some of the Nashville Group Whitsunday 9 June 2019
The last time I was in the Nashville/Knoxville area was on the ecclesiastical Whitsun weekend 2019. My dear friend Elisabeth Swisher went with me to bring her gifts of music, & to be the primary driver. We left Chicago on June 5th, made our way to Fox Hollow farm & the botanic gardens near Louisville Kentucky, & then brought my Rose Cross program to Nashville.
Elisabeth Swisher at the Botanic Gardens outside Louisville June 2019
While we were doing eurythmy during the festival, I felt the presence of Don Brakebill, who was born on a ranch in the Rockford/Maryville area, our next stop on the tour. I spoke it out to the group that Don was smiling, close to the Threshold, but with us. Later, we heard from Charlotte that Don her husband was not doing well. We arrived in Knoxville to do the Festival on ecclesiastical Whitsunday June 9th 2019. Early that morning Don Crossed the Threshold. We dedicated the program to him, & carried Charlotte & his spirit strongly as a group on that auspicious day.
~hag,AGM 2019 Atlanta Facing Each Other
After the AGM in Atlanta in October this year, I brought my All Souls workshop to Asheville NC; which was a wild ride, opening my psyche to some intense encounters with the Spirit of that Place. I knew it was important to also take it to my friends in Nashville & Knoxville in the light of Don’s passing, especially as Charlotte & I were in conversation around research into the life between death & rebirth.
~hag,CG & UVA Knoxville 2018
I could not find a local friend to be my co-pilot on the journey. My husband & daughter had come with me on a previous occasion, but the timing was off – Was I to travel alone this time?
~hag, Angela Foster Host of the Groups & Branches pre-conference in Atlanta 2019
Then Angela Foster, our amazing host for the recent AGM in Atlanta, contacted me saying ‘I feel we were working together in the night’, she shared an image of a blue circle.
~hag, the red mountains of Asheville Oct. 2019
I shared a dream I had that same night inspired by my time in the mountains of Asheville: ‘A circle of women were on the mountain. So many shooting stars. We watched a meteor – a burning streak – hit the ground in the center where were standing, creating a steaming ditch in the red earth.
The sun rose, & I was alone. I walked over to the ditch & something pushed me in. I stepped on the still hot cosmic iron with my bare feet & my left foot starting bleeding; but then the red blood turned into clear fresh water & I knew it was feeding the earth. I awoke to wild winds, & went to the lake to watch the sun rise.
Marta Such
This mixing of the blue & the red was something that has lived in Angela & me since I talked about it in my ‘Cain & Abel’ presentation on the 2 streams for the AGM in New Orleans.
Angela said, why don’t you fly into Atlanta & I will be the driver for the tour!
She was pondering the question & idea that MLK was born & did so much of his work in Atlanta, but he chose to die in Memphis. This needed to be a stop on the road-trip.
We took the idea into our sleep for 3 nights, & it became clear –
Ivy Green birth place of Helen Keller photo by Deb Abrahams-Dematte
YES, we must take this journey, stopping also at the birthplace of Helen Keller, & offering the program in Auburn Alabama for Helena Burkart & her many friends, as well as exploring Muscle Shoals, located alongside the Tennessee River, the unlikely sacred ground for some of America’s most creative & defiant music, born under the spiritual influence of the ‘Singing River‘ as Native Americans called it.
sorry i can’t get it to turn, selfie by Deb
Feeling the call to out-picture the ‘3 sisters’ which resonates so strongly for us, Angela suggested we reach out to our dear friend Deb Abrahams-Dematte, Director of Development for the Anthroposophical Society in America, who was so present at the recent AGM. And so the ball was rolling for our All Souls Southern Tour…
stay tuned as the journey continues…
***
POD (Poem Of the Day)
Carrie Ann Baade
~ I meet the angel guarding the gate The broken bulk of her wing I bear across my shoulders Hot is the searing of her sigil in my brow I roam in my vigil breathing darkly Annealed in sacred light Seeking the seal of her cloak ~hag
***
22 November 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Venus & Jupiter meet low in the southwest during twilight. On Saturday & Sunday evenings they’ll appear even closer. Right after it’s fully dark, Vega is the brightest star, higher in the west. Its little constellation Lyra extends to its left or lower left. Farther in the same direction, about a fist and a half at arm’s length from Vega, is Albireo, the beak of Cygnus. Farther on in the same direction are Tarazed, & just past it, Altair.
November 22 is the 326th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 39 days remain until the end of the year. In the ancient astrology, it is the cusp day between Scorpio & Sagittarius. In some years it is Sagittarius, but others Scorpio.
Feast Day of Saint Cecilia patroness of musicians.
1744 – Birthday of Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, 2nd First Lady of the United States
1819 – Birthday of Mary Ann Evans known by her pen name George Eliot, an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator & one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Throughout her career, Eliot wrote with a politically astute pen, presenting the cases of social outsiders, small-town persecution & depictions of rural society. Much of the material for her prose was drawn from her own experience. She shared with Wordsworth the belief that there was much value & beauty to be found in the mundane details of ordinary country life.
1963 – Deathday of President John F. Kennedy, assassinated by the CIA.
1963 – Birthday of C. S. Lewis, British writer, critic & Christian apologist – one of the ‘Inklings’, some of whom were academics at Oxford University: Owen Barfield, J. A. W. Bennett, J. R. R. Tolkien, Percy Bates…
1968 – The Beatles release The White Album.
1999 – Birthday ofUltra-Violet Archer, born 11.22.99 butt 1st on the Full Moon 9:44 pm.
A Poem for your 20th natal return:
You, who is making the withered tracery sing Ensouling tress with your haloed heart Golden in the choral glow. Linger dear one Over the calyx of a rose & listen. Then ask. Watch your fingers creasing the lucent strings of rain The graceful vibrato condensing in a modern mist of sound A lacework stroking & cloaking your senses Do you see how the soaked lily inclines So reverently in the grist of your holy ground? ~hag
Greetings friends – The question for me is always, where do I start? For this 1st installment of the write-up for the ‘All Souls Southern Tour’, what came was to just be real, to be vulnerable, to start with the genesis of my own All Souls healing journey. And so it is:
~photo by Angela Foster
Verse for Our Beloved Dead by Rudolf Steiner:
May my heart-love reach to soul-love. May my love’s warmth shine to spirit light. Thus, I draw near to you. Thinking spiritual thoughts with you, Feeling cosmic love in you, Willing in spirit through you – Weaving with you One in experience.
~hag
I have always had an ‘Ancestor Shrine’. A kind of altar table layered with pictures, Mass cards, candles, crystals, bells, art offerings & the letters I written to the dead over the years. My Strega Nona taught me to place a fresh glass of water there every morning with a greeting. Starting with the Michaelmas season I often feel a pull to consciously tune in more. Sometimes I awake with the idea to bring a favorite food or an urge to sit there in meditation, or offer my research or reading; this ‘altar’ is after all, right next to my computer in my study where I do all my spiritual scientific work. Last year I began to know that I could recite the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ with my parents in mind. For many years it was difficult for me to engage with them, as the karmic knot was too tight, too painful. But my angel insisted, & so I push thru, & little by little the forgiveness & healing expands into all worlds.
~hag
As fate would have it a few years ago I was asked to come out to Nashville & Knoxville TN. to bring various anthroposophical programs, & I knew it was another opportunity for me to do some ancestral healing.
~hag
I have spoken about how my mother’s people came to the Knoxville/Milan/Skullbone TN area from Ireland. They raped & pillaged into the Chickasaw tribe, intermarrying, but then proceeding to become founders of the KKK in that area. Feeling the shame of the ‘sins of the father’s’, I had avoided the South all my life, going only once before when I was in a band, stopping in while on tour, for a family reunion after my mother had died.
~hag
I often imagine that my parents are still in the Kamaloca phase in their life between death & rebirth. Our dear Dr. Steiner shares with us that the human soul spends the beginning of this journey in what he refers to as the ‘Region of Burning Desires’ (in Hindu it is called Kamaloca, or in Christian verbiage-purgatory). On average we spend 1/3 of our lives in sleep, the little death, & so it is that we spend this same ratio purifying our passions, coming to terms with & reviewing our recent life on earth. This is a crucial time to reach across the threshold to help those on the other side in this phase closest to earth, especially since they are experiencing our time together. And so I offer them this Steiner Prayer:
I look to you in the spirit world In which you are. May my love mitigate your heat. May my love mitigate you’re cold. May it come through to you and help you To find the way From the spirit’s darkness To the spirit’s light.
Tomorrow my girl turns 20. & I know the work that I do on healing the ancestral line will reverberate into the future for all my relations…
~photo by Angela Foster
I am so grateful to my Southern friends, who have allowed me to meet this part of myself, thru the work that I share, to do some deep healing; welcoming me into their communities, which I see as my chosen family.
~hag
Coming this time for our ‘All Souls Southern Tour’, there was a big shift,
which I will go into tomorrow.
Thanks for walking with me on the path…
~hag
***
~Barbara Mckernan
POD (Poem Of the Day)
~The clouds cut A formless form Into the heavy throne of some kind of queen Only never my mother. & yet a clue unfolds & holds The encoded map Star clusters speaking the scope Of the stream, sunk In the occlusion of tears & corals Pried away from glistening birds Weaving treasures into stinging prayers & future symphonies. ~hag
***
21 November 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Look for Bella Luna waning in the east next to Regulus the next few mornings.
A very obscure meteor shower known as the Alpha Monocerotids is currently plowing streams of dusty particles that sputter off comet nuclei when they approach the Sun. The peak occurs TONIGHTstarting around 10:50 pm CST. The shower’s radiant is in the obscure constellation of Monoceros, the Unicorn, not far from the bright star Procyon, the easternmost star in the Great Winter Circle. Procyon will be low in the eastern sky at 10 pm.
164 BCE – Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restores the Temple in Jerusalem. This event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah.
1676 – The Danish astronomer Ole Rømer presents the first quantitative measurements of the speed of light.
1694 – Birthday of Voltaire, a French Enlightenment writer, historian, & philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church, as well as his advocacy of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile & prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, & historical & scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters & more than 2,000 books & pamphlets. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. He adopted the name Voltaire in 1718, following his incarceration at the Bastille. It is an anagram of AROVET LI, the Latinized spelling of his surname, Arouet, & the initial letters of le jeune (“the young”). According to a family tradition he was known as le petit volontaire (“determined little thing”) as a child, & he resurrected a variant of the name in his adult life. The name also reverses the syllables of Airvault, his family’s home town in the Poitou region. Voltaire perceived the French bourgeoisie to be too small and ineffective, the aristocracy to be parasitic and corrupt, the commoners as ignorant and superstitious, and the Church as a static and oppressive force useful only on occasion as a counterbalance to the rapacity of kings, although all too often, even more rapacious itself. Voltaire distrusted democracy, which he saw as propagating the idiocy of the masses. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, & the French institutions of his day.
1783
– In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de
Rozier & François Laurent d’Arlandes, make the first untethered hot air
balloon flight.
1789 – North Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution & is admitted as the 12th U.S. state.
1811 – Death day of Heinrich von Kleist, German poet & author, spoken about by Rudolf Steiner in THE INNER ASPECT OF THE MOON-EMBODIMENT OF THE EARTH.How can we fail to recognise that this man’s spirit in its entirety as he stands before us, is an actual living embodiment of that which dwells in the depths of the Soul, which we must trace back to something other than the life of earth if we wish to recognise it? Has not Heinrich Von Kleist described in the most significant manner what may live within a man (a description of which you will find at the very beginning of The Spiritual Guidance of Man and Mankind), as something transcending him and driving him, and which he will only understand later on if he does not snap the threads of his life before! Think of his ‘Penthesilea’; how much more there is in her than she can span with her earthly consciousness! We should not be able to describe her at all, did we not take for granted that her Soul was immeasurably further advanced than the narrow little soul (although it was a great one) which she could span with her earthly consciousness. Hence a situation must arise which artistically introduces the whole process of the Drama. Indeed, it was necessary to prevent the whole transaction — which Kleist introduces with Achilles — from being grasped with the higher consciousness; otherwise the whole tragedy could not be perceived. Hence Achilles is called ‘her’ Achilles. What lies in the higher consciousness must be plunged into the non-conscious. Again, what part does this subconsciousness play in Katchen Von Heilbronn, especially in the remarkable relation between her and Wetter Von Strahl, which plays no part in the higher consciousness, but in the deeper strata of the Soul where dwells the forces of which man knows nothing, which pass from one to another. When we have this before us we can trace the spiritual nature of the world’s forces of gravity and attraction. For instance, in the scene where Katchen stands before her admirers, do we not feel what lives in the subconsciousness, and how it is related to what is outside in the world which has been dryly called the forces of our planet’s attractions? Yet only 100 years ago a truly penetrating and striving mind was not able to find his way into that subconsciousness. But it must be done to-day. And the tragedy of a Prince of Homburg strikes us in a very different way now. I should like to know how an abstract thinker, one who accounts for everything by reason alone, could account for a figure such as the Prince of Homburg, who carried out all his great deeds in a kind of dream-state, even those leading finally to victory. Kleist indicates very clearly that he could not possibly gain the victory by means of his higher consciousness, for as far as that was concerned he was not a particularly great man, for he whines and whimpers over everything he has to do. Only when by a special effort of the will, he brings up what dwells in the depths of his Soul, does he play the man.
1877 – Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound.
1905 – Albert Einstein’s paper that leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc², is published in the journal Annalen der Physik.
The Emperor of Austria, who now belongs to the deposed royalty, before he was chased out carried around along with his other titles a most unusual one: Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slovenia, Galizia, Lodomeria, Illyia and so on. Among all these titles was also “King of Jerusalem!” The Austrian Emperor also carried, until he was no longer emperor, the title “King of Jerusalem.” It came from the crusades. It would be impossible to give a better example of meaninglessness than this. And such meaninglessness plays a much greater role than you imagine. It is a question of whether we can arise to a recognition of the present-day platitudes. It is made difficult because those who live in platitudes are the verbal representatives of the old concepts that stagger around in their brains imitating thoughts. But one can only achieve real thinking again when the inner soul-life is filled with substance and that can only come from knowledge of the spiritual world, of spiritual life. Only by being relieved by the spirit can one become a complete person, after having been constipated with platitudes. What I described yesterday as a feeling of shame will result in the call for the spirit. And the propagation of the spirit will only be possible if the spiritual/cultural sector is allowed to develop independently.
1927
– Columbine Mine massacre: Striking
coal miners are attacked with machine guns by a detachment of state police
dressed in civilian clothes.
***
13 December 2019 Rudiger Janisch:
The 3 fold human being , the Foundation Stone & the 3 fold social organism 7 pm – 9 pm &
14 December 2019- 9 am – noon
Rüdiger has been working in Curative Education and teaching in professional training programs in Germany and the United States for over 40 years. A long-time student of anthroposophy, he serves on the Collegium of the School for Spiritual Science in North America. His contributions to adult education methods were recognized in the context of an international research project sponsored by the European Union. He has been a member of the core faculty of a joint ‘Training for Trainers’ program supporting Curative Education and Social Therapy in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan. He has also taught as an adjunct faculty member of the M.S. Ed program in Waldorf Remedial Education at Antioch University N.H. Having taught many different aspects of anthroposophy and Curative Education, he currently is focused on action research and the development of artistic and experiential approaches to the spiritual scientific study of the human being.
29 October 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Our solar system’s 2 inner planets cozy up near each other in the early evening sky. Tonight, Mercury slides south (lower left) of Venus. You can find the pair with the help of a two-day-old waxing crescent Moon. Bella Luna stands high just after sunset with Venus, Goddess of Love, on Her lower right; Mercury, messenger of the gods & psycho-pomp carrying the souls of the dead across the threshold, directly below our beloved satellite.
The question then becomes: How do we think of Venus & Mercury? When the Copernican revolution brought human thinking into a materialistic modern science, changing from a Geocentric to a Heliocentric model, Mercury & Venus were switched!
It is up to us now in our speaking with the stars to discover the occult reasons for this reversal. Now, as we develop the spiritual science of Astro-Sophy, we must learn to know, & use these planets correctly.
Venus is that sphere which wants to bring about the reintegration & harmonizing of humanity with each other & with the spiritual realm, particularly thru the heart forces of feeling & devotion. In a traditional sense Venus is the planet of love. But how can we see this out of spiritual science? Since the deed of Christ, Venus has become the sphere of the new mysteries.
And what is the essence of the new mysteries? Simply stated: Not I but Christ in me. Or , “there is no greater love than that one lays down one’s life for a friend”. The relation of Venus to the new mysteries comes out of this new transformational deed of love in which the greatest has become the servant to the least.
Willian Blake
Of course there is the other side of Venus in its relation to Lucifer & the illusions of self-love & the semblance & glamour of the light. It is the opposite gesture of the love of Christ, of the master becoming servant.
Mercury is the closest sphere to the Sun & can work, if taken up consciously by human beings, in a Michaelic way to redeem fallen earthly intelligence & re-unite it with the Sun. Mercury weaves between Earth & Sun as a kind of messenger from Sun & stars to Earth, & from Earth to Sun & stars, a glorious loop. It is a planetary sphere that wants humanity to participate in the redemption of intelligence. It is also a sphere that works in the social realm of groups, nations, folk as it is the sphere of the Archangels.
Soon we will have a chance to have a conversation around the Transit of Mercury with the Sun, on the very auspicious occasion of 11/11/19 – when we have an opportunity to ponder the mystery of 11:11, & the connections between, Martinmas, MLK, The Journey of the Soul, Armistice Day, & The laying of the Foundation Stone by Rudolf Steiner. More on that to come…(or join me in Atlanta)
*** POD (Poem Of the Day) Pablo Picasso
~Closer than your breath & older than death… It speaks like a mountain, laughs like a river, Prays like the sun, & sings the way the animals think… Plus – It’s always as fresh as the beginning of time… What am I?
See, Now I call myself My own, Irradiating the night of Time, with Space – An inborn gleam… While nature dreams, my soul is called, to stay awake Suffusing Sun fire into the inundating dark… Do you recognize me…?
I circle the heads of women dancing My cryptic feathers tremble in their hypnotic fans… Let the fire that banks in my heart Flare out, to heat the sacred space, Melting in the Autumn mist To revel your true face… ~hag
Wednesday, 30 October 6:30-7:30 pm Free webinar on the Festival of All Souls with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.
We will explore the Journey of the Soul Between Death and Rebirth with indications from Rudolf Steiner.
In the realities that Spiritual Science brings us, we glean the importance of working with the ‘so called dead’ and the angelic worlds, for both our own and their development, as well as for the future evolution of the Earth.
Can’t join us live? No problem. A recording of the webinar will be emailed to you within 24 hours of the live session.
Warmly, Laura Scappaticci, Program Director for the Anthroposophical Society in America
***
Patti Liyn
Thursday 31 October 2019 – 7 pm – 9 pm Halloween at the Theosophical Society in America 1926 North Main Street, Wheaton, IL 60187 “The Descent of the Goddess’ with Hazel Archer Ginsberg Together, we will explore the origins and purpose of “Halloween,” honor our beloved dead, and experience a ritual performance where we will journey to meet Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, and her sister Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld.
For more info. or to carpool contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com
*** Darla Banna
Our Annual All Souls Festival: Meeting our Ancestors at the Threshold 7 PM – 9 PM Friday 1 November 2019 at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago
*What can we learn from Spiritual Science about working with the ‘so called dead’ and the ‘unborn’? with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg *Eurythmy *Artistic Exploration with Nancy Melvin *Circle of Remembrance
$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com
*** Chris Bodame Dear Friends – “Our hearts must become Michael’s helpers in conquering, in taking hold of the intelligence that has fallen from heaven to earth. Just as, in the old traditions, Michael had to trample the serpent underfoot, so now the intelligence of Michael that has become the serpent must be spiritualized. And wherever it surfaces as counter-force — not raised to spirit yet ahrimanized as intellect — we must perceive it in the right way through attentiveness of anthroposophical spirit that has been tempered in the Michaelic stance.”
~Rudolf Steiner, The Karma of Anthroposophy, Chapter 5, “Hearts Inscribed in the Michael School”, Arnhem, 20 July, 1924 … focus of the November 6 meeting!
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing study conversation. The study has been divided among five 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 Karma of Anthroposophy.” This lecture corresponds to GA 240, and was included in the series titled “Karmic Relationships“, Volume VI, published in English by Rudolf Steiner Press in 1971.
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: Option 1. Click link below if you wish to connect through your computer (a headset is recommended) https://zoom.us/j/121703166 Option 2. Call in using your telephone. United States: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656 Access Code: 121-703-166 Option 3. You can use a combination of Options 1 and 2 (computer and phone). If you use the phone, please turn off the audio on your computer to prevent audio feedback.
Please join us! Agenda for our Study Call
7:15 Welcome and Introductions 7:18 Verse 7:25 Study led by six volunteers Note: CRC team will ID volunteers Travis – Pages 84 to 67 Lisa G – pages 88 to 90 Wayne – pages 91 to 93 Hazel – pages 94 to 96 Mary – pages 97 to 100 8:05 Conversation 8:25 Identify volunteers for our next study call: Dec 4 8:28 Close with verse ***
How about a Road-Trip? Take the Journey of the Soul in the Life Between Death & Rebirth in the warm hospitality of our Branch Buddies in the South:
11/11/19, in Atlanta GA. 10 am – 12 noon On this auspicious day we will gather to look at the mystery of the 11:11, & the connections between, Martinmas, MLK, The Journey of the Soul, Armistice Day, The laying of the Foundation Stone, & a Rare Cosmic AlignmentThe Transit of Mercury across the Sun.
‘Speaking with the Stars’ with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Storytelling with Jolie Luba, Art with Angela Foster
$10-$20 or pay what you will, For more info. contact Angela Foster
***
ALL SOULS JOURNEY – Exploring the Life between Death & Rebirth
7 pm – 9 pm – Friday 15 November 2019, Auburn Alabama for more info. contact Helena Burkart
10 am – 2 pm, Saturday 16 November 2019 in Nashville TN Community Potluck lunch – Please Bring a dish to Share – Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will – For more info. contact Cathy Green Or Barbara Bittles
1 pm – 5 pm, Sunday 17 November 2019 Knoxville TN Community Potluck Dinner – Please Bring a dish to Share – Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will – For more info. contact Bill Rogers
24 October 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Every Autumn, & especially this evening, check out one of the flashiest stars in the sky – bright Capella twinkling with red & green flashes low in the northeastern sky at nightfall. Capella climbs upward through the night, & this month, soars high overhead in the wee hours before dawn. Capella is in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer, but since antiquity it has carried the name Goat Star.
If you could travel to it in space, you’d find that Capella is really two golden stars, both with roughly the same surface temperature as our local star, the sun … but both larger & brighter than our sun. So here is a golden point of light that flashes red & green when it’s low in the sky. Why does it do that?
The reality is that every star in the sky undergoes the same
process as to produce its colorful twinkling, for every star’s light must shine
through Earth’s atmosphere before reaching our eyes. But not every star flashes
as noticeably as Capella. The atmosphere splits or “refracts” the star’s light,
just as a prism splits sunlight. When you see Capella higher in the sky, you’ll
find that these glints of red & green will disappear.
Feast day of Archangel Raphael, Healing symbol of Mercury. Time Spirit from 850-1190
1260 – Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France
1601 – Death day of Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer & alchemist. Rudolf Steiner speaks about him here in Karmic Relationships, Volume IV: Lecture VI: “We were tracing the thread of evolution which enters into the spiritual life of the present time, and we left off with the individuality of Julian the Apostate. I told you that this individuality was next incarnated in one who is only known by legendary accounts, whose secret is contained in the Parsifal legend, in the name of Herzeleide. In this life as Herzeleide, the soul of Julian the Apostate entered into a far deeper inner life. The soul-life of the individuality was deepened, as was indeed necessary after the many storms and inner moods of opposition which he had undergone in his life as Julian the Apostate.
But this later life of which I told you — this life as Herzeleide — spread itself out over the former life as Julian the Apostate like a warm embalming cloud. Thus the soul grew more intense and deep and inward, and grew richer, too, in manifold impulses of the inner life.
Now this soul was among those who had carried over something of the ancient Mysteries. Julian had lived within the substance of the ancient Mysteries at a time when their light was still radiant in many ways. Thus he had received into himself much spirituality of the cosmos. All this had been as it were pressed back during the incarnation as Herzeleide; but it was none the less pressing forth in the soul, and thus we find the same individuality again in the 16th century; we find arising in him once more, in a Christianised form, what he had undergone as Julian the Apostate. For the same individuality reappears in the 16th century as Tycho de Brahe, and stands face to face with the Copernican world-conception which emerges within Western civilisation at that time.”
1648 – The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years’ War
1911 – Orville Wright remains in the air nine minutes & 45 seconds in a Wright Glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.
Original Caption: 2/27/1918-Houdini showing how to slip handcuffs.
1926 – Harry Houdini’s last performance takes place at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit. Harry Houdini was born Ehrich Weisz on 24 March 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. The son of a Rabbi, he relocated with his family to America in 1876. By the age of 17 he was known as Harry Houdini & left his family to pursue his career in magic. Booked for a two-week engagement in Detroit at The Garrick Theatre, he arrived in pain, but decided to perform the opening show on October 24th. With much difficulty he performed, but cut the show short & was admitted to Grace Hospital. It had been determined that he had a ruptured appendix. Surgery was not enough to spare Houdini’s life & he died on 31 October 1926 from peritonitis.
1929 – “Black Thursday” stock market crash on the New York Stock Exchange.
1945 – Founding of the United Nations.
1946 – Deathday of Emil Grosheintz – a dentist who had a practice in Basel, was
an early anthroposopher, when the society was still connected to the
theosophical movement. Rudolf Steiner loved him because of his sacrificial &
conscientious work. His professional career as a dentist allowed him to
accompany Steiner on many of his lectures. Like a leitmotiv, his life runs
through the fact that he was always present as a witness in important moments
of anthroposophy.
In 1906, Emil Grosheintz co-founded the Paracelsus branch in Basel. In 1907 he took part in the Munich Congress & became a member of the German section of the Theosophical Society in 1908.
In 1912, during a visit of Rudolf
Steiner to his estate in Dornach, Grosheintz decided to make his land on the Dornach hill available for
the construction of the first Goetheanum, & organized the purchase &
donation of some further eastern plots.
In 1913 he became chairman of the Johannesbauverein. Because of his excellent organizational abilities & his experience, Emil Grosheintz became co-founder of the anthroposophical branch at the Goetheanum on September 12, 1920, & until May 9, 1943, he served as its first chairman &remained honorary chairman until his death
On 24 December 1914, Emil & Nelly Grosheintz-Laval were witnesses at the wedding ceremony of Marie & Rudolf Steiner.
On September 20, 1913, Emil Grosheintz & his wife Nelly Grosheintz-Laval took part in the laying of the foundation stone for the first Goetheanum. In the same year he moved with his wife & the two sons Hansi & Pierre into the Duldeck house designed for him by Rudolf Steiner on the Dornach hill near the Goetheanum.
1975 – In Iceland, 90% of women take part in a national strike, refusing to work in protest of gaps in gender equality.
1980 – The government of Poland legalizes the Solidarity trade union
2008 – “Bloody Friday” saw many of the world’s stock exchanges
experience the worst declines in their history
***
TINA YU
POD (Poem Of the Day)
~Today I AM:
Light behind mist
From the dark vortex of primal fire
Where the 1st light was born
which made the maker of gods & human-kind
Pressing the black world like a blinking eye
Into wakefulness…
Today: What are YOU?
~hag
“During
the 16th century, in the year 1546, a remarkable man was born of a noble house
of Northern Europe, and in his very cradle, so to speak, everything was laid —
including family wealth — that could have led him to positions of great honour
in the traditional life of that time. Because, in line with his family
traditions, it was intended that he should occupy some eminent political or
other high position, he was marked out for the legal profession and sent with a
tutor to the University of Leipzig to study jurisprudence. The tutor tormented
the boy — for he was still a boy when he was forced to study law — all day
long. But at night, while the tutor was sleeping the sleep of the just and
dreaming of legal theories, the boy stole out of bed and observed the stars
with the very simple instruments he had himself devised. And very soon he knew
not only more than any of the teachers about the secrets of the stars but more
than was to be found at that time in any book. For example, he very soon
noticed a definite position of Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation of Leo,
turned to the books and found that they recorded it quite erroneously. The
longing then arose in him to acquire as exact a knowledge as possible of this
star-script, to record as accurately as possible the course of the stars. No
wonder that in spite of all his family’s resistance he soon extracted the
permission to become a natural philosopher and astronomer, instead of dreaming
his life away over legal books and doctrines. And having considerable means at
his disposal, he was able to set up a whole establishment.
This
was arranged in a remarkable way. In the upper storeys were instruments
designed for observing the secrets of the stars; in the cellars there was
equipment for bringing about different combinations and dissolutions of
substances. And there he worked, dividing his time between observations carried
out on the upper floors of the building and the boiling, fermenting, mixing and
weighing which went on in the cellars below. There he worked, in Order to show,
little by little, how the laws that are written in the stars, the laws of the
planets and fixed stars, the macrocosmic laws, are to be found again
microcosmically in the mathematical numbers underlying the combinations and
dissolutions of substances. And what he discovered as a living connection
between the heavenly and the earthly he applied to the art of medicine,
producing medicaments which were the cause of bitter animosity around him
because he gave them freely to those he wanted to help. The doctors at that
time, intent upon extorting high fees, raged against this man who was accused
of perpetrating all sorts of “horrors” with what he endeavoured to bring down
from the heavens to the earth.
Fortunately,
as the result of a certain happening, he found favour with the Danish King,
Frederick the Second, and as long as he retained this favour, all went well:
tremendous insight was gained into the spiritual working of cosmic laws in the
sense I have just described. This man did indeed know something about the
spiritual course of cosmic laws. He dumbfounded the world with things which
admittedly would no longer find the same credence to-day. On one Occasion, when
he was at Rostock, he prophesied, from the constellation of the stars, the death
of the Sultan Soliman, which came true within a few days of the date he had
foretold. The news of this made the name of Tycho Brahe famous in Europe.
To-day the world at large knows hardly anything more of Tycho Brahe, whose life
lies such a short time behind us, than that he was somewhat of a crank and
never quite reached the lofty standpoint of modern materialism. He recorded a
thousand stars for the first time in the maps of the heavens and also made the
epoch-making discovery of a type of star, the “Nova,” which flares up and
vanishes again, and described it. But these things are mostly passed over in
silence. The world really knows nothing about him except that he was still
“stupid” enough to devise a plan of the cosmos in which the earth stands still
and the sun together with the planets revolve around it. That is what the world
in general knows to-day. The fact that we have to do here with a significant
personality of the 16th century, with one who accomplished an infinite amount
that even to-day is still useful to astronomy, that untold depths of wisdom are
contained in what he gave — none of this is usually recorded, for the simple
reason that in presenting the system in detail, out of his own deep knowledge,
Tycho Brahe saw difficulties which Copernicus did not see. If such a thing dare
be said — for it does indeed seem paradoxical — even with the Copernican cosmic
system the last word has not yet been uttered. And the conflict between the two
Systems will still occupy the minds of a later humanity. — That, however, only
by the way; it is too paradoxical for the present age.
It
was only under the successor of the King who had been well-disposed towards him
that the enemies of Tycho Brahe arose an all sides. They were doctors and
professors at the University of Copenhagen, and they succeeded in inciting the
successor of his patron against him. Tycho Brahe was driven from his fatherland
and was obliged to go south again. It was in Augsburg that he had originally
set up his first great planisphere and the gilded globe on which he always
marked the new stars he discovered — finally amounting to a thousand. This man
was destined to die in exile in Prague. To this very day, if we turn, not to
the usual textbooks, but to the actual sources, and study Kepler, let us say,
we can still see that Kepler was able to arrive at his laws because of the
meticulous astronomical observations made by Tycho Brahe before him. Here
indeed was a personality who again bore the stamp, in a grand style, of what
had been great and significant wisdom before his time; one who could not
reconcile himself to the kind of knowledge that became popular immediately
afterwards in the shape of the materialistic view of the world. Truly it is a
strange destiny, this destiny of Tycho Brahe!
And
now, placing both personal destinies side by side, think how endlessly
instructive it is when we learn from the Akasha Chronicle that the
individuality of Julian the Apostate appears again in Tycho Brahe, that Tycho
Brahe is, so to say, a reincarnation of Julian the Apostate. Thus strangely and
paradoxically does the law of reincarnation take effect when the karmic
connection of the single individual are modified by world-historic karma; when
the cosmic Powers themselves use the human individuality as their instrument.”
***
Dear Friends – There are many opportunities to Celebrate ‘All Souls’ from various Anthroposophical angles in the Chicagoland area & beyond:
Wednesday, 30 October 6:30-7:30 pm Free webinar on the Festival of All Souls with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.
We will explore the Journey of the Soul Between Death and Rebirth with indications from Rudolf Steiner
In the realities that Spiritual Science brings us, we glean the importance of working with the ‘so called dead’ and the angelic worlds, for both our own and their development, as well as for the future evolution of the Earth.
Can’t join us live? No problem. A recording of the webinar will be emailed to you within 24 hours of the live session.
Warmly, Laura Scappaticci, Program Director for the Anthroposophical Society in America
*** Thursday 31 October 2019 – 7 pm – 9 pm Halloween at the Theosophical Society in America 1926 North Main Street, Wheaton, IL 60187
“The Descent of the Goddess’ with Hazel Archer Ginsberg
Together, we will explore the origins and purpose of “Halloween,” honor our beloved dead, and experience a ritual performance where we will journey Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, and her sister Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld.
*** Our Annual All Souls Festival: Meeting our Ancestors at the Threshold
7 PM – 9 PM Friday 1 November 2019 at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago
*What can we learn from Spiritual Science about working with the ‘so called dead’ and the ‘unborn’? with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg *Eurythmy *Artistic Explorations *Circle of Remembrance
$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com *** How about a Road-Trip? Take the Journey of the Soul in the Life Between Death & Rebirth in the warm hospitality of our Branch Buddies in the South:
5 pm – 9 pm – Friday 16 November 2019, in Atlanta GA Community Potluck Dinner 5 pm – Please Bring a dish to Share Program begins promptly at 6 pm Suggested Donation $15-25 or pay what you will – For more info. contact Angela Foster
***
10 am – 2 pm, Saturday 16 November 2019 in Nashville TN Community Potluck lunch – Please Bring a dish to Share – Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will – For more info. contact Cathy Green Or Barbara Bittles
***
1 pm – 5 pm, Sunday 17 November 2019 Knoxville TN Community Potluck Dinner – Please Bring a dish to Share – Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will – For more info. contact Bill Rogers
21 October 2019 – Astro-Weather: Our cosmic conversation continues: The Orionids – Peak these next few days.
The meteor shower of the Mighty Hunter Orion is underway, with the earth traveling once again through the trail of cosmic dust left by Halley’s Comet.
Although the Orionid meteor shower peaks tonight & early tomorrow morning, a fat crescent Moon shares the sky & will hide some of the fainter “shooting stars.” Your best bet is to find an observing site where you can place the Moon behind a building or trees.
The variable star Algol in Perseus reaches minimum brightness around 11:04 pm CDT. If you start tracking it this evening, you can watch it more than triple in brightness by dawn. This eclipsing binary star runs through a cycle from minimum to maximum & back every 2.87 days. Algol remains visible all night, passing nearly overhead around 2 am.
From an article by Dr Elizabeth Vreede: ” Comets represent an element that does not wholly enter the usual sphere of cosmic law, although they still contain a trace of the direct working of spiritual powers, indeed, of the very highest — the Seraphim and Cherubim. Before ordinary law may be broken through, the very highest power and insight is required. The various comets, indeed, are agents of a very special nature in our planetary system, their polar antithesis being in the moons. Just as the moons are a kind of corpse which the planetary system trails along with it, so, on the other side, the comets may be spoken of as constant purifiers of the spiritual atmosphere within the solar system. In earlier times men thought of them as the “scavengers of God,” and many superstitions have gathered around them. To the eye of Spirit, too, the mission of the comets is perpetually to expel impure astral forces from the Cosmos or to introduce new impulses.”
María León
Last Quarter Moon occurred this morning at 7:39 a.m. CDT.
***
The Branches & Group Pre-conference at the AGM in Atlanta 2019
Dear friends – I have been on quite a journey since my Summer trip to London & Cornwall, encountering powerful mirrors & milestones. I have been dealing with some debilitating health issues which make it difficult to be at the computer. But I have been traveling quite a bit offering programs, workshops & festivals. Recently my beloved husband & attended the AGM of the ASA in Atlanta which reached a Christ-in-the Etheric level of vibration, thatI have never before experienced in this communal way. I’m not sure how to put it into words. Martin Luther King Jr. was truly present in the Spirit of place…
I got home last night from the mountains of Asheville NC. where the community gathered at SOLA to meet themselves as a soul in the spirit worlds; exploring at 1st the many traditions of All Hallows which prepared the way for our journey into the life between death & rebirth.
I made a deep connection to the spirit of the mountain which continues to resonate!
Thanks to all who have reached out to say they have missed the RR blog.
I hope to get back into the rhythm soon
Blessings to all
***
As
the sun relates to the constellations during the course of the year, there are
contemplations -even meditative practices- that correspond to these
relationships. Bringing these contemplations into daily practice is a moral
activity that brings a conscious change that everyone may experience. Here is
such a practice from the Calendar of
Virtues: For Scorpio – (October 21 – November 20.)
Patience becomes Insight
[Opposite: Loss of Temper]
1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, & Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch
1805 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar: A British fleet led by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French & Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve
1833 – Birthday of Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist & engineer, invented dynamite & founded the Nobel Prize
1867 – The Medicine Lodge Treaty is signed by southern Great Plains Indian leaders. The treaty requires Native American Plains tribes to relocate to a reservation in western Oklahoma
1879 – Thomas Edison invents the first commercially practical incandescent light bulb
1892 – Opening ceremonies for the World’s Columbian Exposition are held in Chicago, though because construction was behind schedule, the exposition did not open until May 1, 1893
1945 – Women’s suffrage: Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time
1959 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order transferring Wernher von Braun & other German scientists from the United States Army to NASA
1965 – Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 279,617 miles from the sun
1969 – Deathday of Jack Kerouac
***
Frank Cadogan Cowper
POD (Poem Of the Day)
~this morning it was dark when i awoke…
i noticed the West window held a dying flame
as i watched a swallow darting thru the shadows, catching moths…
Night bristles on her back…
in her mouth melts a berry of god-thought,
desire folded into her wings…
she swoops, she dives in dark dreams, perfect in the dawning…
~hag
***
Immediately following the seven-day
festival of Sukkot comes the festival of Shemini Atzeret, The holiday at the end of Sukkot, during
which are recited prayers for rain, & Simchat Torah (October 23-25, 2016)
when we conclude — & begin anew — the annual Torah reading cycle. The holiday is marked with unbridled
rejoicing, especially during the “hakafot” procession, as we march,
sing & dance with the Torah scrolls.
“On Simchat Torah,” goes the
chassidic adage, “we rejoice in the
Torah, & the Torah rejoices in us; the Torah, too, wants to dance, so we
become the Torah’s dancing feet.”
As the month
of Tishrei comes to a close, we have experienced & celebrated the most
powerful moments of the Jewish year. As the Torah reading cycle comes to an
end, & we start reading the Torah all over again, what new lessons, insights, & inspiration will we derive this time
around?
Shemini Atzeret Rain Feast, this
ritual reflects a theology wherein people help to carry out the work of God. The story of Ḥoni Ha-M’ageil:
Long ago, in the Land of Israel,
there was a terrible drought. Usually the rain fell in abundance between
Shemini Atzeret and Passover, but this year there hadn’t been a drop, and
Passover was only a couple of weeks away! The people were almost ready to give
up hope. Without rain, there would be no crops and no way to survive. In
desperation, they turned to a man named Ḥoni Ha-M’ageil, Ḥoni the Circle
Drawer, and asked him to pray for rain. Ḥoni had an especially close
relationship with God and a strong desire to help others. He instructed the
people to bring their ovens, which they kept outside in those days, into their
homes, so that the ovens would not be destroyed by rain. And then he prayed for
rain. The people were hopeful. But no rain fell.
Some people would have given up then,
after praying to no avail, but not Ḥoni. He was a persistent man. Ḥoni then
drew a circle in the sand and stood right in the middle of it and said,
“Ribbono shel Olam! Master of the Universe, Your children have turned to me,
because I am almost like a member of Your family. I swear by Your Great Name—I
will not move from this circle until You take pity on Your children!”
Suddenly it began to drizzle. Some
people would have stopped then, with their promise to bring rain fulfilled, but
not Ḥoni. Ḥoni could hear his disciples saying, “We look to you to save us from
death. This drizzle will not be enough.”
So Ḥoni said to God, “This is not
what I wanted. I wanted enough rain to fill up every cistern, ditch, and
cavern.”
Then it began to rain violently. Some
say that each individual raindrop was the size of a softball, if not larger.
Most people would have stopped then, and gone inside to seek shelter from the
storm, but not Ḥoni. Ḥoni could hear his disciples saying, “We look to you to
save us from death. This storm is powerful enough to destroy the whole world!”
So Ḥoni said to God, “This is not
what I meant either. I am asking You for the rain of blessing and
graciousness.”
Now it rained the right way, but
there was still so much water that the Israelites had to head for high ground.
They all gathered at the Temple Mount, the highest point then in Jerusalem.
Then Ḥoni’s disciples came up to him
and said, “Just as you prayed for it to rain, now pray for it to go away!”
Ḥoni prayed once again, “Ribbono shel
Olam! Master of the Universe, Your children are a delicate people. They cannot
endure too much or too little of anything. May it be Your will that the rain
cease and there be relief for the world.”
The wind began to blow, the clouds
dispersed, and the sun shone bright once again. The people went out into the
fields and were able to gather fresh mushrooms and vegetation for a great and
wonderful feast.
In the
absence of Ḥoni Ha-M’ageil, we must come with a plan that cannot fail. We ask
that You bless the earth with rain, But realize that action works as a chain, So
we will pour the first few drops, & pray ‘til Pesach it never stops.
(Pass
pitchers of water around for participants to pour (very lightly) in all
directions outside of the circle. Once everyone has poured water, recite
together:
So too, may Adonai shower us all with
blessing and provide for the needs which are most pressing. We pray for all to
enjoy a harvest of bounty, Here in the United States and in every county. May
no one go hungry even once this year, Whether friend or stranger, far or near.
Let our deeds reinforce our heartfelt prayers.Let us take action before taking
our chairs.
Participants exit the circle &
retrieve the food they brought to donate. Then participants pack the food into
boxes, which will be taken to a local food pantry.
When all of
the donations have been packed, recite together: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ הַמֵּכִין מָזוֹן לְכָל בְּרִיּוֹתָיו. Ba-ruch
a-tah A-do-nai, ha-mei-chin ma-zon l’-chol b’-ri-yo-tav. Blessed are You,
Adonai, who provides enough food for all of Your creations.
After this
part of the ritual, everyone can enjoy a festive meal in the sukkah.
The joyous climax of Simchat Torah is
the dancing of hakafot (lit. “circles”), during which we dance &
sing with the Torah scrolls.
Source of Life, every
year you plant within us a new tree of life. May it be your will that this year
our interpretations will blossom forth kindness and not cruelty, wisdom and not
foolishness, awareness and not thoughtlessness. May you teach us a Torah of
love that will nourish us in the coming days at every hour. Amen.
Or try this:
During the hakafot let your dance be a
reflection of the new wisdom you want to receive in the coming year.
Simchat Torah is also a symbolic move
from death to life –
the death of Moses & of the old year, the birth of the New Year & the
newly created plants, animals, & humans. It is the rebirth of the Torah. That makes Simchat Torah a good time to
celebrate all renewals & transformations.
If you have
experienced a major change during the year, such as the loss of a loved one or
a relationship, a wedding, conversion, coming out, or birth of a child, you can
recite the following prayer as the Torah scroll used for Deuteronomy is
exchanged for the Torah scroll used for Genesis (or as the Torah scroll is
rolled from one place to another).
Just as the Torah is rolled from place to place amid joy and peace, so too may I roll from place to place like refreshing rain, surrounded by compassion and good will.
Beloved – You are an eternal being. This moment is part of a grand journey. Awaken to your destiny by exploring the worlds beyond the veil, connecting to your karmic group, calling in your future self…Make this Halloween a night to remember. Come be part of a conscious community. Contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com if you want to carpool.
A tour of the Origins of this Feast for the Dead thru many cultural expressions & A RITUAL PERFORMANCE OF ‘The Descent of Inanna’ + a Circle of Remembrance (Share the names of those who have died this year)
also: Friday 1 November at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 7 pm – 9 pm
***
also: 10 am – 2 pm, 16 November 2019 in Nashville Community Potluck lunch – Please Bring a dish to Share – Suggested Donation $20-$50 or pay what you will –
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg is a Spiritual Midwife and Trans-Denominational minister working in an eclectic style that inspires connections, initiating us into the magic waiting to be revealed in the cycle of the seasons. Founder of www.reverseritual.com – Lecturer, Essayist, Poet, Performer, & “Anthroposopher.” Hazel is the Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, The Traveling Speakers Program & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.
