Greetings friends on this Eve of Epiphany – Today was the last day of our Holy Nights Storytelling Journey with the Epic of Gilgamesh sponsored by the ASA. May we take the energies we have raised together into a deep digestion, & may the many seeds planted & the insights shared light the way for the Wise Kings, thru the warming of our shepherds hearts.
Yesterday in Tablet 11 we heard how after his failed initiation, Gilgamesh returned to Uruk. In the evening lectures of the Christmas Conference Steiner speaks to this saying: “He travelled along the Danube, following the river on its northern bank, until he came again to his home, to the home of his choice.” When we connect the dots we find that this little fact opens us to a clue in Rudolf Steiner’s autobiography, where we learn that as a young man Steiner himself walked along the northern bank of the Danube River every day for 7 years to & from school. And so it is, that destiny brought young Rudy into Austria-Hungary, in part to experience first-hand the connection with the powerful Atlantean Mystery Center in Burgenland where Gilgamesh meets ‘The Faraway Man’ – Utnapishtim, who Steiner likens to Manu or Noah, & calls the “High Priest of Atlantis”.
The entire Epic, being a telling of Steiner’s own biography as Eabani, has much to offer us. Our storytelling was a good start in the unveiling of the many secrets hidden in this ‘Hero’s Journey’ of human evolution – a story of karmic ties & friendship – & a quest for the meaning of life – revealing Steiner’s core mission of bringing karma & reincarnation to the west.
At the end of our final chapter in the reading of Tablet #12 today, Director of Programs Tess Parker announced that Dr. David Gershon had crossed the Threshold.
The Sky on David Gershon’s death day – Excellent dusk photo with Venus , Mercury and Saturn + Asteroid A1 Leonard (currently in Piscis Austrinus – The Southern Fish constellation) with distinct tail!
Interesting to conceive that this amazing individual choose to cross the Threshold during the appearance of The asteroid A1 Leonard, the Quadrantids meteor shower, with Venus, Mercury, Jupiter & Saturn speaking with the crescent Moon in the South West after sunset.
I have had the privilege of knowing the good doctor for many years. His dry sense of humor & will-filled enthusiasm never failed to enlighten & inspire me. So many stories…He was always volunteering me for things. One time sitting in a large circle of colleagues at the Michael Fields Institute, folks were having a hard time communicating, so he starting waving his hands calling for a stop. When he had everyone’s attention, he said: ‘What we need is for Hazel to bring everyone together in a Michaelmas festival – the farmers & the city folk, the families & Anthro-heads together under the sword & shield of Michael.’ And so for a year we planned together what that could look like. And in 2019 we brought these diverse groups together at Angelic Organics Farm for a big fest – including an amazing ‘Farm to Table’ dinner. This awoke the social artistry that lives so deeply in Farmer John Peterson; & it dove tailed into Chuck Ginsberg & me creating the Family Farm Initiative with the Zinniker Farm.
As an Anthroposophical Doctor David knew how important nutrition is, so he was a big supporter of biodynamics.
Arnold Böcklin
“The dead rise and walk about / the eternal fields of thought”. ~From Wendall Berry as an opening quote for a book of remembering.
Dear David, I will rise to meet you in my thinking so that together we can continue to walk in those ‘eternal fields of thought’
Blessings on your Hero’s Journey in the Spiritual World.
Greetings friends – I am writing today to let you know that I will be taking a pause like the Sun at Solstice before returning to the blog in 2022 after the Holy Nights. I leave you with these gifts:
Listen to the ‘I Think Speech‘ podcasts – Current episodes, or scroll down to tune into the indications for each of the Holy Nights from last Year.
Thursday 23 December 2021 – The Eve of the Eve – 11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET / 7 pm UTC
A Christmas Festival with Christian Community Priest Rev. Jeana Lee, Movement with Lucien Dante Lazar
‘Divine Love and the Holy Child Within’
This will be a hybrid in-person & Zoom event Featuring our 2 camera technology with Mary Spalding
Doors open at 12:30 pm (Zoom Room open 12:45 pm for Social time) Snacks to Share Encouraged
Suggested donation $15.00 – At the door or via the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal donation site – *Please make a note on the first line – type in: “Christmas Fest”! The Festival will be recorded
All around the world the season of midwinter is the traditional time for community bonding through storytelling. In laying the groundwork for the 100-year anniversary of the Christmas Conference, we bring the ancient Sumerian saga “The Epic of Gilgamesh” to life. Rudolf Steiner explored this story in Occult History during the Holy Nights of 1910; and again with the lectures “World History in the Light of Anthroposophy” given during those fateful Holy Nights in 1923 for the re-founding of the Society.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is perhaps the oldest written tale on Earth. The Sumerian version dates from around 3000 B.C. Later it was compiled from 12 clay tablets written in Akkadian cuneiform.
It is the “Hero’s Journey” of human evolution, a story of friendship, and a quest for the meaning of life – revealing Steiner’s core mission of bringing karma and reincarnation to the west.
Myths, fairytales, historical epics, and sagas open us up to powerful archetypes behind the human condition, revealing clues to ourselves – from the past, the present, and the future. What will we uncover about ourselves and each other during this year’s Holy Nights adventure in storytelling?
Tune in for any or all of the episodes of this dramatic reading, re-worked by Hazel Archer from various translations, and featuring friends from around the world.
What: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Story Telling during the Holy Nights hosted by the ASA, Hazel Archer, and friends.
Time: 22 minutes daily at 9 am PT / 10 am MT / 11 am CT / 12 pm ET / 5 pm UTC
Dates: December 24, 2021- January 5, 2022 for 13 consecutive days Can’t join us live? No problem. Each gathering will be recorded and posted on our Holy Nights page (link will be emailed upon registration).
How: Register Here! Then check your email for confirmation with the Zoom registration link.
Eurythmy for the Holy Nights with Jan Ranck ‘Tuning to the Stars’: Sacred Geometry, the Planets and the Zodiac
LIVE IN-PERSON 26-30 Dec. 2021 at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 4 pm – 5 pm And at 7pm on 31 Dec. as part of our Annual NYE Gathering (details below)
$100 for all 6 sessions, or $22 for each individual session.
Make your payment using the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal or QuickPay with Zelle to chase@rschicago.org (Please indicate in the notes that it is for the “Holy Nights Eurythmy”)
Cash at the door, or send a check to: Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 North Lincoln Avenue Chicago, IL 60618-2953 USA
* Jan Ranck – Born in the USA, Jan Ranck studied music and comparative arts at Indiana University in Bloomington. She accompanied the London Stage Group on their 1976 USA tour and went on to study eurythmy at the Eurythmeum in Dornach with Lea van der Pals, where she subsequently taught. In 1984 she joined the faculty of The London School of Eurythmy. She left there to complete her eurythmy therapy training in Stuttgart in 1989, moving afterward to Israel, where she founded and directed the Jerusalem Eurythmy Ensemble (1990) and the Jerusalem Academy of Eurythmy (1992) and was an instructor in the Jerusalem Waldorf Teacher Bachelor Program in David Yellin Academic College from 1999. Jan has held Master Classes at various venues worldwide, including the Goetheanum and the MA Program in Eurythmy held at Emerson College and Spring Valley. She is the representative for Israel in the International Eurythmy Therapy Forum.
Friday 31 December 2021 Doors open at 6:30 pm
Join us for our Annual NYE Conscious Community Gathering – The Theme for 2022 is Cabaret – a Cultural Sharing!
All are invited to take the stage with an offering.
Circles Edge & other Waldorf alum will also perform
Please bring Food & Drink to share
$20 Cash at the door or Make your payment using the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal or QuickPay with Zelle to chase@rschicago.org (Please indicate in the notes that it is for the “NYE”)
All proceeds go to support the Rudolf Steiner Branch – the young People hosting & The Band (Can’t make it? send a $ gift PayPal)
7 – 8 pm – Holy Nights Eurythmy with Jan Ranck (separate fee $22 see above)
8 pm – Potluck Social
8:30 pm – Circles Edge & Friends warm the stage & host the open mic
For me it is not an idle chit chat, no small talk – it is a way of observing & communicating with the elemental beings. What are they trying to say to us?
Because I make it a point to commune with these beings, in all weathers, I have always been fascinated with Ben Franklin who made a number of discoveries & tinkered with various inventions that had to do with Weather – a topic that continuously fascinated him.
He gave us the famous quote: “Some are weatherwise; some are otherwise.”
I don’t know much about what folks call ‘geo-engineering’ or weather warfare, or electromagnetic weapons like HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) Some researchers go so far as to claim that HAARP technologies are used to cause earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, to disrupt global communications systems, etc…
These researchers point to major aspects of the program which are still kept secret for alleged reasons of “national security.” Yet the U.S. patent of a key developer of HAARP & other documentary evidence support these claims. And there is no doubt that electromagnetic weapons capable of being used in warfare do exist. The capability of influencing & yes controlling human emotions has been studied by the military & intelligence agencies of the world for many decades. Here is the abstract of U.S. patent number 5,159,703: “A silent communications system in which nonaural carriers, in the very low or very high audio frequency range or in the adjacent ultrasonic frequency spectrum, are amplitude or frequency modulated with the desired intelligence and propagated acoustically or vibrationally, for inducement into the brain, typically through the use of loudspeakers, earphones or piezoelectric transducers. The modulated carriers may be transmitted directly in real time or may be conveniently recorded and stored on mechanical, magnetic or optical media for delayed or repeated transmission to the listener.”
Ok so we could easily fall down the rabbit hole here. But I bring this up because of the strange weather we have been experiencing.
Yes, we know tornadoes happen, but not usually in December…At least 70 people were killed & countless homes destroyed when tornadoes — one of which traveled on the ground for a record 227 miles — swept across 6 states on December 10 & 11, 2021.
Then on Dec. 15th approximately 100 million people were under a high-wind weather alert – stretching from eastern Arizona to upstate New York.
Wind gusts up to 100 mph, along with the unprecedented winter tornadoes, rain storms in Southern California, & in Colorado a wildfire risk – the severest in 20 years & simply unheard of for mid-December.
What was it like by you?
The National Weather Service has never issued a tornado watch or warning during the month of December. In fact, Minnesota has zero confirmed tornadoes on record during the month of December. Yet on Wednesday 15 Dec. there was 10 inches of snow on the ground on top of the tornado threat. The rare overlap of the tornado risk over deep snow cover leaves meteorologists wondering…
Meanwhile across the Plains & Upper Midwest we are experiencing Highs 20 to 40 degrees above average – we were in the mid 60’s when the big winds came our way on Wed. 15 December 2021.
Interesting to read that as far away as the Australian island state of Tasmania at the same time ‘a freak accident on the school field. While some schoolchildren were in the inflatable bouncy castle, the police said, “a significant” gust of wind sent it, flying into the air. Nine students plunged more than 30 feet to the ground, 5 were killed.’
During our Family Farm Initiative meeting last night Mark & Petra Zinniker spoke about how the high-winds were the elementals trying to get our attention.
And I woke up thinking about how during the laying of the Foundation Stone for the 1st Goetheanum in 1913, Rudolf Grosse reported: “The sky had clouded over during the day & when we were all gathered, a great wind arose. Thunder rumbled in the distance, lightning again & again rent the darkness & the landscape seemed eerie”
And then I thought of how at the re-founding of the Anthroposophical Society during the Christmas Conference in December 1923, when Rudolf Steiner laid the Foundation Stone of Love into the hearts of the members, he included 3 times the phrase: “In East, West, North, South, May human beings hear it” – a call to acknowledge & listen to the elemental beings.
Friends, It’s time we hear it…
~hag
17 December 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Tonight is the eve of the Full Cold Moon, also called the Moon Before Yule, or the Long Night Moon.
Feast day of Lazarus – The biblical narrative of the raising of Lazarus is found in chapter 11 of the Gospel of John. Lazarus is introduced as a follower of Jesus, who lives in the town of Bethany near Jerusalem, the brother of Mary & Martha. The sisters send word to Jesus that Lazarus, “he whom thou lovest,” is ill. Instead of immediately traveling to Bethany, Jesus intentionally remains where he is for two more days before beginning the journey.
When Jesus arrives in Bethany, he finds that Lazarus is dead & has already been in his tomb for four days. He meets first with Martha & then Mary in turn. Martha laments that Jesus did not arrive soon enough to heal her brother &Jesus replies with the well-known statement, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die”. Later the narrator here gives the famous simple phrase, “Jesus wept”.
In the presence of a crowd of mourners, Jesus comes to the tomb. Over the objections of Martha, Jesus has them roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb & says a prayer. He then calls Lazarus to come out (“Come forth”) & Lazarus does so, still wrapped in his grave-cloths. Jesus then calls for someone to remove the grave-cloths, & let him go.
The narrative ends with the statement that many of the witnesses to this event “believed in him.” Others are said to report the events to the religious authorities in Jerusalem.
The Gospel of John mentions Lazarus again in chapter 12. Six days before the Passover on which Jesus is crucified, Jesus returns to Bethany & Lazarus attends a supper that Martha, his sister, serves. Jesus & Lazarus together attract the attention of many & the chief priests consider having Lazarus put to death because so many people are believing in Jesus on account of this miracle.
The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, the longest coherent narrative in John aside from the Passion, is the culmination of John’s “signs”. It explains the crowds seeking Jesus on Palm Sunday, & leads directly to the decision of Caiaphas & the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus.
It is notable that at John 11:11, after being told by His disciples to fear those who would kill Him, & after the parable about living in darkness, Jesus references his own parable & states that Lazarus sleeps, & that He will go “wake him up”. The disciples thought Jesus meant Lazarus was actually sleeping in verse 12. Then, in verse 14, Jesus speaks plainly & tells them that “Lazarus has died”. This is to be clear that Lazarus has died in the flesh, & is not sleeping or unconscious.
Lazarus is spoken of by Rudolf Steiner as becoming John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, & formerly as Hiram Abiff the Master Builder of Solomon’s Temple & Christian Rosenkreutz.
Antoine Callet
497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome.
1790 – The Aztec calendar stone is discovered at El Zócalo, Mexico City.
1819 – Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia in Venezuela. Gran Colombia was the most prestigious country in Spanish America. John Quincy Adams, then Secretary of State & future president of the United States, claimed it to be one of the most powerful nations on the planet. This prestige, attracted to the nation unionist ideas of independence movements in Cuba, the Dominican Republic & Puerto Rico, which sought to form an associated state with the republic.
1862 –General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, & Kentucky.
1830 – Death Day of Simón Bolívar, 2nd President of Venezuela
1833 – Deathday of Kaspar Hauser, the rightful Prince of Baden, died on this after a murder attempt on 12.12.1833
The individuality that hides behind the Kaspar Hauser veil is a being which worked inspiringly into the Rosicrucian connection from the beginning, and then on 29th September 1812, incarnated as the son of Grand Duke Karl of Baden and his wife Stephanie de Beauharnais. Kaspar Hauser had an important mission of esoteric Christianity to fulfil….It is not a question of who …Kaspar Hauser was, but of what was to have been achieved by [him].
According to these thoughts of Rudolf Steiner, to concern oneself with Kaspar Hauser is to concern oneself with the future. Steiner draws attention to when Kaspar incarnated : Michaelmas in the year 1812; where : Baden in southern Germany; and the importance of his mission. To the above indications he added that Kaspar Hauser had been an angelic being and that he had been unable to discover any previous incarnation of Kaspar Hauser since Atlantis.
It was in Karlsruhe on 25th January 1910 that Rudolf Steiner gave the first public lecture of which we have a record about the Second Coming of Christ, which would take place, not in the physical body but in the etheric world, the spiritual region where, according to Steiner , angelic beings are most active between the Earth and the Moon. He said that this would commence in the 1930s, citing especially the years 1933, 1935 and 1937, which was, incidentally, a century after the death and slandering of Kaspar Hauser. It was also in Karlsruhe the following year at Michaelmas, almost exactly 99 years after Kaspar’s birth, that Steiner compared for the first time the methods of the Rosicrucians with those of the Jesuits. In those same lectures of 1911 given at Kaspar Hauser’s birthplace, Rudolf Steiner revealed one of the most profound teachings of esoteric Christianity – that of the nature of the human ‘Phantom’, or the Resurrection body.
Karl Heyer reports the well-authenticated remark of Steiner ‘s that: “if Kaspar Hauser had not lived and died as he did, the contact between the earth and the heavenly would have been completely severed.”
What was it that created the bridge that linked the second crucifixion and the second resurrection of Christ ? Steiner does not spell it out, but well over 100 years have now passed since the death of Kaspar Hauser, and so we can now at least put the question: was it not the sacrificial life and death of the angelic being of Kaspar Hauser there in the land of the Germans, the crossroads region of the heart of Europe, that built a spiritual bridge between heaven and earth at the time of Europe’s darkest materialism of mind and secured for mankind in the 20th century and for centuries afterwards the possibility of seeing the resurrected Etheric Christ?
And if Kaspar Hauser’s sacrificial life is so intimately related to this Second Crucifixion and Second Resurrection of Christ (Second Coming), does this not suggest that his spiritual significance is of a most profound and awesome nature? ~Terry Boardman
1873 – Birthday of Eleanor Charlotte Merry, an English poet, artist, musician & anthroposophist with a strong Celtic impulse & interest in esoteric wisdom. She studied in Vienna & met Rudolf Steiner in 1922 after becoming interested in his teachings. She went on to organize Summer Schools where Steiner gave lectures, & was secretary for the World Conference on Spiritual Science in London in 1928
Eleanor Charlotte Kynaston grew up in a liberal educational environment, her father being the well known classical scholar & professor of Ancient Greek, Herbert Snow aka Kynaston. It was only at the age of 13 that she began to attend a regular school. This was also when she began to take a passionate interest in music. Two years later, her father became Deacon of Durham, so Eleanor grew up close to the beautiful cathedral. She was able to read the manuscripts that were kept in the monastic library, walking up & down amongst the Norman columns of the cathedral & experienced something of a real, concrete history, something completely different from what she read in her schoolbooks. It was the myths & legends that captivated her, & she learned by heart Tennyson’s King Arthur.
The stream of scholars & theologians that entered their house fed her spiritual longings.
As she grew up, she sought a career as singer, wanting to study music & art. At 19, she left home for a course of study in Vienna, which led not only to a fine command of the German language & development of her musical skills but also placed her in a kind of artistic-aesthetic inner crisis. Soon after her return to England, she married the well-known Oxford surgeon Merry, to whose professional commitments Eleanor Merry was to devote much of her energy besides the rearing of their son & daughter.
She learnt about Theosophy at the beginning of World War I when a copy of the “Secret Doctrine” of H.P. Blavatsky was sent her by persons unknown. As she read it, she felt as if guided by some unseen hand, & studied further works of Annie Besant & other Theosophists. After the war, she was made aware of Rudolf Steiner’s Knowledge of the Higher Worlds. In January 1922 she met Daniel Nicol Dunlop in London for the first time. He was reading a lecture of Rudolf Steiner’s to the anthroposophical group there. A few months later, her husband died of pneumonia, after which she had her first personal conversation with DN Dunlop. Dunlop was still fired up with gratitude over his meeting with Rudolf Steiner some few weeks previously.
She took part in the conference “Spiritual Values in Education” in Oxford that August, where she met Rudolf Steiner personally for the first time. She saw him first in a corridor & by his gait & the manner in which he looked at her, she had the impression: “He knows where he is going.”
She assisted D.N. Dunlop in the preparation of the subsequent Summer School in Penmaenmawr the following year, where a further conversation with Rudolf Steiner took place in which he recommended to her the new techniques in painting that had been developed under his guidance. She was soon exhibiting publicly in London& elsewhere. He also advised her to form as strong a bond as possible with Dunlop. This summer school, devoted to the theme “The Evolution of Consciousness” was felt by Steiner to be a milestone in the development of the anthroposophical movement.
Eleanor was present at the founding of the new General Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland around New Year 1923/24.
The theme of the ensuing Summer School at Torquay in 1924, “True and False Paths in Spiritual Investigation” (GA 243), stemmed from a conversation she had with Rudolf Steiner on this occasion.
In her further work in Britain after Rudolf Steiner’s death, she wholeheartedly supported D.N. Dunlop’s efforts to create an open, inclusive & at the same time spiritually founded continuation of the anthroposophical work. She acted as secretary of the anthroposophical World Conference in London of 1928 &wrote a play around the figure of King Arthur for the youth conference initiated by David Clement in Glastonbury in 1932. More immediately than anyone, she experienced the dramatic events affecting Daniel Dunlop between 1929, when he became General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain & the spring of 1935, when he was expelled from the General Anthroposophical Society & died a short while later. After his death, she maintained intimate friendships with her half-sister, Marna Pease, Walter Johannes Stein & particularly Eugen Kolisko, whom she helped to build up the School for Spiritual Science, wrote numerous articles for their magazine “The Modern Mystic“, & wrote down the biographical notes Kolisko dictated to her. In the 1940s she led a painting school together with Maria Schindler as well as working with her on the book Pure Colour (1946), leading to large public exhibitions.
Holiday Market at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago 18 December 2021 – from 11 am – 4 pm
Thursday 23 December 2021 – The Eve of the Eve – 11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET / 7 pm UTC
A Christmas Festival with Christian Community Priest Rev. Jeana Lee, Movement with Lucien Dante Lazar
‘Divine Love and the Holy Child Within’
This will be a hybrid in-person & Zoom event Featuring our 2 camera technology with Mary Spalding
Doors open at 12:30 pm (Zoom Room open 12:45 pm for Social time) Snacks to Share Encouraged
Suggested donation $15.00 – At the door or via the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal donation site – *Please make a note on the first line – type in: “Christmas Fest”! The Festival will be recorded
All around the world the season of midwinter is the traditional time for community bonding through storytelling. In laying the groundwork for the 100-year anniversary of the Christmas Conference, we bring the ancient Sumerian saga “The Epic of Gilgamesh” to life. Rudolf Steiner explored this story in Occult History during the Holy Nights of 1910; and again with the lectures “World History in the Light of Anthroposophy” given during those fateful Holy Nights in 1923 for the re-founding of the Society.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is perhaps the oldest written tale on Earth. The Sumerian version dates from around 3000 B.C. Later it was compiled from 12 clay tablets written in Akkadian cuneiform.
It is the “Hero’s Journey” of human evolution, a story of friendship, and a quest for the meaning of life – revealing Steiner’s core mission of bringing karma and reincarnation to the west.
Myths, fairytales, historical epics, and sagas open us up to powerful archetypes behind the human condition, revealing clues to ourselves – from the past, the present, and the future. What will we uncover about ourselves and each other during this year’s Holy Nights adventure in storytelling?
Tune in for any or all of the episodes of this dramatic reading, re-worked by Hazel Archer from various translations, and featuring friends from around the world.
What: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Story Telling during the Holy Nights hosted by the ASA, Hazel Archer, and friends.
Time: 22 minutes daily at 9 am PT / 10 am MT / 11 am CT / 12 pm ET / 5 pm UTC
Dates: December 24, 2021- January 5, 2022 for 13 consecutive days Can’t join us live? No problem. Each gathering will be recorded and posted on our Holy Nights page (link will be emailed upon registration).
How: Register Here! Then check your email for confirmation with the Zoom registration link.
Eurythmy for the Holy Nights with Jan Ranck ‘Tuning to the Stars’: Sacred Geometry, the Planets and the Zodiac
LIVE IN-PERSON 26-30 Dec. 2021 at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 4 pm – 5 pm And at 7pm on 31 Dec. as part of our Annual NYE Gathering (details below)
$100 for all 6 sessions, or $22 for each individual session.
Make your payment using the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal or QuickPay with Zelle to chase@rschicago.org (Please indicate in the notes that it is for the “Holy Nights Eurythmy”)
Cash at the door, or send a check to: Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 North Lincoln Avenue Chicago, IL 60618-2953 USA
* Jan Ranck – Born in the USA, Jan Ranck studied music and comparative arts at Indiana University in Bloomington. She accompanied the London Stage Group on their 1976 USA tour and went on to study eurythmy at the Eurythmeum in Dornach with Lea van der Pals, where she subsequently taught. In 1984 she joined the faculty of The London School of Eurythmy. She left there to complete her eurythmy therapy training in Stuttgart in 1989, moving afterward to Israel, where she founded and directed the Jerusalem Eurythmy Ensemble (1990) and the Jerusalem Academy of Eurythmy (1992) and was an instructor in the Jerusalem Waldorf Teacher Bachelor Program in David Yellin Academic College from 1999. Jan has held Master Classes at various venues worldwide, including the Goetheanum and the MA Program in Eurythmy held at Emerson College and Spring Valley. She is the representative for Israel in the International Eurythmy Therapy Forum.
Friday 31 December 2021 Doors open at 6:30 pm
Join us for our Annual NYE Conscious Community Gathering – The Theme for 2022 is Cabaret – a Cultural Sharing!
All are invited to take the stage with an offering.
Circles Edge & other Waldorf alum will also perform
Please bring Food & Drink to share
$20 Cash at the door or Make your payment using the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal or QuickPay with Zelle to chase@rschicago.org (Please indicate in the notes that it is for the “NYE”)
All proceeds go to support the Rudolf Steiner Branch – the young People hosting & The Band (Can’t make it? send a $ gift PayPal)
7 – 8 pm – Holy Nights Eurythmy with Jan Ranck (separate fee $22 see above)
8 pm – Potluck Social
8:30 pm – Circles Edge & Friends warm the stage & host the open mic
Dear friends – I am finding this 3rd week of Advent to be particularly challenging. After taking in some thoughts given in the comments – thank you Kyle, Maverick, Steve, Nicholas, Rick…I will continue to grapple…Please add your comments below to further the conversation…
Focus: The Astral World Symbol: the animal Abandoned by: Guardian Angels Virtues: Bravery, fortitude and presence of mind Beware of temptation to lose your self-control
Ok, so I am learning how in the Air trial we see how we imprint or project ourselves & our thoughts into the world, both good & bad. The world thinks in us & we think in the world.
Ordinary sense based thinking has to be silenced so that it can unite with a harmonious will. When thought is willed it becomes an organ of perception. It becomes conscious of the way our Astral body penetrates into the world & becomes one with all we see.
When we do this we realize that we are the creators of the future, we imprint outwardly what we think inwardly & this becomes the outer world that we will face today – & even imprints our physical bodies in our next incarnation.
More & more it is being revealed that the Cyber World has 2 sides – it can be a tool for communion, or it can be used to further the advent of the ‘8th Sphere’ which has risen higher than ever before into the realm of the human soul – causing a kind of unconsciousness paralysis in the human will. This unconsciousness is the 1st layer – allowing the melding of human thought with demonic delusion to take place.
The only way to counteract the attacks on human thinking is to free it thru spiritual exercises that create a consciousness in all 3 soul forces, so that thinking becomes an awakened organ of will– in alignment with Divine Will.
Working with after images & complementary colors is the new Christic Yoga for this Michaelic age. We must use Lucifer’s gift of imagination as a tool – but we don’t use fantasy, we employ cognitive imagination to activate our Divine Will – this does not allow the Luciferic powers to interfere or the Ahrimanic beings to enslave.
We are meant to learn to breathe light in thru our transformed organ of thought & breathe it out thru our eyes – to shine healing grace out into the sense bound world.
When we look out into the world in this way we see how our soul can be a beacon of light revealing the spirit in all things so that we see the essence – We breathe light in & out! In this way we don’t see the physical world lit up only by electric light, but by our spiritual light.
But yes, my friends, in doing this we will also come face to face with all that is dark & imperfect in our soul. What lives inside us unconsciously is now lit up to be looked at – & we are faced with what we are. This is the first thing we see when we do these exercises.
We lose the floor from under our feet, we are up in the air without a foothold – we recognize the dross we carry unconsciously – which is what we imprint on the world around us.
Friends let’s break the spell that wants to keep us trapped in the 8th sphere – which is striving to be the new normal.
We must become capable of seeing this dross & transforming it in the light of Christ, so that by working on perfecting our lower desires, thru moral thinking, we can build together – the Temple of our true heart – where love lives.
This lecture by Rudolf Steiner explains it much better than I can: The Mission of the Archangel Michael. Lecture 6 – The Ancient Yoga Culture and the New Yoga Will. The Michael Culture of the Future, November 30, 1919
“We shall have the possibility of grasping, the nature of the sense process of man in its relation to the outer world. Man’s conceptions are very coarse and clumsy, indeed, which maintain that the outer world merely acts upon us and we, in turn, merely react upon it. In reality, there takes place a soul process from the outside toward the inside, which is taken hold of by the deeply subconscious, inner soul process, so that the two processes overlap. From outside, cosmic thoughts work into us, from inside, humanity’s will works outward. Humanity’s will and cosmic thought cross in this crossing point, just as the objective and the subjective element once crossed in the breath. We must learn to feel how our will works through our eyes and how the activity of the senses delicately mingles with the passivity, bringing about the crossing of cosmic thoughts and humanity’s will. We must develop this new Yoga will. Then something will be imparted to us that of like nature to that which was imparted to human beings in the breathing process three millennia ago. Our comprehension must become much more soul-like, much more spiritual. If we learn, in nature, to receive the soul element together with sense perception, then we shall have the Christ relationship to outer nature. This Christ relationship to outer nature will be something like a kind of spiritual breathing process.”
16 December 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Left of Orion after dinnertime is the constellation Gemini. Castor and Pollux, the head stars of the Gemini stick-figure twins, are at its left end; the twins are lying on their sides. Castor is the higher one. Bella Luna crosses Taurus as it waxes toward full, on the night of the 18th.
Comet Leonard has been emerging just above the southwest horizon in evening twilight, a little bit higher each day
1859 – Death day of Wilhelm Grimm, German anthropologist and author – the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm.
1900 – Deathday of Karl Julius Schröer, Rudolf Steiner’s professor – Steiner speaks about him in his Karmic Relationships Lectures in Vol 4, lecture 10 his former incarnations as Plato / Hroswitha are given. He was the son of the educator and writer Tobias Gottfried Schröer (Socrates in a former life)
1901 – Birthday of Margaret Mead, American anthropologist and author
Holiday Market at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago 18 December 2021 – from 11 am – 4 pm
Thursday 23 December 2021 – The Eve of the Eve – 11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET / 7 pm UTC
A Christmas Festival with Christian Community Priest Rev. Jeana Lee, Movement with Lucien Dante Lazar
‘Divine Love and the Holy Child Within’
This will be a hybrid in-person & Zoom event Featuring our 2 camera technology with Mary Spalding
Doors open at 12:30 pm (Zoom Room open 12:45 pm for Social time) Snacks to Share Encouraged
Suggested donation $15.00 – At the door or via the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal donation site – *Please make a note on the first line – type in: “Christmas Fest”! The Festival will be recorded
All around the world the season of midwinter is the traditional time for community bonding through storytelling. In laying the groundwork for the 100-year anniversary of the Christmas Conference, we bring the ancient Sumerian saga “The Epic of Gilgamesh” to life. Rudolf Steiner explored this story in Occult History during the Holy Nights of 1910; and again with the lectures “World History in the Light of Anthroposophy” given during those fateful Holy Nights in 1923 for the re-founding of the Society.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is perhaps the oldest written tale on Earth. The Sumerian version dates from around 3000 B.C. Later it was compiled from 12 clay tablets written in Akkadian cuneiform.
It is the “Hero’s Journey” of human evolution, a story of friendship, and a quest for the meaning of life – revealing Steiner’s core mission of bringing karma and reincarnation to the west.
Myths, fairytales, historical epics, and sagas open us up to powerful archetypes behind the human condition, revealing clues to ourselves – from the past, the present, and the future. What will we uncover about ourselves and each other during this year’s Holy Nights adventure in storytelling?
Tune in for any or all of the episodes of this dramatic reading, re-worked by Hazel Archer from various translations, and featuring friends from around the world.
What: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Story Telling during the Holy Nights hosted by the ASA, Hazel Archer, and friends.
Time: 22 minutes daily at 9 am PT / 10 am MT / 11 am CT / 12 pm ET / 5 pm UTC
Dates: December 24, 2021- January 5, 2022 for 13 consecutive days Can’t join us live? No problem. Each gathering will be recorded and posted on our Holy Nights page (link will be emailed upon registration).
How: Register Here! Then check your email for confirmation with the Zoom registration link.
Eurythmy for the Holy Nights with Jan Ranck ‘Tuning to the Stars’: Sacred Geometry, the Planets and the Zodiac
LIVE IN-PERSON 26-30 Dec. 2021 at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 4 pm – 5 pm And at 7pm on 31 Dec. as part of our Annual NYE Gathering (details below)
$100 for all 6 sessions, or $22 for each individual session.
Make your payment using the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal or QuickPay with Zelle to chase@rschicago.org (Please indicate in the notes that it is for the “Holy Nights Eurythmy”)
Cash at the door, or send a check to: Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 North Lincoln Avenue Chicago, IL 60618-2953 USA
* Jan Ranck – Born in the USA, Jan Ranck studied music and comparative arts at Indiana University in Bloomington. She accompanied the London Stage Group on their 1976 USA tour and went on to study eurythmy at the Eurythmeum in Dornach with Lea van der Pals, where she subsequently taught. In 1984 she joined the faculty of The London School of Eurythmy. She left there to complete her eurythmy therapy training in Stuttgart in 1989, moving afterward to Israel, where she founded and directed the Jerusalem Eurythmy Ensemble (1990) and the Jerusalem Academy of Eurythmy (1992) and was an instructor in the Jerusalem Waldorf Teacher Bachelor Program in David Yellin Academic College from 1999. Jan has held Master Classes at various venues worldwide, including the Goetheanum and the MA Program in Eurythmy held at Emerson College and Spring Valley. She is the representative for Israel in the International Eurythmy Therapy Forum.
Friday 31 December 2021 Doors open at 6:30 pm
Join us for our Annual NYE Conscious Community Gathering – The Theme for 2022 is Cabaret – a Cultural Sharing!
All are invited to take the stage with an offering.
Circles Edge & other Waldorf alum will also perform
Please bring Food & Drink to share
$20 Cash at the door or Make your payment using the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal or QuickPay with Zelle to chase@rschicago.org (Please indicate in the notes that it is for the “NYE”)
All proceeds go to support the Rudolf Steiner Branch – the young People hosting & The Band (Can’t make it? send a $ gift PayPal)
7 – 8 pm – Holy Nights Eurythmy with Jan Ranck (separate fee $22 see above)
8 pm – Potluck Social
8:30 pm – Circles Edge & Friends warm the stage & host the open mic
Greetings friends on this 1st Sunday of Advent – I slept-in this morning, allowing myself to stay in that hypnogogic space with 1 foot in the spiritual world & 1 foot out – conscious that I was making a vow to my angel to enter deeply into this Advent season. I felt the presence of Rev. Richard Dancey, who years ago was Joseph to my Mary in the Oberufer Plays. I remember researching that tradition & discovering how the whole village would enter into a kind of sacrificial fasting in preparation for holding the essence of those divine archetypes. I have decided in lieu of my recent misstep that led to my foot turning into a big black & blue balloon, that I need to stop & take stock – to let go of all the vices that I have let creep into my habit life.
Interesting to note that during the 4 weeks of Advent the Sun is passing through the stars of Scorpio. The term “advent” – is Latin for ‘that which is coming’. So this is the time of preparation, of waiting in the dark, for the return of the light, at Winter Solstice, & it is deeply connected with the challenge of the Scorpion. – Can we overcome the consequences of error & evil that has separated us from our true divine nature? Advent can be seen as the time of transforming the fallen parts of our souls, so we can truly meet the Christmas birth.
Cornelis Cornelisz
In the northern hemisphere the darkness & death of nature mirror the descent of humanity from the light into the darkness of matter at the Fall. This time of Advent, reflects our journey away from the Divine Sun into the lower realm as represented by Scorpio. This descent began during the epoch of evolution known as ‘Ancient Moon’ – in the course of the rebellion called the ‘War in Heaven’ with the later infusion of Luciferic tendencies upon the human astral body.
“But now an event occurred that gave evolution a new turn. Beings who had a certain leading connection with that part of the Moon cosmos…became “rebellious”. This Moon rebellion changed the character of the human beings. They now had a soul body, as we said. They were thereby able to have inner sensations, emotions, etc., but now introduced into their inner nature was the impulse to develop a dim sense of independence, of segregation and of divorce from the higher spiritual world. These impulses prepared them to later become egoists. Those beings who initiated this development were later on perceived as the Serpent who brought about the Fall of humanity and the loss of paradise, according to the Book of Genesis. We find that Moon rebellion recorded in the script of the constellation of Scorpion.” (Willi Sucher, Isis Sophia II, Part Two, The Evolution of Ancient Moon)
Bruegel
Rudolf Steiner also describes this rebellion in Occult Science: An Outline & from another perspective in, The Spiritual Hierarchies and their Reflection in the Physical World: “Beings from the sphere of the Mights (Dynamis), to put it tritely, were detached; they were placed in the course of evolution so as to bring about obstacles instead of acting as progressive influences. We have come to know this as the War in Heaven….[later in Lemurian times]..The beings who stayed behind, whom we call Luciferic beings approached the human astral body –they were unable to reach the “I” – and injected into the astral body the results of the War in Heaven…humans now had been given the possibility of error and evil, but at the same time also received the capacity to rise above error and evil through their own strength…Thus we can see that only because the Dynamis were given adverse orders did humans receive the possibility of reaching their goal by means of their own powers, something that even the Seraphim cannot attain through their own endeavors. That is the crucial fact…Humans have to fulfill a completely new mission in the world, the mission we have just characterized, and descended into the earthly world in order to accomplish it. Christ came into the world as man’s free helper; not as a God working from above, but as the first-born among many.”
Advent is that time of the year to come to terms with the consequences of the error & evil that is in our own astral nature, reflected in our society so strongly today, as well as doing the work to develop the strength to overcome these tendencies in our self & in the world, so that we might prepare the way for the birth of Christ in us at Christmas-tide. This is our activity now for every human being during Advent. It is in this confrontation & transformation of evil in our lives, in our time, that we can begin to renovate the stars of Scorpion, to offer back to the divine what has fallen away, out of freedom.
Advent is a true festival of our current time in world evolution. This is a karmic call to humanity to awaken to this path of spiritual development with its focus on the confrontation with evil in our time.
The transformation of the Scorpion, not this time into the eagle, but into the dove, this must be our work – Opening to the Christ flame, the true I Am, born anew in the chalice of the heart at Christmas.
This ‘missing of the mark’ that led to my injury on Thanksgiving day has forced me to take a break from many outer activities. I am working hard to connect inwardly to the love, conscience & intelligence of my higher self, listening deeply to what is coming up in my thoughts & feelings. I offer them up as questions, as hopes, for transformation, for healing, for redemption of my lower self. It’s hard to sit still, to wait, to be observant, to be malleable & open to change. I have already received many not so pleasant insights into parts of myself that need purification, terrifying, or shameful glimpses into my double. Sometimes coming from very unexpected sources, blunt synchronicities, uncanny dreams & visions.
The Christian Community homily for this week speaks of this turbulent time: 1st Advent – Luke 21:25-36
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And men will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory.
And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and lift up [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.
And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [behold] the fig-tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this, you know yourselves that summer is near. So also when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of Man’s being shall not pass away until all has happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be smothered by an excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly like a snare…for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man”.
Sulamith Wülfing
We celebrate Advent to awaken our connection with the cosmic purpose in the Universe. Can we use this time to become more aware of the way in which we are disconnected from our source? Can we strive to awaken our purpose, as we work to remember our Divine origin?
I think of the Mother God gestating the emergent body of Jesus within her. Every breath she takes, every beat of her heart, every thought in her mind, devoted to forming the perfect human being capable of holding the divine.
I think of the approaching soul of Jesus, the pure, innocent Nathan soul, described in Luke’s Gospel, preparing to enter into this immaculate body – This soul which has never incarnated into a human being before.
I can’t help comparing that original purity & dignity of humanity with the way people treat each other now-a-days – so much derision, disrespect & hatred, all the discrimination, how can these lies appear to so many as truth, a delusion that they are willing to enslave others for?
Then I try to think about how this is part of some great plan to wake us up, to divide the wheat from the chaff, so that we can reclaim our place in the universe as conscious, Christened human beings.
RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler
First Advent Sunday today. Perhaps last week’s mystery verse of the re-enlivening of old treasure could have been called Advent Prelude. Now… can it find itself anew in the soul’s creative impulse? ADVENT I Can True Being Inspire Me? v35 Can I true being know that it may find itself anew within my soul’s creative urge? I feel a power trusting me to make my Self with modesty a member of the Cosmic Self.
This verse and its mirror are the only question verses.
LAMMASTIDE II Can I Imagine Spiritual Need? v18 Can I make wide my soul that she unite with seed of Cosmic Word conceived? I feel my foresight asking me to find the strangth my soul will need to form her spirit garment worthily.
Holiday Market at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago 18 December 2021 – from 11 am – 4 pm
Dear friends – Please Join Us as move toward the Winter Festival Season:
Thursday 23 December 2021 – The Eve of the Eve – 11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET / 7 pm UTC
A Christmas Festival with Heart-Opening Movement by Lucien Dante Lazar & a talk by our Christian Community Priest Rev. Jeana Lee
‘Divine Love and the Holy Child Within’
This will be a hybrid in-person & Zoom event Featuring our 2 camera technology with Mary Spalding
Doors open at 12:30 pm (Zoom Room open 12:45 pm for Social time) Snacks to Share Encouraged
Suggested donation $15.00 cash payment at the door or via the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal donation site – *Please make a note on the first line – type in: “Christmas Fest”! The Festival will be recorded
All around the world the season of midwinter is the traditional time for community bonding through storytelling. In laying the groundwork for the 100-year anniversary of the Christmas Conference, we bring the ancient Sumerian saga “The Epic of Gilgamesh” to life. Rudolf Steiner explored this story in Occult History during the Holy Nights of 1910; and again with the lectures “World History in the Light of Anthroposophy” given during those fateful Holy Nights in 1923 for the re-founding of the Society.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is perhaps the oldest written tale on Earth. The Sumerian version dates from around 3000 B.C. Later it was compiled from 12 clay tablets written in Akkadian cuneiform.
It is the “Hero’s Journey” of human evolution, a story of friendship, and a quest for the meaning of life – revealing Steiner’s core mission of bringing karma and reincarnation to the west.
Myths, fairytales, historical epics, and sagas open us up to powerful archetypes behind the human condition, revealing clues to ourselves – from the past, the present, and the future. What will we uncover about ourselves and each other during this year’s Holy Nights adventure in storytelling?
Tune in for any or all of the episodes of this dramatic reading, re-worked by Hazel Archer from various translations, and featuring friends from around the world.
What: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Story Telling during the Holy Nights hosted by the ASA, Hazel Archer, and friends.
Time: 22 minutes daily at 9 am PT / 10 am MT / 11 am CT / 12 pm ET / 5 pm UTC
Dates: December 24, 2021- January 5, 2022 for 13 consecutive days Can’t join us live? No problem. Each gathering will be recorded and posted on our Holy Nights page (link will be emailed upon registration).
How: Register Here! Then check your email for confirmation with the Zoom registration link.
Eurythmy for the Holy Nights with Jan Ranck ‘Tuning to the Stars’: Sacred Geometry, the Planets and the Zodiac
LIVE IN-PERSON 26-30 Dec. 2021 at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 4 pm – 5 pm And at 7pm on 31 Dec. as part of our Annual NYE Gathering (details below)
$100 for all 6 sessions, or $22 for each individual session.
Make your payment using the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal or QuickPay with Zelle to chase@rschicago.org (Please indicate in the notes that it is for the “Holy Nights Eurythmy”)
Cash at the door, or send a check to: Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 North Lincoln Avenue Chicago, IL 60618-2953 USA
* Jan Ranck – Born in the USA, Jan Ranck studied music and comparative arts at Indiana University in Bloomington. She accompanied the London Stage Group on their 1976 USA tour and went on to study eurythmy at the Eurythmeum in Dornach with Lea van der Pals, where she subsequently taught. In 1984 she joined the faculty of The London School of Eurythmy. She left there to complete her eurythmy therapy training in Stuttgart in 1989, moving afterward to Israel, where she founded and directed the Jerusalem Eurythmy Ensemble (1990) and the Jerusalem Academy of Eurythmy (1992) and was an instructor in the Jerusalem Waldorf Teacher Bachelor Program in David Yellin Academic College from 1999. Jan has held Master Classes at various venues worldwide, including the Goetheanum and the MA Program in Eurythmy held at Emerson College and Spring Valley. She is the representative for Israel in the International Eurythmy Therapy Forum.
Friday 31 December 2021 Doors open at 6:30 pm
Join us for our Annual NYE Conscious Community Gathering – The Theme for 2022 is Cabaret – a Cultural Sharing!
All are invited to take the stage with an offering.
Circles Edge & other Waldorf alum will also perform
Please bring Festival Food & Drink to share
$20 Cash at the door or Make your payment using the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal or QuickPay with Zelle to chase@rschicago.org (Please indicate in the notes that it is for the “NYE”)
All proceeds go to support the Rudolf Steiner Branch – the young People hosting & The Band (Can’t make it? Send a $ gift PayPal)
7 – 8 pm – Eurythmy with Jan Ranck (separate fee $22 see above)
8 pm – Potluck Social
8:30 pm – Circles Edge & Friends warm the stage & host the open mic
Tuesday 4 January 2022 – (Zoom Details TBA) 11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET / 7 pm UTC
a talk with Christian Community Priest & Lenker for North America Rev. Craig Wiggins: ‘From Bethlehem to Golgotha: Birthing the Christ within at Epiphany’
