8 September 2017 – Astro-Weather: Rise & Shine – the view at Dawn. Very low in the east as dawn brightens on Saturday morning September 9th, Mercury, to the right of Regulus, under bright Venus. Mars, fainter farther lower left.
Then before bed: Although September is typically a slower month for meteors than August, be on the lookout for a relatively new shower called the Epsilon Perseids. The shower peaks late this evening, though the best views will come after midnight once the Moon has set & Perseus rides high in the sky. So perhaps tonight before sleep you might make the intention to spiritually tune into this opportunity to receive this Michaelic gift of cosmic iron to fortify our blood.
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Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
“The aim of science is to discover and illuminate truth. And that, I take it, is the aim of literature, whether biography or history… It seems to me, then, that there can be no separate literature of science.” ~Rachel Carson
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Mary’s birth has ‘officially’ been celebrated since the sixth century -A September birth, with the Sun in the constellation Virgo. Also noteworthy-the Eastern Orthodox Church begins its Church year in September, with the feast of the Immaculate Conception nine months earlier on 8 December.
The apocryphal book of James gives us this account: Anna & Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child that will advance God’s evolutionary plan for the world.
St. Augustine connects Mary’s birth with the work of The Christ. He tells the earth to rejoice & shine forth in the light of her birth. “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.”
“Today the barren Anna claps her hands for joy, the earth radiates with light, kings sing their happiness, priests enjoy every blessing, the entire universe rejoices, for she who is queen and the Father’s immaculate bride buds forth from the stem of Jesse”
1504 – Michelangelo’s David is unveiled in Piazza della Signoria in Florence
1565 – The Knights of Malta lift the Ottoman siege of Malta, the climax of an escalating contest between a Christian alliance & the Islamic Ottoman Empire for control of the Mediterranean
1637 – Deathday of Robert Fludd, a prominent English Paracelsian physician & occultist, an astrologer, mathematician, cosmologist, Qabalist & Rosicrucian apologist.
1900 – Galveston hurricane: A powerful hurricane hits Galveston, Texas killing about 8,000 people
1941 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad begins
1949 – Deathday of Richard Strauss, German composer
1978 – Black Friday, a massacre by soldiers against protesters in Tehran, provoked 700-3000 deaths, it marks the beginning of the end of the monarchy in Iran
1988 – Deathday of Dr Rita Leroi a few days before her 75th birthday. She attended the Stuttgart Waldorf School as a child. She went on to became a Clinical Assistant at the Ita Wegman Clinic in Arlesheim. She developed a deep interest in cancer & the Iscador treatment of this disease. In 1954 she married Dr Alexandre Leroi who was the leader of the Society for Cancer Research & Director of the Hiscia Research Institute in Arlesheim. It is here that Iscador is produced & researches into the many problems to be solved in developing it into an effective remedy are undertaken. In October 1963 the Lukas Klinik, devoted to the care & treatment of cancer patients, opened in Arlesheim & Rita Leroi became its Director & selected to be President of the International Anthroposophical Medical Association
1989 – Partnair Flight 394 drove into the North Sea, killing 55 people. The investigation showed that the tail of the plane vibrated loose in flight due to sub-standard connecting bolts that had been fraudulently sold as aircraft-grade
1994 – USAir Flight 427, on approach to Pittsburgh International Airport, suddenly crashes in clear weather killing all 132 aboard; resulting in the most extensive aviation investigation in world history, altering manufacturing practices in the industry
International Literacy Day
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My POD (Poem Of the Day)
~The simple thrill of a sparrow’s song cuts the twilight
Opening the colors to dawn
I carry this melody in my belly-O-dee
Close to the egg of silence in my womb ba
& so it is
That I give birth to Today…
~hag
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The Virtue for the month of September: Courtesy becomes steadiness of feeling.
Even though today it is still hot & muggy here in the Heartland, Autumn awaits, breathing in behind the rain black clouds, ready to break into the midst of the light-headedness of summer’s high flight, bringing sobriety & the resolve of the harvest.
Now the time has come when the contemplative Virgin of the heavens approaches, to gather us up in her blue mantle, like ears of corn, we are brought home from the fields of Summer.
The constellation of the Virgin has always been regarded in the ancient mysteries as the bearer of the bread of life -Full filled at the ‘Tuning Point of Time’ in the ‘miracle of the loaves & the fishes’, as well as the ‘Last Supper’.
If cosmic provisions are to become nourishment for the “I”, we must make a connection with the powers of the depths, which lie opposite the Virgin along the axis of the Zodiac, in the constellation of Pisces, the sign of the Fishes. With this balance of Above & Below we can truly feed the “I” – & say as St. John did: “I am the Bread of Life”!
This begs the question, which our current culture has to answer: How can the food of life, which is so often taken in unconsciously, in greedy gulps -instead be taken up & internalized with a wakeful & reverent consciousness?
If the Bread of Life is to be fully digested by the “I”, then what is required is the destruction of our selfish desires, making us ‘virgin’ again, that we may give birth to the ‘Christ in me’, to preserve & focus the activity of the will, freeing the “I” from outdated husks, to feed the Christ self.
In the social realm, the royal virtue of courtesy brings the giddiness of summer’s unconscious expansion back into a steadfast feeling of thoughtful care. A soul hygiene that brings the pendulum into right relationship, just as every out-breath is followed by an in-breath -The austerity of the Virgin leading us into the balanced scales of Libra in preparation for Michaelmas.
This must be developed in the practice of our social life. If we practice this high ideal of courtesy, not just a surface, conventional politeness, we can acquire the right heart-felt feeling, which awakens an inner organ that can reveal to us the true being of the other person, as well as opening our connection to the elemental beings, that look to us to release them from the withering blooms.
“If the sheath-bearing Virgin, who draws near with golden rays of autumn sun, in the blue firmament, is to nourish you with what she provides, you must take up this food that is the Bread of Life in your innermost being.
That you can only do, when you develop not only your senses, but with them, open up the spirit of your soul to the world around you, & deepen in your heart the fruits of your life, that you gather, shape & organize. Only the right heartfelt tact gives you the possibility of recognizing the human being in others & of becoming aware of your own human nobility!” ~Rudolf Steiner
In the lap of the BVM with you
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The Elderberries Three-Fold Café has been on Sunset Blvd. in the heart of Hollywood for over 9 years. They provide not only good healthy food, but nutrition for the soul – Rudolf Steiner’s Weekday Exercises are even on the back of the menu! The café is a hub for youth, hosting anthroposophical study groups, music, alternative film screenings etc – providing support for inner practices, meaningful work to those in need, & platforms for individual creative expression -imbuing all they do with a love for the future of our world.
We are very fortunate in here in Chicago to be one of only a few Branches that own a building, a home for Anthroposophical work. But not having a tenant for over 4 years has us put in a dire position, & if something doesn’t shift soon we will lose the building.
When Elderberries 3-Fold Café came to visit us in Chicago we realized that are meant to use the entire building to further anthroposophy. We are called, my friends, to create centers for young people to meet, where they can discover who they are in the light of Anthroposophy, where they can work on their inner development, where they can work thru their karma together, with us, each learning from the other. We can save the Rudolf Steiner Branch by making it a home base in a network that supports Youth Initiatives, ‘bringing the Old & Young Souls together’. This goes hand in hand with the practical application of the ‘3-Fold Social Organism’, so needed in the world, which they are coming now to implement through practical Anthroposophy.
Please help us pave the way for a 3-fold Cafe in the Heartland! – one of the hubs on the ‘Michael Grail-Road’ which will further Anthroposophy around the planet.
Our $25,000 goal will provide us with the seeds required to get off the ground in Chicago and will cover:
- Rent & Deposit
- Construction / Materials
- Tableware & Equipment
- Furniture
- Permits
Will YOU help support the future NOW?
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Spiritual Science Study Group – Starting Sept. 13th 2017 & then every Wednesday at 8:00 am- 9:40 am in the Library at the Chicago Waldorf School 1300 W. Loyola, Chicago. We are working with Karmic Relationships Vol. 2, Rudolf Steiner’s seminal mission. All Are Welcome.
‘Anthroposophy’, which means Wisdom of the Human Being is a ‘Spiritual Science’ built on the research of Rudolf Steiner. Our current conversation explores: the riddles of existence, the truth of karma, the mystery of evil, historic connections, life after death and more. We incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’, eurythmy, focused discussion and seasonal artistic explorations in our study. Contact Hazel Archer Ginsberg
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Michaelmas & the Horn of Plenty – Fall Festivals Ancient and New
Saturday September 23rd 2017 – 4 pm – 6 pm at the Rudolf Steiner Branch, 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL. $10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged
Saturday September 30th 10:30 am – 4:30pm at the Theosophical Society 1926 N Main St, Wheaton, IL 60187 – Pre-registration (630) 668-1571, BYO Picnic Lunch
Come join our Experiential Workshop celebrating the Autumnal Equinox to prepare us for the journey into the dark of the year. We will look back to the fruits of the past, and prepare for what is coming toward us from the future. Our ancestors called this Sabbath – Harvest Home or Mabon. The Hebrew folk count this as part of the High Holy Days. In Greece and Rome it is dedicated to Dionysus, or Persephone and Demeter. Today, we are invited to stand with the powerful Archangel Micha-el, in balance, between the light and the dark, as we create the ‘festival of the future’, which we call ‘Michaelmas’. Forging confidence thru Heart-Thinking, Michael strengthens our Will & reinforces our higher “I” so that we have the Courage to find the Spirit behind the living cosmos.
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg –Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society. Founder of Reverse Ritual – Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year
Eurythmy with Mary Ruud, who just moved here from WI. Mary has been teaching Eurythmy to adults and children for more than 30 years. She works in several Waldorf teacher training courses for private, public and charter schools as well as Lifeways Early Childhood Training. Mary’ Masters of Liberal Arts thesis was Nature and Self, how our attitudes towards the natural world shape our concept of Self. Mary is also a trained Therapeutic Horsemanship teacher.
