Category Archives: Central Regional Council

In Moral Steps of Time

Celestial Event, Central Regional Council, Chicago Event, Festival, Insight, Poetry, Quote, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars, Spring

2 May 2017 – Astro-Weather: The First Quarter Moon hangs high in the southwest as darkness falls, then sinks steadily toward the western horizon throughout the evening hours. Our satellite officially reaches First Quarter phase at 9:47 pm CDT among the background stars of Cancer the Crab. It will remain on view until it dips below the horizon after 2 am.

María León

The annual eta Aquarid meteor shower is underway. These meteors are pieces of Halley’s Comet, hitting Earth’s atmosphere above Earth’s surface. In the days ahead our planet will cross a network of debris streams from the comet, producing a drizzle of eta Aquarids numbering 10 to 30 meteors per hour in the northern hemisphere & perhaps twice that number in the southern hemisphere.

Activity could increase on May 4th when Earth grazes a dust trail released by Comet Halley in the year 616. The strongest activity is seen around May 6th.

The best time to look, no matter where you live, is during the dark hours just before dawn when the constellation Aquarius is rising in the east.

Tomorrow Mercury comes out of retrograde.

***

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1519 – Death Day of Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, & architect.

“…We know how Leonardo worked at the “Last Supper”. He often went and sat on the scaffolding and brooded for hours in front of the wall, then he would take a brush and make a few strokes and go away again. Sometimes he only went and stared at the picture and went away again. When he was painting the Christ Figure, his hand trembled. Indeed, if we put together all that we can find concerning this subject we must say that neither outwardly nor inwardly was Leonardo happy when painting this world-renowned picture. Now there were people at that time in Milan who were displeased with the slow progress of the picture, for instance a Prior of the monastery, who could not see why an artist could not paint such a picture quickly, and complained to the Duke. He too thought the affair had lasted too long. Leonardo answered: “The picture is to represent Jesus Christ and Judas, the two greatest contrasts; one cannot paint them in one year; there are no models for them in the world, neither for Judas nor for Christ”. After he had been working at the picture for years, he said he did not know whether he could finish it after all! Then he said that if finally he found no model for Judas he could always use the Prior himself! It was thus extraordinarily difficult to bring the picture to a conclusion but within himself Leonardo did not feel happy. For this picture showed the contrast between what lived in his soul and what he was able to represent on the canvas. Here it is necessary to bring forward a hypothesis of Spiritual Science, which may be reached by anyone who studies what can by degrees be learned about this picture.” ~Rudolf Steiner, Leonardo da Vinci, His Spiritual and Intellectual Greatness, At the Turning Point of the New Age

1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker

1729 – Birthday of Catherine the Great of Russia, the longest-ruling female leader of Russia. The Catherinian Era, is often considered the Golden Age of the Russian Empire & the Russian nobility. She enthusiastically supported the ideals of The Enlightenment, thus earning the status of an enlightened despot. As a patron of the arts she presided over the age of the Russian Enlightenment, a period when the Smolny Institute, the first state-financed higher education institution for women in Europe, was established.

1772 – Birthday of Novalis, the pseudonym & pen name of Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, poet, author, mystic, & philosopher of Early German Romanticism. His study of mineralogy & management of salt mines in Saxony, was often ignored by his contemporary readers Novalis concerned himself with the scientific doctrine of Johann Gottlieb Fichte, which greatly influenced his world view, transforming Fichte’s Nicht-Ich (German “not I”) to a Du (“you”), an equal subject to the Ich (“I”). This was the starting point for Novalis’ Liebesreligion (“religion of love”) dedicated to his beloved Sophie who died of tuberculosis.

“…When we consider the life of Novalis, what an echo we find there of the Raphael life for which Hermann Grimm had so fine an understanding! His beloved dies in her youth. He is himself still young. What is he going to do with his life now that she has died? He tells us himself. He says that his life on Earth will be henceforth to “die after her”, to follow her on the way of death. He wants to pass over already now into the super-sensible, to lead again the Raphael life, not touching the Earth, but living out in poetry his magic idealism. He would fain not let himself be touched by Earth life.

When we read the “Fragments” of Novalis, and give ourselves up to the life that flows so abundantly in them, we can discover the secret of the deep impression they make on us. Whatever we have before us in immediate sense-reality, whatever the eye can see and recognise as beautiful — all this, through the magic idealism that lives in the soul of Novalis, appears in his poetry with a well-nigh heavenly splendour. The meanest and simplest material thing — with the magic idealism of his poetry he can make it live again in all its spiritual light and glory.

And so we see in Novalis a radiant and splendid forerunner of that Michael stream which is now to lead you all, my dear friends, while you live; and then, after you have gone through the gate of death, you will find in the spiritual super-sensible worlds all those others — among them also the being of whom I have been speaking to you today — all those with whom you are to prepare the work that shall be accomplished at the end of the century, and that shall lead mankind past the great crisis in which it is involved.” ~Rudolf Steiner, The Individuality of Elias, John, Raphael, Novalis – The Last Address – Dornach, Michaelmas Eve, 1924

1933 – Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions

1945 –Fall of Berlin: The Soviet Union announces the capture of Berlin & Soviet soldiers hoist their red flag over the Reichstag building

1952 – The world’s first ever jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet 1 makes its maiden flight, from London to Johannesburg

1972 – In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.

1986 –The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster

1998 – The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define & execute the European Union’s monetary policy

2000 – President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military

2008 – Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people & leaving millions of people homeless

2008 – Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.

2011 – Osama bin Laden, is killed by the United States special forces in

2014 – Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave over 2,500 people dead

***

POD (Poem Of the Day)

Valerie Sjodin

~The portals of perception
Raw & cluttered await
The revealing –
It is my Self I see –
A 1000 colors swirling in liquid light
A star covered in rising clouds
Hung by a thread from its ocean Moon
Hail Self
Traversing eternity
In moral steps of time
Where the Guardian beckons
~hag

***

Linda Yelson

Dear Friends – As we move deeper into the glories of Spring, under the cosmic fortitude gracing us from the annual eta Aquarid meteor showers, & the guidance of the Archangel Raphael – I will be more sporadic in my blog offerings, as I prepare for some upcoming lecture events & workshops, which I hope you will attend…

Until soon

Xox ~!Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

Exploring the Mysteries of Mid-Summer: Then & Now

Bee & Stag Bon-fire / Drum Circle (at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute)

8 pm – 10 pm Friday June 23rd  2017

We begin with the setting Sun, in the dark of the New Moon, by enlivening the ecstatic elements practiced by our ancient ancestors, at the time of the Summer Solstice. Thru the drumming of our collective heart-beat, circle dancing, singing to the stars, blessing the earth, & celebrating the bright reflection of the Divine within ourselves & each other, we shall pour our dream-consciousness out into the cosmos.

$20? – Bring your drum, shaker or music maker (or for $5 borrow one of ours)

***

Cosmic Rapture Grounded in Jubilant Hearts

10 am – 12 noon Saturday June 24th 2017 (at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute)

Then in the clear light of day, Come Join our Initiatory Workshop/Ritual, as we expand our Celebration into the 21st Century, to discover the New Mysteries of St. Johns-Tide.

To pass the test of Summer we will explore many questions:

  • How do we stand wakefully within the sublime mysteries of the Summer-Tide,

to consciously embody ‘the spiritual wisdom of the gods’?

  • Who is the mysterious Archangel of Summer?
  • Who is John the Baptist? What do his sayings “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” And “He must increase, but I must decrease.” really mean?
  • What is the secret to healing the ‘soul-fever’ so prevalent in society today?
  • What is the mystery of the Dragon-fly, & other elemental beings?
  • How can we understand the ‘Cycle of the Year as Breathing Process of the Earth’?

Together we will work to strengthen our true “I”, enlivening our will forces with various social-artistic exercises, Including: ‘Seeing into the Etheric World’ thru the ‘After-Image’, Eurythmy, & an exploration of Karmic investigations.

$20? – All materials included

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, and the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society. Founder of Reverse Ritual – Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year– Presenter, Poet, & Trans-denominational Minister

***

The Central Regional Council is hosting a Bridging to the ‘Great American Eclipse’ in St. Louis – August 19-22, 2017 stay tuned for details

***

John Stolfo

Michaelmas & the Horn of Plenty – Fall Festivals Ancient and New –

Saturday, September 23rd 2017, 1 pm – 5 pm (at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute)

Saturday September 30th 10:30 am – 4:30pm ( at the Theosophical Society)

Come join our Experiential Workshop/Ritual celebrating the Autumnal Equinox. 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 & 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’.

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.  Festivals Coordinator of the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society. Lecturer, Promoter, Blogger, Poet & Performance Artist www.ReverseRitual.com

Current Festival & Program Events

 

Swallow the light & praise the spectrum

Celestial Event, Central Regional Council, Chicago Event, Festival, Insight, Lecture, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars, Spring

4 April 2017 – Astro-Weather : Near the end of twilight at this time of year, Arcturus, the bright “Spring Star” climbing in the east (well to the left of brighter Jupiter), shines at the same height as Sirius, the brighter “Winter Star” descending in the southwest’

Saturn rises shortly after 1am CDT & climbs high in the south by the time morning twilight begins. The ringed planet lies in the northwestern corner of Sagittarius the Archer, where it appears nearly stationary relative to the background stars, getting ready for its retrograde journey starting tomorrow!

***

Remedios Varo

“Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.”~ H.G. Wells

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

El Greco

33 AD – The Easter Resurrection

1st day of Sham el-Nisim -an Egyptian national holiday marking the beginning of spring. The name of the holiday is derived from the Egyptian name of the Harvest Season, known as Shemu, which means a day of creation. According to annals written by Plutarch during the 1st century AD, the Ancient Egyptians used to offer salted fish, lettuce, & onions to their deities on this day.

After the Christianization of Egypt, the festival became associated with the other Christian spring festival, Easter. Over time, Shemu morphed into its current form & its current date, As Egypt became Arabized, the term Shemu found a rough phono-semantic match in Sham el-Nessim, or “Smelling/Taking In of the Zephyrs,” which represents the way in which Egyptians celebrate the holiday.

Early in the morning of this day, many folks, especially women, break an onion, & smell it; & in the course of the afternoon many of the citizens of Cairo ride or walk a little way into the country, or go in boats, generally northward, to take the air, or, as they term it, smell the air, which on that day they believe to have a wonderfully beneficial effect. People spend all day out picnicking in any space of green, public gardens, on the Nile, or at the zoo. Traditional food eaten on this day consists mainly of fesikh (a fermented, salted and dried grey mullet), lettuce, scallions or green onions, tirmis, and colored boiled eggs

April 5-6, 1909 – Rudolf Steiner laid the foundation stone for the Rosicrucian Temple of the “Francis of Assisi” Lodge in Malsch  

1969 –Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many U.S. cities

“If America’s soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read “Vietnam.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr., 1967

***

Maria Gracia-Plotter

POD (Poem Of the Day)
~Drink the cup of heaven – She told me
Let grace roll down your head like the blessings of baptism
Drink in the Earth to let the young sprouts unfurl within
According to their purpose…
Swallow the light & praise the spectrum
That spills out the threads of eternity…
…Then you may Be the fire feed with breath Begotten...
~hag

***

Sarah Bettle

“The Harmony of the Universe at the Moment of the Mystery of Golgotha “ by Willi Sucher

“The moment of the (original) Mystery of Golgotha, that is, the time from the 3rd to the 5th of April 33 AD, displays a unique situation in the cosmos. During those days there existed a harmony throughout the heavens, right down to the Earth, which did not exist before and will not return (if at all) for 26,000 years.”

The essence of this essay by Astrosopher Willi Sucher is that the ‘3 Zodiacs’ were aligned:

  1. The Constellations (the fixed Stars or astral body of the cosmos – World Soul)
  2. The Signs (associated with the seasons, with the yearly rhythms of life in nature – an image of the etheric, or life forces, in the universe)
  3. The Houses (that which radiates as space segments from the geographical point where one stands – an image of the physical body)

“At the time of the Mystery of Golgotha, particularly on Easter Sunday just before sunrise, these space sectors were oriented into space in perfect harmony. This wonderful harmony of the three Zodiacs, between heaven and Earth, is a vivid symbol, or image of the resurrection body that was then re-established.

The disharmony before was connected with the ‘Fall’ of humanity, and with the corruption of the spirit body. The ‘Fall’ in Paradise did not mean that only Adam and Eve went through those experiences, the entire universe was affected and changed in that moment. The position of the Earth was changed.

We are faced in our work with the difference between the geocentric and heliocentric world conceptions. Rudolf Steiner, on the basis of his spiritual investigations, pointed out that in the medieval Rosicrucian schools the pupil was first introduced to the geocentric view. Then, when the pupil had learned this, he was told that this is how it should be, but that it is not so on account of the ‘Fall.’ The Earth had thereby lost its central position. That which happened in Paradise affected the entire Earth and therefore the possibility of disharmony entered cosmic history.

However, on that Sunday morning, 5 April 33 AD, just before sunrise, the original harmony was re-established. The cosmos was jubilant about what happened when the Christ rose from the grave of the Earth. At the same time it was the hope of all future Earth existence and of all future humanity. “~Summary & excerpt from Astrosopher Willi Sucher’s Cosmic Christianity

Jacopo di Cione

And so it is my friends, that the Easter garden begins to bloom, that our souls can behold, like the Magdalana before us, The Risen One as the gardener of the New Jerusalem.

The Tomb becomes the altar, a sacred place to commune with the gods – with the souls of the departed as our intermediaries. The tomb becomes the Round table, and the Parsifal question leads us to find Christ in the etheric.

This will be the subject of our Easter-Tide Discourse

Until soon

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

Kari Marie Olson

The Bridging Project
Between Life and Death from Soul to Soul
April 5, 2017 – 7:15 pm CST 

“This dulling of human feelings of wonder is connected with what was not taken up in the age approaching the twentieth century. If we wish to speak of the causes of our present catastrophic events, we will find that these causes are not human actions, but instead are sins of omission. This is the essential point.” ~Rudolf Steiner, Historical Necessity and Freewill, Lecture 6, “New Spiritual Impulses in History – Their Rejection by the Materialistic World Conception and the Result of the Catastrophic Events of World War I” … Our focus for the April 5 meeting

The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing study conversation. The study has been divided amongst six 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 under the title: “The Influence of the Dead on Destiny”, here is the link:
https://steiner.presswarehouse.com/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=179577
The following is the link to the audio book and lectures:
http://www.rudolfsteineraudio.com/influencedeaddestiny1917/influencedestinydead1917.html

This will be a “go-to-meeting” 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://global.gotomeeting.com/join/328407941
Option 2.  Call in using your telephone.
United States: +1 (312) 757-3117
Canada: +1 (647) 497-9373
Access Code: 328-407-941
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.

Please join us!
Agenda for our Study Call

7:15 Verse
7:18 Welcome and Introductions
7:25 Study led by six volunteers
Alberto – beginning to page 79
Marianne D – page 79 to 81
Hazel – page 81 to page 83
Raven – page 83 to page 85
Marianne F-D – page 85 to 87
Travis – page 87 to end
8:05 Conversation
8:20 Identify volunteers for the next study call, June 14
8:25 Share initial thoughts regarding Central Region gatherings in August (time of the solar eclipse) and November (All Souls)
8:28 Close with verse

***

EASTER-TIDE EVENTS for 2017: (PLEASE NOTE: THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE HAS CHANGED FROM THE PRINTED CALENDAR)

Holy Week Gatherings:

This year we dedicate our study to those who have crossed the threshold. We will be reading to the dead from Chapter 5 of ‘An Outline of Esoteric Science’, entitled ‘Initiation’. We will incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’ verse for Easter,  Group eurythmy, & focused discussion.

Study: 9 April 2017, Palm Sunday 2 pm – 3 pm

*SPECIAL EVENT: 3 pm – 6 pm – Work Party at the branch with Elisabeth Swisher & the youth from CWS – All are Welcome

Study: 13 April 2017, Maundy Thursday 7 pm – 8 pm  

Study: 14 April 2017, Good Friday 7 pm – 8 pm

***

15 April 2017, Holy Saturday – Our Easter-Tide Festival:
‘The Mystery of Golgotha – Then & Now’
2 pm – 4 pm

What was the Mystery of Golgotha?
What is the Mystery now?
What will it be for the future?
~Art Projections & Discourse with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Group work: Based on Baruch Urieli’s
‘Learning to Experience the Etheric World,
Empathy, the After-Image and a New Social Ethic’

$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged

***

16 April 2017, Easter Sunday – 4 pm – 6 pm

The Midwest Eurythmy Group will perform
The Easter Verse from the Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner & Bach Fugue Bb minor ‘5 Voices’ & Prelude #22

Then we will gather for our study & the reading to the dead from Chapter 5 of ‘An Outline of Esoteric Science’, entitled ‘Initiation’ – We will incorporate an Artistic Activity related to the study, Group Eurythmy, & Focused Discussion.

$10 Donation goes to support the Midwest Eurythmy Group
& Snacks to Share Encouraged
(Hazel will bring her famous slow cooked leg of lamb :

at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society 4249 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL. 60618. MAP

***

Call & Response

Celestial Event, Central Regional Council, Poetry, Remembering, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars

4 April 2017 – Astro-Weather: The Big Dipper’s familiar shape rides high in the northeast on April evenings. The spring sky’s finest binocular double star Mizar & Alcor marks the bend of the Dipper’s handle.

Melissa Zendejas

Also now, Bella Luna forms a huge, nearly vertical line with Procyon & Sirius below it in early & mid-evening

***

Marge Bing

“The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence.” ~T.S. Eliot, “Tradition & the Individual Talent” (1919)

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

397 – Deathday of Aurelius Ambrosius, There is a legend that as an infant, a swarm of bees settled on his face while he lay in his cradle, leaving behind a drop of honey. His father considered this a sign of his future eloquence & honeyed tongue. For this reason, bees & beehives often appear in the saint’s symbology.

St. Ambrose ranks with Augustine, Jerome, & Gregory the Great, as one of the Latin Doctors of the Church. Theologians compare him with Hilary. Ambrose displayed a kind of liturgical flexibility that kept in mind that liturgy was a tool to serve people in worshiping God, & ought not to become a rigid entity that is invariable from place to place. His advice to Augustine of Hippo on this point was to follow local liturgical custom. “When I am at Rome, I fast on a Saturday; when I am at Milan, I do not. Follow the custom of the church where you are.” Thus Ambrose refused to be drawn into a false conflict over which particular local church had the “right” liturgical form where there was no substantial problem. His advice has remained in the English language as the saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

One interpretation of Ambrose’s writings is that he was a Christian universalist. It has been noted that Ambrose’s theology was significantly influenced by that of Origen & Didymus the Blind.

Ambrose considered the poor not a distinct group of outsiders, but a part of the united, solidary people. Giving to the poor was not to be considered an act of generosity towards the fringes of society but as a repayment of resources that God had originally bestowed on everyone equally & that the rich had usurped

560 – Death day of Zosimas of Palestine, reputed to have lived to be almost one hundred years of age is best known for his encounter with St. Mary of Egypt. It was the custom of that monastery for all of the brethren to go out into the desert for the 40 days of Great Lent, spending the time in fasting & prayer. While wandering in the desert he met Saint Mary, who told him her life story & asked him to meet her the next year on Holy Thursday on the banks of the Jordan, in order to bring her Holy Communion. He did so, & the third year came to her again in the desert, but he found that she had died & he buried her.

636 – Deathday of Saint Isidore of Seville, was one of the last of the ancient Christian philosophers; he was the last of the great Latin Church Fathers & was contemporary with Maximus the Confessor. Some consider him to be the most learned man of his age, & he exercised a far-reaching & immeasurable influence on the educational life of the Middle Ages. His contemporary & friend, Braulio of Zaragoza, regarded him as a man raised up by God to save the Iberian peoples from the tidal wave of barbarism that threatened to inundate the ancient civilization of Hispania

1863 – Deathday of Ludwig Emil Grimm, a German painter, art professor, etcher & copper engraver. His brothers were the well-known folklorists Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm

1887 – Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the 1st female mayor in the United States

1905 – In India, an earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, killing 20,000, &destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamsala

1913 – Birthday of Blues man Muddy Waters (for Fuji J

1944 – World War II: First bombardment of oil refineries in Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3000 civilians

1967 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech in New York City’s Riverside Church

1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee

***

Melvin Luckkin

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I will
To call myself my own
Irradiating the night of Time & space with an inborn gleam
While nature dreams, my soul is called, to stay awake
Suffusing Sun fire into the hive…
Do you recognize me…?
~hag

***

Sandy Grupa

A thought for today:

Shakespeare described bees as “singing masons building roofs of gold”

***

Kari Marie Olson

The Bridging Project
Between Life and Death from Soul to Soul
April 5, 2017 – 7:15 pm CST 

“This dulling of human feelings of wonder is connected with what was not taken up in the age approaching the twentieth century. If we wish to speak of the causes of our present catastrophic events, we will find that these causes are not human actions, but instead are sins of omission. This is the essential point.” ~Rudolf Steiner, Historical Necessity and Freewill, Lecture 6, “New Spiritual Impulses in History – Their Rejection by the Materialistic World Conception and the Result of the Catastrophic Events of World War I” … Our focus for the April 5 meeting

The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing study conversation. The study has been divided amongst six 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 under the title: “The Influence of the Dead on Destiny”, here is the link:
https://steiner.presswarehouse.com/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=179577
The following is the link to the audio book and lectures:
http://www.rudolfsteineraudio.com/influencedeaddestiny1917/influencedestinydead1917.html

This will be a “go-to-meeting” 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://global.gotomeeting.com/join/328407941
Option 2.  Call in using your telephone.
United States: +1 (312) 757-3117
Canada: +1 (647) 497-9373
Access Code: 328-407-941
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.

Please join us!
Agenda for our Study Call

7:15 Verse
7:18 Welcome and Introductions
7:25 Study led by six volunteers
Alberto – beginning to page 79
Marianne D – page 79 to 81
Hazel – page 81 to page 83
Raven – page 83 to page 85
Marianne F-D – page 85 to 87
Travis – page 87 to end
8:05 Conversation
8:20 Identify volunteers for the next study call, June 14
8:25 Share initial thoughts regarding Central Region gatherings in August (time of the solar eclipse) and November (All Souls)
8:28 Close with verse

The Poetry of April

Central Regional Council, Chicago Event, Festival, Insight, Poetry, Remembering, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars, Spring

2 April 2017 POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Spring breaks thru
The diaphanous weave of Her dress
Nipples hard against the cold stone…
I am concealed
In the shimmering curtain
Of her fragrant hair –
In a spell of my own casting
Entwined in arms of splendor
About to blossom
Engendered in the in-breath of Her dreaming
Born in magic made manifest
Whirling in love outpouring
Peace & Noise…

~hag

***

Kari Marie Olson

The Bridging Project
Between Life and Death from Soul to Soul
April 5, 2017 – 7:15 pm CST 

“This dulling of human feelings of wonder is connected with what was not taken up in the age approaching the twentieth century. If we wish to speak of the causes of our present catastrophic events, we will find that these causes are not human actions, but instead are sins of omission. This is the essential point.” ~Rudolf Steiner, Historical Necessity and Freewill, Lecture 6, “New Spiritual Impulses in History – Their Rejection by the Materialistic World Conception and the Result of the Catastrophic Events of World War I” … Our focus for the April 5 meeting

The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing study conversation. The study has been divided amongst six 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 under the title: “The Influence of the Dead on Destiny”, here is the link:
https://steiner.presswarehouse.com/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=179577
The following is the link to the audio book and lectures:
http://www.rudolfsteineraudio.com/influencedeaddestiny1917/influencedestinydead1917.html

This will be a “go-to-meeting” 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://global.gotomeeting.com/join/328407941
Option 2.  Call in using your telephone.
United States: +1 (312) 757-3117
Canada: +1 (647) 497-9373
Access Code: 328-407-941
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.

Please join us!
Agenda for our Study Call

7:15 Verse
7:18 Welcome and Introductions
7:25 Study led by six volunteers
Alberto – beginning to page 79
Marianne D – page 79 to 81
Hazel – page 81 to page 83
Raven – page 83 to page 85
Marianne F-D – page 85 to 87
Travis – page 87 to end
8:05 Conversation
8:20 Identify volunteers for the next study call, June 14
8:25 Share initial thoughts regarding Central Region gatherings in August (time of the solar eclipse) and November (All Souls)
8:28 Close with verse

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EASTER-TIDE EVENTS for 2017: (PLEASE NOTE: THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE HAS CHANGED FROM THE PRINTED CALENDAR)

Holy Week Gatherings:

This year we dedicate our study to those who have crossed the threshold. We will be reading to the dead from Chapter 5 of ‘An Outline of Esoteric Science’, entitled ‘Initiation’. We will incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’ verse for Easter,  Group eurythmy, & focused discussion.

Study: 9 April 2017, Palm Sunday 2 pm – 3 pm

*SPECIAL EVENT: 3 pm – 6 pm – Work Party at the branch with Elisabeth Swisher & the youth from CWS – All are Welcome

Study: 13 April 2017, Maundy Thursday 7 pm – 8 pm  

Study: 14 April 2017, Good Friday 7 pm – 8 pm

***

15 April 2017, Holy Saturday – Our Easter-Tide Festival:
‘The Mystery of Golgotha – Then & Now’
2 pm – 4 pm

What was the Mystery of Golgotha?
What is the Mystery now?
What will it be for the future?
~Art Projections & Discourse with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Group work: Based on Baruch Urieli’s
‘Learning to Experience the Etheric World,
Empathy, the After-Image and a New Social Ethic’

$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged

***

16 April 2017, Easter Sunday – 4 pm – 6 pm

The Midwest Eurythmy Group will perform
The Easter Verse from the Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner & Bach Fugue Bb minor ‘5 Voices’ & Prelude #22

Then we will gather for our study & the reading to the dead from Chapter 5 of ‘An Outline of Esoteric Science’, entitled ‘Initiation’ – We will incorporate an Artistic Activity related to the study, Group Eurythmy, & Focused Discussion.

$10 Donation goes to support the Midwest Eurythmy Group
& Snacks to Share Encouraged
(Hazel will bring her famous slow cooked leg of lamb :

at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society 4249 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL. 60618. MAP

Comet LoveJoy & the April Fool

Celestial Event, Central Regional Council, Chicago Event, Festival, Insight, Lecture, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars, Spring

April Fool’s Day 2017 – Astro-Weather:

“…Just as something quite special enters the life of a family with the birth of a new earth-citizen, so something quite different enters the progress of the human race on earth through the appearance of a comet, which breaks through the ordinary process of cosmic existence. It is actually as though something new were born, when a comet appears.

“If we bear this in mind, we shall then encounter in the right way what we call ‘Signs from the Heavens.’ New births in the universe are not always to be greeted with the same joy as the birth of a young citizen into a family. All sorts are born into the universe; those that bring humanity forward as well as those that drive it back.”

“…If we wish to understand the nature of a Comet, wandering as it does in cosmic space regardless of the other laws of the Solar System, we must be clear as to the fact that the Comet carries the laws belonging to the old Moon-existence into our own. Those laws it has preserved, and with those it enters our existence…In the year 1906, during the Congress in Paris, I called attention to the fact that Spiritual investigation from its knowledge of the nature of Comets, was able to say: As the combinations of carbon and hydrogen play the same part on our earth as did the combinations of carbon and nitrogen (cyanogen) on the Old Moon, the cometary life must contain cyanogen compounds, — combinations of carbon and nitrogen. Our Spiritual Science, therefore, some time ago announced that the cometary nature must contain cyanogen in some form. During the last few weeks this fact has been mentioned in all the newspapers as an external fact discovered by spectro-analysis. This is only one case — hundreds of others could be quoted — in which Spiritual investigation builds bridges for the facts of external research. In this case spectro-analysis asserts what Spiritual Science stated years before.” ~from CORRESPONDENCES BETWEEN THE MICROCOSM AND THE MACROCOSM, by Rudolf Steiner, Berlin, 9 March, 1910.

Appearing now: Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, or “T-G-K”, behaving as expected, high in the northern evening sky all April. It appears fairly large, since it’s passing relatively close to Earth; mostly diffuse & low-surface-brightness but with a sharp nucleus.

Comet C/2017 E4 Lovejoy is the surprise. Discovered on March 10th 2017 at magnitude 12, it was only expected to reach 9th magnitude at its brightest in mid-April. It’s in Pegasus, in the east just before the beginning of dawn; go out 2 hours before sunrise . The Moon won’t interfere until about the morning of the 7th.

Also: The waxing crescent Moon hangs with Aldebaran, the Hyades & Pleiades in the early evening.

Mars & Mercury, together at dusk. By the end of the week Mercury has greatly faded. . .

The huge, bright Winter Hexagon is still in view after dusk, filling the sky to the southwest  & west. It’s the biggest well-known asterism in the sky. Start with brilliant Sirius in the southwest, the Hexagon’s lower left corner. High above Sirius is Procyon. From there look even higher for Pollux & Castor, rightward from Castor to Menkalinan & bright Capella, lower left from there to Aldebaran (near the Moon tonight), lower left to Rigel at the bottom of Orion, & back to Sirius.

This evening Aldebaran is lower right of the Moon, & Betelgeuse is a bit farther to the Moon’s lower left Have you ever closely compared the colors of Betelgeuse & Aldebaran? Can you detect any difference in their color whatsoever? I can’t, really. Yet Aldebaran, is often called an “orange” giant, while Betelgeuse, is usually called a “red” supergiant.

***

Georgia O’Keeffe

April is Poetry Month so here’s my POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I re-member
The perfume of morning
Sharp as I carry the egg of light home
A simple flower unfurling
Slowly after a night of anguish
I sway under a fragmented sky thinking how
Star patterns & Moon-magic pulse within me…
& how
Unseen music follows…
~hag

***

Bea Garth

The Goddess & the April Fool: A guided Imagination

You are walking in a dense forest. The sky is overcast, and the woods are gloomy, although occasionally, a feeble ray of sunlight makes its way through the clouds and the trees. The branches of the trees are bare, although the tips are just beginning to bud. Old leaves from last year’s fall scurry about your feet as an occasional gust of wind blows them about. The ground is, for the most part bare, with occasional patches of snow in the shade. Hints of new green life make their way up through the snow and dead leaves.

As you walk, you notice a grove of beautiful white birches, the pale glint of their trunks and branches, a pleasant contrast in the otherwise dark woods. You walk towards the birch grove and then deep into it. When you are surrounded by the birches, you notice a large tree that looks as if it has been struck by lightning. It’s upper trunk has been split in two, the inner wood has been exposed to the air, dead leaves have blown their way into the nooks of the tree, in every way this tree looks as dead as it can be.

Suddenly you hear a whimsical whistle from behind the fallen lightning struck branches. Out pops “THE FOOL” in his colorful patch work coat, holding his knapsack up on a stick, a white rose in his hand, with a wolf cub snapping at his heels…

“OH DON’T MIND THE WOLF FAWNING ABOUT, HE KEEPS ME HONEST.
I SEE YOU WERE LAMENTING ABOUT THE TREE. DO YOU REALLY THINK IT’S DEAD (He laughs) REMEMBER, EVERY ENDING IS BUT A NEW BEGINNING. IT’S ALL ABOUT TRUST. BELIEF, IN THE ULTIMATE GOODNESS OF CREATION – THAT LIFE HAS A POINT. THAT DEATH IS TRANSFORMATION. THAT SUFFERING CAN BE PURPOSEFUL, WHEN WE BEGIN LIVING CONSCIOUSLY, IN THE HOPE OF A BRIGHT ETERNAL NOW.

OK, I KNOW, AT FIRST GLANCE THINGS SEEM DARK, AND YES, IF YOU LOOK AT THE EVIL OF GREED AND WAR IN THE WORLD, AT THE LOSS OF YOUNG LIVES, THE FAILURE OF PRINCIPLE, BELIEVING IN PEACE, HAVING HOPE & TRUSTING, CAN LOOK PRETTY (clears his throat) FOOLISH. BUT BELIEVE ANYWAY!!! THAT’S MY MOTTO. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO RISK, TO JUMP INTO THE ABYSS OF BELIEF, TO GO AGAINST EVERYTHING SOCIETY SAYS IS SENSELESS. IT MEANS TRUSTING THE HIGHER GOOD. THE INNER FORCES. WHICH ARE AT THE HEART OF GREAT EVOLUTIONARY ENDEAVORS.
RISK LOOKING LIKE A FOOL. LIVE IN THE MOMENT, OF HOPE FULFILLED.
BE PEACE & PEACE WILL PREVAIL.

HEY WHAT’S THAT OVER THERE…(laughs,) MADE YOU LOOK…

And with that “THE FOOL” is gone. Make sure your shoe laces aren’t tied together as you walk closer to the tree.

You are surprised to see a bright light outlining the figure of a woman. She is clad in brilliant greens and sunny yellows. She holds a large golden basket. Her gaze is steady, her eyes make you think of clear streams running in the middle of old forests, her skin reminds you of the first fair flower of spring, and her hair is long and unbound. At her feet sits a small brown rabbit nuzzling the hem of her skirt. She gestures, indicating that you should come forward. You walk towards her. She points at her covered basket, and lifts the cloth. Inside, you see an astounding array of pastel eggs, all colors, all patterns. You can think of nothing better than to pick one of these beautiful eggs, and have it for your very own. Your hand reaches out, and she shakes her head. You realize that while she wants you to have an egg, she wants you to pick it sight unseen. So, you close your eyes, reach out your hand, and reach into the basket. Eyes still closed, you draw your hand back, holding an egg. You open your eyes, and look upon your egg. What does it look like?

Think to yourself what the decoration on the egg means, and why Ostara, The Goddess of The Spring Resurrection wants you to have this particular gift for the coming season.

After you have looked at your egg, you raise your head to thank the Goddess, but she is gone. You look about for her in vain. You wonder if it has all been a dream. The reality of your heart tells you otherwise, and you know you have received the blessing of the Green Goddess.

As your attention moves from yourself to the forest, you realize that the trees now have tiny, but beautifully formed green leaves at the end of their branches. And you notice that the birch tree struck by lightning, the one that looked dead, now has green shoots rising from its split trunk. As you make your way out of the birch grove, it seems that the clouds have lightened, and even as you think this, the sun comes out. Small, barely formed flowers lightly scent the forest floor, birds are singing, and the rich smell of moist earth fills your nose.

Softly at first you hear that care-free whistling coming from what seems like everywhere. As you mount the crest, you see “THE FOOL” once again. He’s playing catch with the wolf, precariously close to the edge of the precipice. He calls out to you…

“A MONK WAS OUT WALKING IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ANCIENT JAPAN.
HE ENCOUNTERS A WILD TIGER. AND AS HE IS FLEEING, HE SLIPS OVER A CLIFF, BUT MANAGES TO GRAB HOLD OF A GNARLED ROOT AT THE EDGE. HE LOOKS DOWN, & SEES SHARDS OF BROKEN ROCKS FAR BELOW. HE LOOKS UP & SEES THE WILD CAT, SNARLING AT HIM IN HUNGER. AS HE LOOKS AROUND, HE ALSO SEES BESIDE HIM A BUSH WITH A SINGLE BRIGHT, SUCCULENT BERRY ON IT. HE LOOKS UP. HE LOOKS DOWN.
HE SMILES, & PLUCKS THE BERRY, & POPS IT INTO HIS MOUTH…
HOW SWEET IT TASTES!”
(He begins to whistle, letting it swell & then fade out)

This is the way of the wise fool. He knows that a life lived in trust is sweet. Take this Zen teaching into your heart, into your mind, into your body.

As you make your way out of the forest, you wonder how you could have found this green growing place gloomy, it seems so alive, and pleasant to walk through, full of hope and positive forces, which you can call on anytime, to influence your choices, as you take the leap, into the joys of Spring.

~Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

***

 

EASTER-TIDE EVENTS for 2017:

(PLEASE NOTE: THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE HAS CHANGED FROM THE PRINTED CALENDAR)

Holy Week Gatherings:

This year we dedicate our study to those who have crossed the threshold. We will be reading to the dead from Chapter 5 of ‘An Outline of Esoteric Science’, entitled ‘Initiation’. We will incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’ verse for Easter,  Group eurythmy, & focused discussion.

Study: 9 April 2017, Palm Sunday 2 pm – 3 pm

*SPECIAL EVENT: 3 pm – 6 pm – Work Party at the branch with Elisabeth Swisher & the youth from CWS – All are Welcome

Study: 13 April 2017, Maundy Thursday 7 pm – 8 pm  

Study: 14 April 2017, Good Friday 7 pm – 8 pm

15 April 2017, Holy Saturday – Our Easter-Tide Festival: ‘The Mystery of Golgotha – Then & Now’ – 2 pm – 4 pm

The Midwest Eurythmy Group will perform The Easter Verse from the Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner

What was the Mystery of Golgotha?
What is the Mystery now?
What will it be for the future?
~Art Projections & Discourse with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Group work: Based on Baruch Urieli’s
‘Learning to Experience the Etheric World,
Empathy, the After-Image and a New Social Ethic’

$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged

Study: 16 April 2017, Easter Sunday – 2 pm – 4 pm We continue our study & the reading to the dead from Chapter 5 of An Outline of Esoteric Science, entitled ‘Initiation.’ We will incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’ verse for Easter, Group eurythmy, & focused discussion.