and put to trial. They were recorded for posterity. Some of the most inspiring words she gave in the course of her victorious sacrifice for humanity: “I was born for this!”
We can resonate with the issues of Joan’s day. While the royal elite indulged themselves in a bubble of decadent privilege, the peasants lived in near starvation. For over 100 years they suffered and word spread among the people that France would “be saved by a maid.” Joan was hailed by multitudes of the common people who loved her and looked to her for salvation.
Everything about her biography is unexplainable with earthly materialistic conjecture. It can only be appreciated with a spiritual picture of aid from higher sources. Brilliant in military strategy, sublimely adroit as she countered ruthless interrogation in trial courts meant to destroy her. As a child she was just a simple unlettered peasant girl. Born to pious and poor parents, she was diligent in her duties to mind the flocks. More serious than her playmates, her inner life was deep and rich. She spend hours daily in mass at the nearby church, and fell to her knees in the fields as the church bells rang out Angelus, praying to the holy mother and for the welfare of those less fortunate than herself. Yet, it would be a vengeful church Bishop who would later try to condemn her to death as a witch.
She stands for the courage and inspiration that we, too, may be instruments for the holy good to come into the evolution of humanity. Even if ours are small un-remarked deeds for change, together may we have the courage and spiritual faith to help change the course of history for our time. Joan of Arc reminds us that we, too, chose to be born for our time.’
~Nancy Jewel Poer, January 6th Holy Night Series, 2021,2022
”The human being is only able to overcome the fear of death and to face death courageously if he knows that an immortal everlasting core is in his inside for which death is only a change of the way of life. As soon as the human being finds the immortal core in himself with the help of occult science, he educates himself more and more for overcoming all such feelings, last also the fear of death. However, the more materialistic the human being becomes, the more he is frightened at death. Occult science has to show how the everlasting life, how karma entails the big balance in the spiritual life. This spiritual science cannot show the beatitudes behind the scenery of life without showing the dreadful powers at the same time, the enemies who lie in wait for him. This is true. However, it also shows how he can overcome any fear of these enemies. It shows how he can face all that with a free, courageous eye. It teaches him to become objective and impartial if he brings himself patiently to its education.” ~ Rudolf Steiner – https://wn.rsarchive.org/…/eLib2015/19071212p01.html…
9 January 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Venus moves between us and the Sun today – The phenomenon is called the planet’s inferior conjunction. The directions of the five inferior conjunctions of Venus determine their differing characters, by determining their places in Venus’ true (heliocentric) orbit, which is tilted and slightly elliptical. Today Venus is in Sagittarius; 5 degrees north of the Sun; 0.27 AU; 63″
RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler In the three verses after Christmas, the Three Kings present themselves; first the Golden King in Verse 39, then the Kings of Silver and Bronze, each with his gift: a new thinking, feeling and willing. (from Eloise Krivosheia with inspiration from her sister, Roberta van Schilfgaarde in anthroposophyla.org/calendar-of-the-soul-verses)
NEW YEAR The Chalice of the Sense of Self v39 Completely open to the spirit’s revelation I win the light of Cosmic Being; thought’s clarifying power grows to give me who I am and waking from the power of thinking my own real feeling flows.
At Epiphany the Soul Calendar moves into its 4th quarter, Selfhood’s intuitive realm, with the third of seven mentions of the heart and the first of the three of love, both only appearing in the winter and coming again in Epiphany’s second week.
EPIPHANY Love’s Offering v40 And when I am in spirit depths then in my ground of soul my own dry well of self-delusion fills with power of the World Word’s fire the heart-formed love world wills.
EPIPHANY II At the Altar of the Heart v41 The soul’s creative power from depths of heart aspires to fire the forces of the gods to right activity in human life and form itself in human love and human deeds.
The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC ALL ARE WELCOME Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation January 12, 2021 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)
“Since the Mystery of Golgotha, someone who begins to ask questions will be able to find the right way of doing so, and will also get the right feeling for the new Isis Mystery. What matters today, then, is to ask the right questions, and develop the right attitude to the spiritual world view that can now be presented. Someone who merely wishes to judge can read any number of books and lectures without learning anything apart from mere words. Someone, on the other hand, who approaches in a questing mood, will learn far more than can be found in the words. He will find that these words bear fruit in the powers of growth that lie in his own soul. Anything the spirit teaches us must become real inner experience. That is the important thing.” ~Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy Grail, Chapter 7, “The Questioning Stance of Soul”, excerpts from Steiner’s lectures given at Berlin on 6 January 1914 … focus of the January 12 meeting.
These chapters from the book can be found online at the CRC’s website by clicking this link A transcript of the 6 January, 1914 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing study conversation. The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group. This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.” The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.
This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer). To connect to the audio/video-conference:
Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106 One tap mobile +13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
7:15 Welcome and Introductions 7:18 Verse 7:25 Study led by volunteers Note: CRC team will ID volunteers Travis – pg. 53 to 57 (top) Tom – pg. 57 to 61 7:50 Conversation 8:25 ID volunteers for next meeting 8:28 Close with verse There is a knighthood of the 21st century whose riders do not ride through the darkness of physical forests as of old, but through the forest of darkened minds. They are armed with a spiritual armor and an inner sun makes them radiant. Out of them shines healing, healing that flows from the knowledge of the human being as a spiritual being. They must create inner order, inner justice, peace and conviction in the darkness of our time. ~Karl Konig
January 6th is The Feast of Epiphany, In Greek: epi-phanos which means shining forth, manifestation, striking appearance or vision of The Divine.
This day is also called: 12th night, featuring ‘The Lord of Misrule’; Three Kings Day; The feast of La Bafana; The Feast of Recognition; The Adoration of the Magi; The Manifestation of God.
In ancient Egypt the 6th of January was celebrated as the Festival of Osiris – revealing the mystery of the re-membering of the Sun-god. As you know, Osiris was overcome by his enemy Typhon or Set, & the Goddess Isis, his beloved, seeks & eventually finds the 14 pieces of him buried all around the world. This notion of finding Osiris is a prefiguring of the Festival of The Three Kings, who also went looking for their representative of the Sun god. This ‘Epiphany’ was also celebrated by the Assyrians, the Armenians & the Phoenicians. Everywhere it is a Festival connected with a kind of universal baptism — a rebirth from out of the water.
Suzie Aaddicks
In the Act of Consecration, in the Epistle at Epiphany, a word shines out like a star: ‘Grace’. 6 times it shines thru: ‘Star of Grace’, ‘Light of Grace’, ‘Grace appearance of the world’s light’…Proclaiming that the shining forth of the Grace of Christ is our Epiphany.
Epiphany, like Easter & Pentecost are Holy Days traditionally set aside for initiation rites, emphasizing the mysterious relationship between the elements of fire & water, which invokes the ability to see into the formative forces of the etheric realm.
In both the Eastern & Western churches the feast of Epiphany additionally commemorates the marriage at Cana (see John 2:1-11), at which Christ performed his first miracle, an allegory for the mixing of water & wine=liquid fire, changing water into fire, which the ancients called The Alchemical Marriage, or the Great Work…
Epiphany, has been observed since before AD 194, so it is much older than our Christmas celebrations. It has always been a profoundly esoteric festival of the highest rank.
Andrea del Verrocchio + his pupil Leonardo da Vinci
At one time the Nativity & Epiphany were celebrated together & were referred to as the 1st & 2nd nativity; the 1st as the birth of the physical vessel prepared thru many generations from Adam down thru the House of King David; & the 2nd being Christ’s manifestation into that vessel, linked with the cosmic event of Christ’s baptism by John in the Jordan; & then moving with the blood into the earth in the death & resurrection of Easter.
William Henry
The Three Kings from the East were wise men initiated into the mysteries of the stars by Zarathustra. They followed the starry script written in the heavens that was foretold by the ancient prophets, to Bethlehem, where they paid homage to the Christ-child & presented him with gold, frankincense & myrrh.
Gold reflects the kingship of The Christ as a ‘Solar King’. Frankincense, the incense of seership & worship, for meditative & invocational purposes, symbolizes his priestly role, & myrrh, a purifying substance used in healing & burial embalming, points to the crucifixion & resurrection.
El Greco
The 3 kings represent the evolution of humanity, & show in their inclusiveness that The Christ Impulse is for all of humankind.
The twelve days of Christmas ends with the Feast of Epiphany which comes with its own traditions, rituals & symbols for the common folk. Carolers go from house to house; & in many homes the Christmas Tree is taken down & burnt in a big bonfire.
For the children this is an especially joyous occasion because, when the tree is taken down they get to “plündern” (raid) the tree of the sweets – the chocolate ornaments wrapped in foil or cookies, which have replaced the sugar plums, & become the raiders’ rewards.
January 6th is also called Oiche Nollaig na mBan,Women’s Christmas, when the Irish men take on household duties for the day & the women relax & celebrate together.
The Witch of Christmas, La Befana, is also celebrated on the Epiphany – The legend of La Befana began thousands of years ago & remains to this day a tradition practiced by many folks with an Italian heritage (my father’s people are from Montefegatesi, the highest of the Bagni di Lucca villages in Tuscany) also practiced in many Waldorf schools.
The Legend of La Bafana: This story takes place at the time of the birth of the Matthew Jesus. La Befana is an old woman who lives in a house in the hills of Italy. Befana spends her days sweeping & baking, when she’s not needed as a healer. One night, Befana notices a bright light in the sky, she thinks nothing of it & goes back to her work. Later, a glorious caravan led by Three Wise Men stop & ask La Befana for directions to Bethlehem inviting her to join them in their search for the Christ Child. But Befana is too busy & knows nothing of this far-away place nor the birth of a special baby. After the caravan disappeared over the hills, she remembered that box of old toys that she had collected over the years, many that were tossed out because they were broken. She had fixed & re-painted them, handing them out to every child who needed one, because she loved seeing them smile. So she placed some baked goods & gifts for the Christ-child in a sack, took her broom to help the new mother clean & raced out after the caravan in search of the Baby Jesus. La Befana was soon lost. And just as she was getting very tired, angels appeared from the bright light, the magic star in the sky to give flight to La Befana on her broom –it was a night of miracles after all. She searched & searched for the Baby Jesus.
La Befana still searches, even today, after all these centuries. And so, every year on the eve of the Epiphany, whenever La Befana comes to a house where there is a child, she drops in to see if it might be the child she seeks. It never is, but Befana leaves a gift anyway. For La Befana has come to realize, over the years, that her searching is not vain, that in a way, the Christ Child is found in all children.
Ever since then the old wise woman has been known as “La Befana” or simply “Befana.” In fact, Befana’s name comes from the ancient Greek word “epifania” which means “epiphany.”
This celebration, in remembrance of the Magi’s visit, often includes purifying rites & benedictions with water. Water set out by the fireplace on the eve of the Epiphany (the night that La Befana flies the skies) is said to have sacred properties that can ward off evil spirits & is used in critical moments of a family’s life.
This celebration of the Epiphany can be traced as far back as the 9th century, & is one of the most popular Italian feasts especially in the backcountry or in the hills. In the time when our grandparents were children, La Befana was tremendously popular & was awaited with a mixture of joy & anxiety. Children hung hand-knitted stockings on the fireplace & wrote long letters to her expressing their wishes. Often they were disappointed as their families had little money to spend on gifts; however, sometimes they found little hand-sewn dolls & puppets in their stocking. If they had been bad, their stockings were filled with onions, garlic & coal. In modern-day Italy some shops sell carbone or black rock candy that actually looks like pieces of coal.
And to celebrate this day, people would gather together on Epiphany morning to eat chestnuts, & fruit pancakes.
My Waldorf girl learned this song at school many years ago:
Babuska, Babuska, she sweep & sweep all day Babuska, Babushka, would not take time away. Kings came ariding 1, 2, 3 Over the land & over sea Following following yonder star Calling out to them from afar But Babuska, Babuska, she sweep & sweep all day Babuska, Babushka, would not take time away. ~hag
Another tradition is to sprinkle the doorways with holy water; & the mistress of the house would write with chalk K + M + B with the number of the year above the house or barn door & say: “Kaspar, Melchior, “Balthasar, behütet uns auch für dieses Jahr, vor Feuer und. ‘Protect our home from the perils of fire & water’.
The Lucchesi-Archer-Ginsberg home
20+K+M+B+22…Our modern family does this every year…
You may have seen it, especially if you’ve been to Germany or other parts of Europe – a mysterious series of letters & numbers, looking to all the world like an equation, inscribed in chalk over a doorway.
The letters are also an abbreviate of the Latin phrase,Christus mansionem benedicat: “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross.
I remember the days when I would go to the Epiphany Mass with my grandma, & they gave out satchels of blessed chalk, incense, & containers of holy water blessed especially for Epiphany. Another common practice, that my Straga-ma always observed was to save a few grains of the Epiphany incense until Easter, so that it could be burned along with the Easter candle.
Practicing traditions like the chalking of the doors helps us to awaken to the mysteries behind the Holidays. It is a practical concrete way to observe & it serves as an outward sign of our dedication to being more conscious in our thinking, feeling & willing. To consciously take the time to bless our homes – the place where many of us will make the greatest strides in our spiritual growth, through observance of daily meditation, spiritual reading to the dead, & work offered freely with love – is vital.
It also serves as a reminder of the wise welcoming that the Magi gave to the Christ Child. We can also strive to be as welcoming to all who come to our homes. To greet the Christ within every body that crosses our threshold.
THE MYSTERIES (Die Geheimnisse) A Lecture by Rudolf Steiner given Cologne 1907
“…K. M. B…. these letters represent the names of the Three Holy Kings: Kaspar, Melchior, Balthasar…these three wise men of the East who brought offerings of three human virtues which are symbolized…self-knowledge in the gold; self-piety, that is the piety of the innermost self — which we can call self-surrender — in the frankincense; and in the myrrh self-consummation and self-development, or the preservation of the eternal in the self.
The first king was the representative of the Asiatic races; the second, the representative of the European peoples; and the third, the representative of the African races. Wherever people wanted to understand Christianity as the religion of earthly harmony they saw in the three kings and their homage a union of the different lines of thought and religious movements in the world into the One principle, the Christian principle…Those who had penetrated into the principles of esoteric Christianity saw in Christianity not only a force which had affected the course of human development, but they saw in the Being embodied in Jesus of Nazareth a cosmic world-force — a force far transcending the merely human that prevails in this present age. They saw in the Christ-principle a force that indeed represents for mankind a human ideal lying in a far distant future, an ideal which can only be approached by our understanding the whole world more and more in the spirit.
The esoteric Christian looks on the universe as he looks on the human body. When he looks on the human body he sees it as consisting of different limbs: the head, arms, hands, and so on. When he looks on the human body and sees the movements of hand, eye, etc., these are for him the expression of the inner spiritual and psychic experiences. In the same way as he looked through the human limbs, and their movements, into that which is eternal, spiritual in man, the esoteric Christian regarded the movements of the stars, the light that streams down from the stars to humanity, the rising and setting of the sun, the rising and setting of the moon, as the external expression of divine-spiritual Beings pervading all space. All these natural phenomena were to him deeds of the gods, gestures of the gods, expressions in mime of those divine-spiritual Beings, as also was everything that occurs among mankind, when people establish social communities…
In the long Christmas winter night the novice was far enough advanced to have a vision at midnight. The earth was then no longer a veil for the sun, which stood behind the earth. It became transparent for him. Through the transparent earth he saw the spiritual light of the sun, the Christ-light. This fact, which marks a profound experience for the mystery-novice, was recorded in the expression: To see the sun at midnight.
The esoteric Christian felt that through absorption in Christian Esotericism he approached more and more that power of inward vision through which he could imbue his feeling, thinking and his will-impulses in gazing into this spiritual sun. Then the Mystery-novice was led to a vision of the greatest importance: As long as the earth is opaque the separate parts appear inhabited by people of different confessions, but the unifying bond is not there. Human races are as scattered as the climates. Human opinions are scattered all over the earth and there is no connecting link. But in the degree in which men begin to look through the earth into the sun by their inner power of vision, in the degree in which the “star” appears to them through the earth, their confessions will flow together to one great united Brotherhood. And those who guided the great separated human masses in the truth of the higher planes, towards their initiation into the higher worlds, were known as “Magi.” They were three in number, as in the various parts of the earth various powers express themselves. Humanity had, therefore, to be led in different ways. But as a unifying power there appears the star, rising beyond the earth. It leads the scattered individuals together, and then they bring offerings to the physical embodiment of the solar star, appearing as the star of peace. Thus was the religion of peace, of harmony, of universal peace, of human brotherhood, connected cosmically and humanly with the ancient Magi, who laid the best gifts that they had in store for humanity before the cradle of the Son of Man incarnate. http://wn.rsarchive.org/Le…/19071225p01.html;mark=167,29,40…
Eugene Thirion
1412 – The Birthday of Joan of Arc
1828 – Birthday of Herman Grimm – Grimm’s father was Wilhelm Grimm, & his uncle Jakob Grimm, the philologist compilers of indigenous folk tales (“Brothers Grimm”). His other uncle was the painter engraver Ludwig Emil Grimm. Grimm’s reputation is that of the arch-Romantic, Gründerzeit art historian. He viewed himself as the intellectual successor of Goethe. His approach to art history was through the “Great Masters”, & arranging significance of art through a biographical account of art history. His tastes both typified & led German & continental taste. Homer, Dante & Shakespeare were the great writers of their age; in art, only Raphael & Michelangelo could compare. The nineteenth century’s adoration of Raphael is in large part Grimm’s doing.
POD (Poem Of the Day)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
~Reveling in gratitude for Gilgamesh & Eabani Thinking the Angel of Joan Opening the gifts of the Magi Chalking doors for Epiphany Blessing brooms with La Bafana Getting baptized by John Standing with the Christ Singing with the Spheres… ~hag
The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC ALL ARE WELCOME Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation January 12, 2021 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)
“Since the Mystery of Golgotha, someone who begins to ask questions will be able to find the right way of doing so, and will also get the right feeling for the new Isis Mystery. What matters today, then, is to ask the right questions, and develop the right attitude to the spiritual world view that can now be presented. Someone who merely wishes to judge can read any number of books and lectures without learning anything apart from mere words. Someone, on the other hand, who approaches in a questing mood, will learn far more than can be found in the words. He will find that these words bear fruit in the powers of growth that lie in his own soul. Anything the spirit teaches us must become real inner experience. That is the important thing.” ~Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy Grail, Chapter 7, “The Questioning Stance of Soul”, excerpts from Steiner’s lectures given at Berlin on 6 January 1914 … focus of the January 12 meeting.
These chapters from the book can be found online at the CRC’s website by clicking this link A transcript of the 6 January, 1914 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing study conversation. The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group. This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.” The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.
This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer). To connect to the audio/video-conference:
Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106 One tap mobile +13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
7:15 Welcome and Introductions 7:18 Verse 7:25 Study led by volunteers Note: CRC team will ID volunteers Travis – pg. 53 to 57 (top) Tom – pg. 57 to 61 7:50 Conversation 8:25 ID volunteers for next meeting 8:28 Close with verse There is a knighthood of the 21st century whose riders do not ride through the darkness of physical forests as of old, but through the forest of darkened minds. They are armed with a spiritual armor and an inner sun makes them radiant. Out of them shines healing, healing that flows from the knowledge of the human being as a spiritual being. They must create inner order, inner justice, peace and conviction in the darkness of our time. ~Karl Konig
