Category Archives: Central Regional Council

Vita Nuova

“I remember never forgetting, in a moment before time itself. I remember the consciousness of an eternal present instant. So lived I an impulse; so the Will was born. And I saw a gate opening in the center of my heart being, and this threshold wasn’t enough to contain me, so I spilled myself, and creating the world, I lived within it, impregnating it with me, from the occult, to what the eyes can see.

So life was born that began growing up, so much that through beauty transcended itself. Then I discovered that I have never forgotten, that forever in Love I have being, that I live without being by myself forgotten, that I have crossed the threshold and have embraced the world tightly in my thousand arms, that I have known it and that in Lovers have we become, lovers intertwined in an everlasting embrace, feeding us each other from the one source that ignited us…mutual recognition like a Love’s wholeness by itself begotten”. ~Dante Alighieri, Vita Nuova

12 May 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Vega and Epsilon LyraeOn spring evenings, Vega is climbing higher in the northeastern sky. Look for bright Vega, then glance to the star’s lower left to view Epsilon Lyrae, the famous Double Double star. ~Alison Klesman 

~in the sky bright as Nuit’s belly above Her lover
the Sun glints like yellow jasper…
the body of heaven lies smooth & firm as an egg…
it is a joy to lick the wind
while the eye of the great One sees how stars fade…
~hag

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY – Past/Present/Future:

1310 – 54 Templars, all denying the charges, are burnt to death in a field near the convent of Saint-Antoine outside Paris.

1820 – Birthday of Florence Nightingale, Italian-English nurse, social reformer, and statistician. Her social reforms included improving healthcare for all sections of British society, advocating better hunger relief in India, helping to abolish prostitution laws that were harsh for women, and expanding the acceptable forms of female participation in the workforce. Nightingale was a prodigious and versatile writer. In her lifetime, much of her published work was concerned with spreading medical knowledge. Some of her tracts were written in simple English so that they could easily be understood by those with poor literary skills. She was also a pioneer in data visualization with the use of infographics, effectively using graphical presentations of statistical data. Much of her writing, including her extensive work on religion and mysticism, has only been published after her death.

Joseph Beuys i like america

1921 – Birthday of Joseph Beuys, German sculptor, performance artist & illustrator

1933 – The Agricultural Adjustment Act is enacted to restrict agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies.

Jimmy Carter Photo Gallery

2002 – Former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro becoming the first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro’s 1959 revolution.

2008 – An 8.0 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan, China, kills over 69,000 people

‘Let Freedom Ring – Reclaiming the Wisdom of Columbia – Folk Soul of America’.

For the Greater Washington Branch of the Anthroposophical Society

A zoom presentation with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Featuring Chekov Master Teacher Lisa Dalton, & Eurythmist Maria Ver Eecke – With poems read by Richard SwerlingDesmond Clark & Lark Bergwin-Anderson

Saturday 14 May 202210 am PT / 11 MT / NOON Central / 1 pm ET – 2:30 pm ET

Join Zoom Meeting:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86119386116 –

Meeting ID: 861 1938 6116

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

Emailasgwb.dc@gmail.com with any questions

Yoram Raanan

Announcing an exciting Event on Ascension Thursday, May 26th   7 – 8:30 pm Eastern time.

Climbing Jacob’s Ladder – Celebrating the Festival of Ascension with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

“In heavy clouds let Him ascend
And so also let Him downward tread.
In cooling streams let Him be sent,
In flames of fire blaze His descent,
In air & essence, sound & dew
To permeate our whole earth thru” ~Novalis

Ascension is a Festival of the Elements, & of the Hierarchies, it relates to the Transfiguration & the fulfillment of the promise of the ‘Second Coming’. Together we will explore the mystery of ‘As Above so Below’.

            Hazel Archer-Ginsberg is a trans-denominational minister, essayist, lecturer, performer, and poet. She writes and curates ‘Reverse Ritual, Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year’ and the ‘I Think Speech’ podcast. Hazel’s been the Cultural Events and Festivals Coordinator for the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago for over 10 years. She is a member of the Central Regional Council, the School for Spiritual Science, the Esoteric Youth Circle, and the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America.

                  Register by contacting Diane McGary, mcgary.family@comcast.net, by Sunday, May 22nd. You will receive an email with the zoom link on Tuesday May 24.

Hope to see you there!! – YES! Please feel free to spread the word!

Yours, Diane McGary, mcgary.family@comcast.net, for the the Eastern Region

A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor & Spirit Community

with the Eastern, Central and Western Regional Councils of the Anthroposophical Society in America

Sunday 29 May 20223 – 4:30 pm PT, 4-5:30 MT, 5-6:30 pm CT, 6-7:30 pm ET

We will be working with Rudolf Steiner’s THE FIFTH GOSPEL GA 148, Lecture II, 2 October 1913, Oslo

The Whitsun Festival highlights one of the greatest challenges of being human: placing our individual gifts, our individual “I”, in right relationship within the social realm. This challenge is strongly felt during this time of the consciousness soul age. Our groups striving to know Spiritual Science must work together as a community, to have the possibility to create this type of culture, and the opportunity is here for each of us to meet, human to human, where a sacrament is possible in every encounter. Our individual strength comes from our personal development and is enhanced by weaving our gifts together with others, knitting our social world in conscious community.

For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

Topic: All Regions Whitsun

Time: May 29, 2022 05:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7050174041?pwd=WkNaNDlPS0VIMTJUUkE1ZkFMaDh5dz09

Meeting ID: 705 017 4041

Passcode: Whitsun

The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
June 1, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)
“Anyone who approaches these mysteries today must feel that they are confronting and challenging themselves by striving for the virtues of Parzival, while knowing that — because of modern conditions — they are in fact someone else also, the wounded Amfortas. Today we bear this divided nature within us: aspiring Parzival, wounded Amfortas. That is what self-knowledge must lead us to feel. From this recognition will flow the forces which make a unity again of this duality, and will thus advance us a little further in world evolution.”~ from Chapter 15,  Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 15 “Acknowledging Amfortas,” excerpts from Steiner’s lecture given at Berlin on 7 February 1913 (GA 144, lecture IV), will be the focus of the June 1 meeting.

A transcript of the entire lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link. Please consider giving to the development and maintenance of the digital library of Rudolf Steiner’s work.  Scroll to the bottom of this message to read more about the RSArchive.org and SteinerLibrary.org
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown)
+13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv

If you have questions, please contact Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com or Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu.

There is a knighthood of the 21st century
whose riders do not ride through the darkness
of physical forests as of old,
but through the forest of darkened minds.
They are armed with a spiritual armor
and an inner sun makes them radiant.
Out of them shines healing,
healing that flows from the knowledge
of the human being as a spiritual being.
They must create inner order, inner justice,
peace and conviction in the darkness
of our time. ~Karl Konig

Agenda for this meeting (CST)
 7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Mariarosa – pages 117-123b
          Marianne – pages 123b-129
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse

Retro Messenger

10 May 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Mercury (occult Venus) stands stationary against the background stars of Taurus today, then the Messehger of Love & Healingwill begin moving retrograde, continuing this “backwards” motion until its next standstill late on June 2.

Mercury has been pulling away from the Pleiades, it stands roughly equal with Aldebaran in the Northwest. Catch your last few looks at the planet now; by the 21st, it will reach inferior conjunction with the Sun and remain out of sight until June.

Look also for Comet C/2021 O3 (PANSTARRS), still high an hour after sunset. Although it is now fading, the comet is still relatively easy-to-find above Mirfak, Perseus’ 2nd-magnitude alpha star.

Sunrise: 5:50 A.M.
Sunset: 8:04 P.M.
Moonrise: 2:01 P.M.

John william waterhouse

~i awake
to walk in a wonder
of flowers & sweet smelling herbs…
i am
lifted from the fretful earth
as green life lifts clods of dirt to the sky…
the sun pours
its grace upon my head
its luster an oil falling from a red jar
to meet the water of my skin…
~hag

‘Let Freedom Ring – Reclaiming the Wisdom of Columbia – Folk Soul of America’.

For the Greater Washington Branch of the Anthroposophical Society

A zoom presentation with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Featuring Chekov Master Teacher Lisa Dalton, & Eurythmist Maria Ver Eecke – With poems read by Richard Swerling, Desmond Clark & Lark Bergwin-Anderson

Saturday 14 May 2022

1 pm ET – 2:30 pm Eastern Time, NOON Central

Join Zoom Meeting:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86119386116

Meeting ID: 861 1938 6116

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & theI Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

Emailasgwb.dc@gmail.com with any questions

Yoram Raanan

Announcing an exciting Event on Ascension Thursday, May 26th   7 – 8:30 pm Eastern time.

Climbing Jacob’s Ladder – Celebrating the Festival of Ascension with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

“In heavy clouds let Him ascend
And so also let Him downward tread.
In cooling streams let Him be sent,
In flames of fire blaze His descent,
In air & essence, sound & dew
To permeate our whole earth thru” ~Novalis

Ascension is a Festival of the Elements, & of the Hierarchies, it relates to the Transfiguration & the fulfillment of the promise of the ‘Second Coming’. Together we will explore the mystery of ‘As Above so Below’.

            Hazel Archer-Ginsberg is a trans-denominational minister, essayist, lecturer, performer, and poet. She writes and curates ‘Reverse Ritual, Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year’ and the ‘I Think Speech’ podcast. Hazel’s been the Cultural Events and Festivals Coordinator for the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago for over 10 years. She is a member of the Central Regional Council, the School for Spiritual Science, the Esoteric Youth Circle, and the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America.

                  Register by contacting Diane McGary, mcgary.family@comcast.net, by Sunday, May 22nd. You will receive an email with the zoom link on Tuesday May 24.

Hope to see you there!!

YES! Please feel free to spread the word!

Yours,

Diane McGary, mcgary.family@comcast.net, for the the Eastern Region

The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
June 1, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)
“Anyone who approaches these mysteries today must feel that they are confronting and challenging themselves by striving for the virtues of Parzival, while knowing that — because of modern conditions — they are in fact someone else also, the wounded Amfortas. Today we bear this divided nature within us: aspiring Parzival, wounded Amfortas. That is what self-knowledge must lead us to feel. From this recognition will flow the forces which make a unity again of this duality, and will thus advance us a little further in world evolution.”~ from Chapter 15,  Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 15 “Acknowledging Amfortas,” excerpts from Steiner’s lecture given at Berlin on 7 February 1913 (GA 144, lecture IV), will be the focus of the June 1 meeting.

A transcript of the entire lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link. Please consider giving to the development and maintenance of the digital library of Rudolf Steiner’s work.  Scroll to the bottom of this message to read more about the RSArchive.org and SteinerLibrary.org
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown)
+13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv

If you have questions, please contact Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com or Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu.

There is a knighthood of the 21st century
whose riders do not ride through the darkness
of physical forests as of old,
but through the forest of darkened minds.
They are armed with a spiritual armor
and an inner sun makes them radiant.
Out of them shines healing,
healing that flows from the knowledge
of the human being as a spiritual being.
They must create inner order, inner justice,
peace and conviction in the darkness
of our time. ~Karl Konig

Agenda for this meeting (CST)
 7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Mariarosa – pages 117-123b
          Marianne – pages 123b-129
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse

“Mother’s Day For Peace”

Listen to the podcast for today on ‘I Think Speech‘

Happy Mother’s Day to all motherers – Motherhood is a soul quality – If you have cradled, fed, held, hugged, nurtured, counselled, driven around, stayed up late for, cleaned up after, shared joys, shared heartaches, nursed late at night, helped out, cheered on, fought for, worried about, taken pride in, stood behind, defended, believed in, & loved with all your heart above & beyond what is asked for in any other situation, unconditionally & respectfully…If you are a place called ‘home’ to someone – a refuge from the world, an embrace full of warmth & understanding – then you are a ‘mother’.

And we can remember & honor the fact that we all have life & the continuity of life, growth & change on our planet because of the Mother-line. The Mothers have gifted all with the pulse & rhythm of life – the heart of the Mother ! The Mother-Line connects all of Humanity. Happy Mother’s Day to Grandmothers, Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Aunties, Girlfriends, all Kindred & Mother Gaia who sustains us all !

Happy Mother's Day – Pagan Newswire Collective – Minnesota Bureau
Belinda Grey

The Her-Story of MOTHER’S DAY– The earliest mother’s day celebrations, can be traced back to the Spring Festivals of the ancients, honoring the Mother of the gods…& the Queen Bee…

Much later…in the 1600’s, England celebrated a day called ‘Mothering Sunday’, honoring the matriarchy…the Queens of England…

Diana Rico

As Christianity spread thruout Europe the celebration changed to honor the ‘Mother Church’…

Here in the US, in 1870, Julia Ward Howe the woman that actually wrote the words to the battle hymn of the republic, knowing all too well the horrors of war, called for women to rise up & oppose war in all its forms. She wanted women to come together across national lines, to recognize what we hold in common above what divides us, & to commit to finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts. She called it “Mother’s Day For Peace”

Her idea was influenced by Anna Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker, who had attempted starting in 1858, to improve sanitation thru what she called Mothers’ Work Days. She organized women thru-out the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, & in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union & Confederate neighbors.

Anna Jarvis’ daughter, also named Anna Jarvis, would of course have known of her mother’s work, & the work of Julia Ward Howe. Much later, when her mother died, this second Anna Jarvis started her own crusade to found a ‘Memorial Day for Women’.

The first ‘Mother’s Day’ was celebrated in West Virginia in 1907 in the church where the elder Anna Jarvis had taught Sunday School. So to pay homage to her ancestor, she began a campaign to establish a national Mother’s Day on the 2nd Sunday of May…the anniversary of her mother’s death…which just happened to be 40 days after Easter…as a day dedicated to peace.

And from there the custom caught on – spreading eventually to 45 states. Finally the holiday was declared officially by states beginning in 1912.

And in 1914, hoping to get the female vote & also as a distraction from his declaration of the 1st World War, President Woodrow Wilson, confirmed the first national Mother’s Day. So ironic as the original impulse was all about working to prevent war.

But what does it mean to us today…? You know I’m not taking about the commercialized happy-faced take-your-mother-to-brunch-cliché’s. Hallmark may not be talking…but this is heavy stuff…the concept of ‘mother’ is highly charged for most of us…we all have, or had, a mother…good or bad or in-between…We may be a mother ourselves…what does that bring up…plenty…right…there’s a lot there I know…

So maybe today we can try & access some of these impressions & feelings & memories…to pound out the pain…rattle the wonder…to sing our story…to dance in the healing process…to mother ourselves…

So choose your weapon of peace…your surgical tool…your pruning shears, or hammer, or monkey wrench…A drum or shaker…these will do…as we explore & experience our Mother’s Day anthem ponding in the heart-beat we all share

Blessings to all those who create & give life

xox

~hag

RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler
EASTERTIDE IV
The Marriage Gift
v4

I feel the essence of my being,
speaks clear sensing,
perceptive feeling in the sunlit world
uniting with the flowing light;
it would enliven clear thought
with warmth
and marry Man and World.

This verse is part of the Fire Festival quartet:
v4 Beltane, v17 Lammas, v30 Samhain and v43 Imbolc,
times of perception, imagination, inspiration and intuition.

LAMMAS
The Bread
v17
The Cosmic Word

I’ve had the grace to lead
through senses’ gates to soul ground speaks:
“Imagine in your spirit depths my world expanse
to find in future Me in you”.

SAMHAIN (HALLOWEEN)
Sun Inspiration
v30

In sunlight of my soul
ripe fruits of thought arise;
all feeling turns to sureness
of conscious self-awareness.
I joy to sense
the autumn’s rousing of the spirit;
within me will the winter wake
the summer of the soul.

IMBOLC (EPIPHANY IV)
The Consecration of the World
v43

In winter’s depths
true spirit presence warms,
makes new appearance real
and through the heart’s force
intuits earthlife’s rise towards her glory;
the soul’s revitalising fire in the human core
defies world cold.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day (rsarchive.org is such a blessing!)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (Indications from the orignal Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner + Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

8 May 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: First-quarter Moon (exactly first-quarter at 8:21 p.m. EDT). Now the Moon is under the front hook-end of the Sickle of Leo. The brightest star of the Sickle is the bottom of its handle, Regulus. Spot Regulus about 10° (a fist at arm’s length) left of the Moon. ~sky&telescope.com

1760 – Death-day of Count Zinzendorf , A social reformer & bishop of the Moravian Church. The Zinzendorf family belonged to one of the most ancient of noble families in Lower Austria. Among his ancestors was the Emperor Maximillian I.

Zinzendorf did not intend to found a religious organization distinct from the area’s Lutheran Church, but to create a Christian association, by demonstrating practical benevolence, that might awaken dull Lutheranism. He began to think that true Christianity could be best promoted by free associations of Christians, which in the course of time might grow into churches with no state connection.

In 1722, Zinzendorf offered asylum to a number of refugees from Moravia & Bohemia & built the village of Herrnhut on a corner of his estate.

Out of study & prayer, the community formed a document known as the Brüderlicher Vertrag, the ‘Brotherly Agreement’, today known as “The Moravian Covenant for Christian Living.” The Moravian Church is one of the few denominations that emphasizes a code of Christian behavior over specific creeds.

In these communities, a radical equality of spiritual life was practiced. Nobility & Native Americans shared common quarters; slaves were full members of the Church & could be elected to offices of leadership.

Zinzendorf’s interest in missionary work was sparked by meeting two Inuit children.

In 1736, accusations from neighboring nobles & questions of theological orthodoxy caused Zinzendorf to be exiled from his home in Saxony. He & a number of his followers moved to Marienborn (near Büdingen) & began a period of exile & travel, during which he became known as the “Pilgrim Count.”

In 1741, Zinzendorf visited Pennsylvania, becoming one of the few 18th century European nobles to have actually set foot in the Americas. In addition to visiting leaders such as Benjamin Franklin, he met with the leaders of the Iroquois.

Zinzendorf’s theology strongly included the emotional life of the believer as well as the intellectual. He criticized the coldly intellectual approach common in his day, & built a great deal of practice around the transformation of the emotions. He referred to this as the “religion of the heart.”

1805 – Death-day of Friedrich Schiller, some say he was poisoned (GA 64) The coffin containing what was purportedly Schiller’s skeleton, was brought in 1827, into the Weimarer Fürstengruft (Weimar’s Ducal Vault), later also Goethe’s resting place. On 3 May 2008, scientists announced that DNA tests showed that the skull of this skeleton is not Schiller’s, & his tomb is now vacant.

Friedrich Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, physician, historian, & playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with the already famous & influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. They frequently discussed issues concerning human freedom. Schiller encouraged Goethe to finish works he left as sketches. This relationship & these discussions led to a period now referred to as Weimar Classicism. They also worked together on Xenien, a collection of short satirical poems in which both Schiller & Goethe challenge opponents to their philosophical vision.

Schiller wrote many philosophical papers on ethics & aesthetics. He synthesized the thought of Immanuel Kant with the thought of the German Idealist philosopher, Karl Leonhard Reinhold. He elaborated Christoph Martin Wieland’s concept of die schöne Seele (the beautiful soul), a human being whose emotions have been educated by reason, so that Pflicht und Neigung (duty & inclination) are no longer in conflict with one another. Beauty, for Schiller, is not merely an aesthetic experience, but a moral one as well: the Good is the Beautiful.

His philosophical work was particularly concerned with the question of human freedom, a preoccupation which also guided his historical researches, & found its way as well into his dramas. Schiller wrote important essays on the question of the sublime, addressing one aspect of human freedom—the ability to defy one’s animal instincts, such as the drive for self-preservation, when, for example, someone willingly sacrifices themselves for conceptual ideals.

my mom Betty Mae

~Today I am
The thought of myself
In my Mothers forehead…
May I listen to the voice of the messenger
Bringing her song up from the dead –
A silver star bruised & hanging on a cloud
As I roll gold into life
Like the scarab
& stand with the flowering hawthorn on the obsidian altar…
~hag

‘Let Freedom Ring – Reclaiming the Wisdom of Columbia – Folk Soul of America’.

A zoom presentation with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg For the Greater Washington Branch of the Anthroposophical Society

1 pm ET – 2:30 pm ET Saturday 14 May 2022

Join Zoom Meeting:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86119386116

Meeting ID: 861 1938 6116

Email asgwb.dc@gmail.com with any questions

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

Yoram Raanan

Announcing an exciting Event on Ascension Thursday, May 26th   7 – 8:30 pm Eastern time.

Climbing Jacob’s Ladder – Celebrating the Festival of Ascension with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

“In heavy clouds let Him ascend
And so also let Him downward tread.
In cooling streams let Him be sent,
In flames of fire blaze His descent,
In air & essence, sound & dew
To permeate our whole earth thru” ~Novalis

Ascension is a Festival of the Elements, & of the Hierarchies, it relates to the Transfiguration & the fulfillment of the promise of the ‘Second Coming’. Together we will explore the mystery of ‘As Above so Below’.

            Hazel Archer-Ginsberg is a trans-denominational minister, essayist, lecturer, performer, and poet. She writes and curates ‘Reverse Ritual, Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year’ and the ‘I Think Speech’ podcast. Hazel’s been the Cultural Events and Festivals Coordinator for the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago for over 10 years. She is a member of the Central Regional Council, the School for Spiritual Science, the Esoteric Youth Circle, and the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America.

                  Register by contacting Diane McGary, mcgary.family@comcast.net, by Sunday, May 22nd. You will receive an email with the zoom link on Tuesday May 24.

Hope to see you there!!

YES! Please feel free to spread the word!

Yours,

Diane McGary, mcgary.family@comcast.net, for the the Eastern Region

The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
June 1, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)View this email in your browser
“Anyone who approaches these mysteries today must feel that they are confronting and challenging themselves by striving for the virtues of Parzival, while knowing that — because of modern conditions — they are in fact someone else also, the wounded Amfortas. Today we bear this divided nature within us: aspiring Parzival, wounded Amfortas. That is what self-knowledge must lead us to feel. From this recognition will flow the forces which make a unity again of this duality, and will thus advance us a little further in world evolution.”~ from Chapter 15
 Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 15 “Acknowledging Amfortas,” excerpts from Steiner’s lecture given at Berlin on 7 February 1913 (GA 144, lecture IV), will be the focus of the June 1 meeting.

A transcript of the entire lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link. Please consider giving to the development and maintenance of the digital library of Rudolf Steiner’s work.  Scroll to the bottom of this message to read more about the RSArchive.org and SteinerLibrary.org
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown)
+13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv

If you have questions, please contact Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com or Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu.There is a knighthood of the 21st century
whose riders do not ride through the darkness
of physical forests as of old,
but through the forest of darkened minds.
They are armed with a spiritual armor
and an inner sun makes them radiant.
Out of them shines healing,
healing that flows from the knowledge
of the human being as a spiritual being.
They must create inner order, inner justice,
peace and conviction in the darkness
of our time.Karl KonigAgenda for this meeting (CST)
 
7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Mariarosa – pages 117-123b
          Marianne – pages 123b-129
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse

DEAR EARTH MOTHER

Blessed Be Dear Earth Mother,
Mother in every caress and gesture,
in touch and whisper becoming song,
soft and reassuring that all is well,
rocking as I nestle close to her breast,
her heart pulsing, waves gently washing,
informing me as I sleep, wake, and sleep again.

Day by day I am encouraged to take up my staff,
fearless in innocence to welcome the angels in,
confirming that tedious, indelible connection,
and week by week watching, seeing more
as shadows take on form and feeling,
recognized as beings who bless and protect,
freeing me for life as I will grow to know it,
with bright awareness upright and speaking
truth that I am yet to know or conceive,
until I own the voice within, claiming autonomy.

Mother looks on as I grow and explore
month by month through the seasons,
and year by year discerning destiny’s revelations,
until the time arrives for me to stand alone,
Mother older now, ensouled and gentle still,
having released me with an unseen golden thread
confirming the bond that will always be.

As I become a Mother I carry Her with me,
Her skill, presence, touch and warm embrace
firmly rooted in life’s etheric rhythms,
and whether man or woman Mother’s blessing flows
with tears and laughter, joy and sorrow,
every Mother with a Mother to hold her
in loving arms and eternal wisdom. ~Nicholas Morrow

Cling Not

“Modern humanity is passing over a threshold at which stands a Guardian, a Guardian grave and full of meaning. And this grave Guardian speaks: “Cling not to what has come as a transplant from olden times; look into your hearts, into your souls, that you may be capable of creating new forms. You can only create these new forms when you have faith that the powers of knowledge and of will for this spiritual creation come out of the spiritual world.”

It is only through spiritual-scientific knowledge of the passing of the threshold in our present day that can give the Christ-form to this chaos.” ~Rudolf Steiner, THE SEARCH FOR THE NEW ISIS, DIVINE SOPHIA, GA 202, Lecture III  https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/19201225p01.html

I stare into the Clouds
Fore-gathering
Noetic sight
Into squinting syllables.
Watch it pour out honeyed unguents –
A sweet viscus half-light
Overflowing the ashen cup of night.
My I’s washed
With April showers
Splashing like a stepped in puddle
Falling fragrant on the flower.
~hag

6 April 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: The waxing crescent Moon passes the Pleiades, Aldebaran, and Aldebaran’s surrounding Hyades, just after the end of twilight.

Gloria Ssaili

What is to be the starting force & impulse for events in social & ethical life must come out of the spiritual world.” ~Rudolf Steiner, New Spiritual Impulses in History” Dornach 16 December, 1917

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

582- Death & Feast Day of Eutychius of Constantinople, Toward the end of his life, Eutychius maintained an opinion that after the resurrection the body will be “more subtle than air” & no longer a tangible thing. This was considered heretical, because it was taken as a denial of the doctrine of physical, corporeal resurrection.

TODAY in 1483 – Good Friday – Birthday of Raphael – Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino

TODAY in 1520 – Good Friday – Deathday of Raphael – Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino

It must seem strange that Raphael was the same person as a thorny character like John the Baptist. How could it happen that this thorny man, who had to pave the way for the Mystery of Golgotha in such a violent way, reappeared as the gentle, pliable, charming Raphael? But look at this. Raphael’s father, Giovanni Santi, died when Raphael was eleven. He was a painter. He was not a great painter so far as external achievements go, but he had great ideas in his head, although he could not put them on canvas because he had no technical skill. He was also a poet. There was a great deal of fantasy in him, but the physical capacities simply were not there. He went early through the portal of death, and then his forces worked into his son. In Raphael’s hands and imagination worked all that his father could send into the physical world. One can say that the old Giovanni Santi was a painter without hands in the supersensible world, for in a wonderful karmic relationship he supplied, in combination with the Christ-filled individuality of the Baptist, what came to expression in Raphael. The supersensible world had to work with the physical world to achieve this result. It shows how the so-called dead are able to influence those who have been left behind…” ~ Rudolf Steiner, On the Relationship with the Dead, 23 April 1913

Raphael, as we know from was  an Italian painter & architect of the High Renaissance. Raphael was enormously productive, running an unusually large workshop &, despite his death at 37, leaving a large body of work. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace. From 1517 until his death, Raphael lived in the Palazzo Caprini in the Borgo, in rather grand style in a palace designed by Bramante. He never married, & was thought to be bi-sexual. He is said to have had many affairs, but a permanent fixture in his life in Rome was “La Fornarina”, Margherita Luti, the daughter of a baker (fornaro) named Francesco Luti from Siena.

The story goes that Raphael’s premature death on Good Friday, which was also his 37th birthday, was caused by a night of excessive sex with Luti, after which he fell into a fever &, not telling his doctors that this was its cause, was given the wrong cure, which killed him. At his request, Raphael was buried in the Pantheon.

His funeral was extremely grand, attended by large crowds. The inscription in his marble sarcophagus, an elegiac distich written by Pietro Bembo, reads: “Ille hic est Raffael, timuit quo sospite vinci, rerum magna parens et moriente mori”, meaning: “Here lies that famous Raphael by whom Nature feared to be conquered while he lived, and when he was dying, feared herself to die.”

Rudolf Steiner speaks about him in his various incarnations, in ‘The Last Address’ – The Individuality of Elias, John, Raphael, Novalis. Dornach, Michaelmas Eve, 1924, GA 238

1472 –Birthday of Lucas Cranach the Elder, a German Renaissance painter & printmaker

Madonna del Cardellino | The Life of Jesus
Madonna del Cardellino by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino

1520 – Good Friday – Deathday of Raphael

1869 – Celluloid is patented

1930 – Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire,” beginning the Salt Satyagraha

1965 – Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit

1971 – Deathday of Igor Stravinsky, Russian-American pianist, composer, & conductor

Zat Rana

1992 – Deathday of Isaac Asimov, American science fiction writer

2015 – Deathday of Ray Charles


he Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
April 6, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)

“The pupils of the Grail were told of a state which humans would attain in future. Possessed of clear, alert consciousness, their being would be purified, the substance of the human body would become as pure and chaste as that of the plant, and their organs of reproduction transformed.”
~ from Chapter 12
 
Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 12 “The Higher Calyx” and Chapter 13 “The Resonant Chalice,” excerpts from Steiner’s lectures given at Nuremberg on 2 December 1907 (GA 92) and Stuttgart 16 September 1907 (GA 101) … will be the focus of the April 6 meeting.

Chapters 12 and 13 in the book can be found online at the CRC’s website by clicking this link
A transcript of the 2 December 1907 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link
A transcript of the 16 September, 1907 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link
 The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown)
+13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv

If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu
or Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.comThere is a knighthood of the 21st century
whose riders do not ride through the darkness
of physical forests as of old,
but through the forest of darkened minds.
They are armed with a spiritual armor
and an inner sun makes them radiant.
Out of them shines healing,
healing that flows from the knowledge
of the human being as a spiritual being.
They must create inner order, inner justice,
peace and conviction in the darkness
of our time. ~Karl Konig
 Agenda for this meeting (CST)
 
7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Michael – Chapter 12
          Tom – Chapter 13
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse


“The pupils of the Grail were told of a state which humans would attain in future. Possessed of clear, alert consciousness, their being would be purified, the substance of the human body would become as pure and chaste as that of the plant, and their organs of reproduction transformed.”
~ from Chapter 12
 
Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 12 “The Higher Calyx” and Chapter 13 “The Resonant Chalice,” excerpts from 

Steiner’s lectures given at Nuremberg on 2 December 1907 (GA 92) and Stuttgart 16 September 1907 (GA 101) … will be the focus of the April 6 meeting.

Chapters 12 and 13 in the book can be found online at the CRC’s website by clicking this link
A transcript of the 2 December 1907 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link
A transcript of the 16 September, 1907 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link
 The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown)
+13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv

If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu
or Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.comThere is a knighthood of the 21st century
whose riders do not ride through the darkness
of physical forests as of old,
but through the forest of darkened minds.
They are armed with a spiritual armor
and an inner sun makes them radiant.
Out of them shines healing,
healing that flows from the knowledge
of the human being as a spiritual being.
They must create inner order, inner justice,
peace and conviction in the darkness
of our time. ~Karl Konig
 Agenda for this meeting (CST)
 
7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Michael – Chapter 12
          Tom – Chapter 13
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse

An Impulse for the Future

Today – March 14th is a very active day according to Rudolf Steiner’s original Calendar of the Soul. It’s Pi day & Albert Einstein’s birthday & other important individualities in world history. The spirit of Marie Steiner-von Sivers has been very present for me as of late, & today is her birthday – And so in honor of this Slavic soul, the co-creator of Anthroposophy, I felt called to let her bring the leading thoughts for this day. – The quote I will share comes from an Introduction that she wrote after Rudolf Steiner’s death, in 1947 when she published ‘AN IMPULSE FOR THE FUTURE, GA 252 given by Rudolf Steiner when endowing a Society for Theosophy and Theosophical Art on 15 December of 1911. Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Haus Duldeck, CH-4143 Dornach. The introduction by Frau Dr. Steiner was entitled: “The Life in the Anthroposophical Society from the First World War to the Burning of the First Goetheanum”

And I think we can all agree that The future is now, so let us hear these words from Marie Steiner-von Sivers:

“Considering the difficulties of the times Rudolf Steiner continually placed indications for later activity in our souls, seeds for the future, which, after the soul’s sleep has been overcome can unfold with life. Through the hectic every-day life they are often spoiled or grasped, and then swept away by the mix of events. Among the souls who could accept these seeds of the future, surely there were some who were able to find new life because of them; but also there were those who – like the hard ground in the Gospel parable – could not benefit from them…Rudolf Steiner tried, not only by means of philosophy and science, art and spirituality, to lead us to freedom, but also through teaching within esoteric life, so that the old relation of dependence on the teacher would gradually develop into the impulse for freedom and responsibility to the spirit. Souls which consider themselves anchored in spirit, must pass a trial. Such a self-desired trial always calls forth an accelerated karma also what is gladly hidden from the self must be revealed./ Rudolf Steiner stressed that the content of this lecture be completely independent of all those he had previously given. It was, so to speak, a direct message from the spiritual world. It was a call delivered to humanity – followed by waiting to see what echo resulted. Such a call happens as a rule three times. If the call also remains unheard the third time, it is taken back to the spiritual world for a long time. The call was already sent to humanity once, unfortunately it found no echo. With every fruitless attempt, the conditions and relations become more difficult. This lecture was the second time. It concerns purely spiritual things. According to the notes “My dear friends” is how he began.

To my knowledge the lecture referred to has not been translated into English. If someone has it in English please share!?!

We can certainly know that the 3rd call came at the Christmas Conference.

Friends, The Time is at hand – the Future is Now – Now as we stand in the midst of the centennial of the Re-founding of the Anthroposophical Society. Will we hear it?

Here is a recording of a biography of Marie Steiner-von Sivers for Applied Anthroposophy.

A description of Marie Steiner von Sivers as seen in the character of Maria from the Mystery Dramas:

“Within our circle a knot forms – Out of threads which Karma spins in world-becoming. Maria, all the things you suffer – Are parts within a knot of fate – In which heavenly powers – Are linked with human life.

When in life’s pilgrimage I had attained – That rank which granted me the dignity – To serve with counsel in the spirit-spheres, A godlike Being did draw near to me, Who wished to descend into the realms of earth, And dwell there, veiled in form of flesh, as a human being. For just at this turning-point of time The Karma of humankind made this demand.

For each great step in world-development – Is only possible when Gods do stoop – To link themselves with human destiny. And this new spirit-sight that must grow – And germinate now in souls of human beings – Can only be unfolded when a God – Plants a seed within some human heart.

My task it was to find that human soul – Which worthy, could take within itself – That powerful Seed of God. I had to join – The deed of heaven to some human lot. My spirit’s eye then sought, and fell on you. Your course of life had fitted you to be – The mediator in salvation’s work.

Through many former lives you had acquired – Receptiveness for all the greatest things – That human hearts can experience. Within your tender soul you did bring forth, As spirit heritage, the noble gift – Of beauty, joined to virtue’s loftiest claim: And that which your eternal Self had formed – And brought to being through your birth on earth – Did reach ripe fruitage when your years were few. —

And such a soul alone was I to choose – As mediator for the God, who sought – The power to work within our human world. And now you have learned that your nature must – Transform itself into its opposite, When it flows forth to other human souls. The spirit in you ripens whatsoe’er – In human nature can attain the realm – Of vast eternity; and much it slays – Which is of transitory realms. – And yet the sacrifices of such deaths – Are but the seeds of immortality; All that which blossoms forth from death below – Must grow into the higher life above.”
~Rudolf Steiner, from Scene 3 of ‘The Portal of Initiation’

14 March 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Watch for the almost-full moon ascending in the eastern sky, shortly after sunset. The bright star glowing near the moon is Regulus, Heart of the Lion in the constellation Leo.

Amanda Horvath

RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated
with added titles by Roy Sadler
This week’s verse, leading to Friday’s penultimate full moon before Easter,
can be regarded as a climax, with the 7th mention of the heart and the 3rd of love,
their last appearance till next winter, the heart at the Solstice and love at Epiphany.
LENT III
Awakening Of Love
v48

In light, whose flowing from the heights
would be the world’s empowering of soul,
let shine the certainty of cosmic thought
that solves soul riddles
and focusing its radiance in human hearts
awakens love.

the mirror verse
Easter V
Soul Resurrection
v5

In light, whose fertile weaving into space
from depth of spirit is revealing
the splendour of the gods’ creating,
the being of the soul is shining, widening,
enlivened in the presence of the world
and resurrected
from narrow selfhood’s inner power.

These verses are part of the Light quartet. Here are 2 quotations via anthroposophyla.org/Calendar-of-the-Soul-Verse-48: from Eleanor Merry, re. v48, “Light, now more and more seen returning to Earth, awakens in our hearts highest love that does not permit uncertainty. With inner ears, we hear, “Have Light in yourselves, that you may become the children of Light”; and from Rudolf Steiner’s lecture to young doctors, Nov 30, 1919,
with every breath of air, we take not only air but also light into ourselves, and we transform this light within us and make it our own as we do any other substance: we digest it, we make it an integral part of our self.”

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Antonio Molinari

Feast Day of Abigail (Hebrew “my father’s joy”) in 2 Samuel 17:25 She became a wife of David after Nabal’s death, & the mother of Daniel, one of David’s sons. Abigail is also listed as one of the seven Jewish women prophets.

1592 – Ultimate Pi Day: the largest correspondence between calendar dates & significant digits of pi since the introduction of the Julian calendar

1794 – Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin

1879 – Birthday of Albert Einstein! (1879 the year Michael became the Time-Spirit)

1681 – Birthday of Georg Philipp Telemann, a German Baroque composer & multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family’s wishes. He held important positions in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach,& Frankfurt before settling in Hamburg in 1721, where he became musical director of the city’s five main churches. While Telemann’s career prospered, his personal life was always troubled: his first wife died only a few months after their marriage, & his second wife had extramarital affairs & accumulated a large gambling debt before leaving Telemann.

Telemann was one of the most prolific composers in history & was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time—he was compared favorably both to his friend Johann Sebastian Bach, who made Telemann the godfather & namesake of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, & to George Frideric Handel, whom Telemann also knew personally. He remained at the forefront of all new musical tendencies & his music is an important link between the late Baroque & early Classical styles

1790 – Birthday of Ludwig Emil Grimm, a German painter, art professor, etcher & copper engraver. His brothers were the well-known folklorists Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm

1804 – Birthday of Johann Strauss I, an Austrian Romantic composer. He was famous for his waltzes, & he popularized them alongside Joseph Lanner, thereby setting the foundations for his sons to carry on his musical dynasty. His most famous piece is the Radetzky March.

1820 – Birthday of Victor Emmanuel II – Giuseppe Garibaldi made him King of Italy – first king of an independent, united Italy since the 6th century. The Italians gave him the epithet of Father of the Fatherland (Italian: Padre della Patria). Rudolf Steiner speaks about him in Karmic Relationships Vol. Lecture 12, as being a pupil of Garibaldi when they were together in the Hibernian Mysteries along with Cavour & Mazzini.

1867 – Birthday of Marie Steiner von Sivers – born into an aristocratic family in Włocławek, Poland, then part of Russia. She was well-educated, fluent in Russian, German, English, French & Italian. She studied theater & recitation with several teachers in Europe.

Marie von Sivers “appeared one day” at one of Rudolf Steiner’s early lectures in 1900. In the autumn of 1901, she posed the question to Steiner, “Would it be possible to create a spiritual movement based on European tradition and the impetus of Christ?” Rudolf Steiner later reported: With this, I was given the opportunity to act in a way that I had only previously imagined. The question had been put to me, and now, according to spiritual laws, I could begin to answer it.

Marie Steiner-von Sivers & Rudolf Steiner were married on Christmas eve 1914, & she was one of his closest colleagues. She accompanied him & helped him as secretary, translator, editor, & organizer of his lecture tours & other public activities. She assisted Steiner’s work with her own resources & in 1908 founded the Philosophical-Theosophical Press (later Philosophical-Anthroposophical) to publish Steiner’s work.

Marie von Sivers was trained in recitation & elocution & made a study of purely artistic speaking. She gave introductory poetry recitals at Steiner’s lectures & assisted him in the development of the 4 Mystery Dramas (1910–1913). With her help, Steiner conducted several speech & drama courses with the aim of raising these forms to the level of true art.

Starting in 1912, the art of eurythmy was developed by Rudolf Steiner. Under Marie Steiner-von Sivers’ guidance, it developed in three directions, as a stage art, as an integral part of Waldorf pedagogy, & as a therapeutic method. Under her tutelage, two schools of eurythmy were founded, in Berlin & in Dornach, Switzerland.

She made a great contribution to the development of anthroposophy, particularly in her work on the renewal of the performing arts (eurythmy, speech & drama), & the editing & publishing of Rudolf Steiner’s literary estate.

Marie von Sivers collaborated with Steiner for the rest of his life & carried his work beyond his death in 1925 until her own death in 1948, after reconciling with Ita Wegman.

1883 – Deathday of Karl Marx. Rudolf Steiner revealed that Marx was a landowner in Northern France in the early 9th century, & that one day his property was seized by a rival. Marx was then forced to work under the new owner of his former property. The new owner reincarnated as Friedrich Engels, who embarked on a compensatory cooperation with his former rival. So it is that old impulses of destiny may work on in a new incarnation. No wonder that Marx became a fierce enemy of all private property, having himself experienced in a previous life how insecure the private ownership of property can become. Those seeking deeper insight into this historic-karmic background of Marx & Engels & their activities are referred to Steiner’s lecture of 6 April 1924. GA 236.

1923 – Birthday of Diane Arbus, American photographer & writer noted for photographs of marginalized people—dwarfs, giants, transgender people, nudists, circus performers—& others whose normality was perceived by the general populace as ugly or surreal. In 1972, a year after she committed suicide, Arbus became the first American photographer to have photographs displayed at the Venice Biennale.  Millions viewed traveling exhibitions of her work in 1972–1979. The book accompanying the exhibition, Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph, is the bestselling photography monograph ever, still being reprinted today

1932 – Deathday of George Eastman, American inventor & businessman, founded Eastman Kodak

New Astrology Emerging(here)

Questions about the course

Tune in to our Zoom broadcasts, brief presentations of aspects of this course, with lots of time for Q&A. Intended to total 20 minutes in length. These are given on different days so you might find one that would work best for you. Each of these brief sessions will be different!

  • March 14, Monday, 6 PM Mtn.
  • March 28, Monday, 9 AM Mtn. (morning)

Star Wisdom comes alive through active embodiment within each participant, made possible by working together in the instrument of the StarHouse—or within your sacred imagination in your own home. This immersion facilitates each participant forming conscious relationships with zodiacal and planetary beings.

Register here

Join us for an exploration, based on spiritual science and star wisdom, into the following themes:

This course, to train practitioners in Star Wisdom will take place in the StarHouse June 2022. It is designed to train beginners who are willing to ride a steep learning-curve, and long-time astrologers.

Our teaching weaves experiential activities (embodiment) and conceptual learning so you learn it more thoroughly.

On-line too: The course will also be on-line (live-streamed, interactive). A manager on our end will coordinate actively with those attending via Zoom, including relaying questions to the presenters for comment. (We plan that the event will be filmed and edited, and parts of it made available as a course through our website.)

Our approach to astrology is informed and inspired by Rudolf Steiner’s indications found sprinkled throughout his six thousand lectures, as it has been developed by a small group of astrosophers over several decades. This deeper understanding of, and interaction with, the heavens is based on: 

  • A sidereal (star-based) view of the heavens, emphasizing the active and dynamic role of the beings working from stars and constellations
  • Equal length zodiacal signs (relating to the lineage of Zarathustra), equal houses, and recognizing the Earth’s role and significance to the birth chart
  • Anthroposophy (thus called astrosophy, with its particular guidance for understanding the beings indwelling the zodiacal and planets)
  • Identifying and working with spiritual themes in our lives in a way made practical by the research of Robert Powell, and the indications of cosmic Christianity, as understood through Anthroposophy. 
  • And other features that we will teach.

Some topics that we will cover:

  • New and traditional methods for interpreting a birth chart
  • Zodiacal constellations in the birth chart
  • Understanding the meaning in the patterns of the moving planets
  • Planetary aspects in the birth chart
  • The important role of the twelve equal houses, in the birth chart
  • How transiting planets interplay in the time-stream of life, presenting challenges and opportunities
  • Determining the time of conception and its own chart
  • The care necessary to regard the information of a person’s sacred birth moment with reverence and understanding
  • The importance of understanding reincarnation and karma for human development
  • The journey between death and rebirth, and why that is important for human destiny
  • Human Life phases: the 7-year periods of our life biography and the relation of those periods to the planetary spheres
  • The role of self-development for a practitioner of New Astrology

Enrollment and Application Reister here

Commitment: This intensive requires participation in five-plus full days.

Dates: Begin Thursday evening, June 23, 2022, 7 PM, through midday Tuesday June 28. On June 24-27, we will go from 9 AM to 5 PM. Evenings are for homework, integration, and optional study groups. Lunches will be provided, including the last day, Tuesday.

Limits: Enrollment will be limited to 24 in-person participants and others will participate on-line. In-person will go through an application process. More important than years practicing astrology is your motivation to learn. Our present on-line courses (New Astrology, series 1 and series 2) will be made available to all registered participants and can provide a strong foundation to a motivated person with little experience. After application for In-person participants, one of our team will arrange a phone call to interview you.

Scholarship program: We plan to have a scholarship program to which those of means can contribute. Please consider contributing to this fund to support others taking this course.

Costs: Cost of on-site/in-person for the whole course $1100. On-line (live-streaming) $800. A deposit will hold your place.

Meals and Snacks: Lunches provided every day including Tuesday (just after the end of the course). Dietary restrictions are queried on the application. Snacks and tea are provided mid-morning and mid-afternoon every day.

Lodging: You will need to find your own lodging and transport. Some lodging is available in nearby residences, and the Retreat Cabin near the StarHouse. These can fill up quickly, so please make your request soon. Other lodgings nearby are the Boulder Adventure Lodge (a-lodge.com), which fills up in summertime quickly. More information will be sent after registration.

Register here

The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
April 6, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)

“The pupils of the Grail were told of a state which humans would attain in future. Possessed of clear, alert consciousness, their being would be purified, the substance of the human body would become as pure and chaste as that of the plant, and their organs of reproduction transformed.”~ from Chapter 12
 Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 12 “The Higher Calyx” and Chapter 13 “The Resonant Chalice,” excerpts from Steiner’s lectures given at Nuremberg on 2 December 1907 (GA 92) and Stuttgart 16 September 1907 (GA 101) … will be the focus of the April 6 meeting.

Chapters 12 and 13 in the book can be found online at the CRC’s website by clicking this link
A transcript of the 2 December 1907 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link
A transcript of the 16 September, 1907 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link * Please consider giving to the development and maintenance of the digital library of Rudolf Steiner’s work.  Scroll to the bottom of this message to read more about the RSArchive.org and SteinerLibrary.org
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing  study conversation.  The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.”  The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010.

This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:

Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106

Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106
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If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu
or Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com

Agenda for this meeting (CST)
 
7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Michael – Chapter 12
          Tom – Chapter 13
7:50  Conversation
8:25   ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse

The Anthroposophical Society in America presents: Sophia Rising: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human in Santa Fe, New Mexico ~ April 21-24, 2022 Hotel Santa Fe Hacienda and Spa 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 


Join us in New Mexico, the ‘land of enchantment’, resonant with light ether and deep history, as we enliven Sophia. Join together in community as Sophia emerges and rises in her many facets and expressions- past, present, and future. 

You will be an active participant in this gathering that will engage storytelling and biography, art and color, eurythmy and movement, singing and speech, with offerings from speakers Carrie Schuchardt, Mary Stewart AdamsHazel Archer-GinsbergStephanie Georgieff, and more. 

Come and experience Sophia Rising as we honor the elements, the landscape, and each other. 


VENUE & TRAVEL 

Our gathering will take place at the lovely Native American-owned Hotel Santa Fe. We recommend you book your stay with the hotel to create a connected communal atmosphere for our gathering. The hotel has a full restaurant, pool, hot tub, and spa, as well as kivas and cozy sitting areas. Please call or email to make reservations with our special room rate for suites at $179/night. Each suite includes a refrigerator, microwave and sitting area. So much of what Santa Fe has to offer is within walking distance from the hotel. 

HOW TO BOOK: Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call reservations at  877-259-3409 

**Ask for ASA Gathering to book with our special rate of $179/night for a suite. **

Registrants will receive suggested activities from our local organizers to explore in Santa Fe before or after our gathering. Extending your stay? The special ASA hotel rate is available for 3 days prior to and 3 days after the ASA gathering. 

CLICK HERE to post on our room and rideshare board to coordinate with other participants. 

AIR TRAVEL: Fly to Albuquerque or Santa Fe (note that flights are more limited and subject to the weather as Santa Fe is a small airport.)

There is a shuttle from Albuquerque to Santa Fe or car rentals available. Uber or Lyft is available if you fly into Santa Fe.

HOTEL and VENUE ADDRESS:
1501 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: (877) 259-3409 


TICKETS
The ticket price includes access to all conference activities, snacks, coffee/tea and beverages, dessert reception Thursday, dinner Friday, lunch Saturday and brunch on Sunday.

No refunds after March 21, 2022

STANDARD TICKET (After 2/26): $350

SUPPORTER TICKET: $425 

EXHIBITORS: If you are interested in being an exhibitor please fill out this form. 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Limited assistance is available, please fill out this form. 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

Early Bird Only with Room Booking – After 2/26 more tickets will be released!


SCHEDULE
(subject to minor changes)

THURSDAY, April 21

7 pm                 Gathering Together  – with a dessert reception 

7:30- 8:30 pm    ArtActs: Past – Present – Future Eurythmy, and Singing,
 

FRIDAY, April 22

                           Explore Santa Fe on your own and continued arrivals 

1:00 – 2:30 pm     Welcome: Spirit of Place with organizers 

                            WEAVING EARTH Opening Ceremony with Angela Foster and friends

2:30pm-3:00pm   Break 

3:00-4:30 pm       Encountering the Celestial Goddess Anthroposophia with Mary Stewart Adams 

HeartMath with Michele Mariscal 

4:30-4:45 pm       Break

4:45- 6:00 pm      WEAVING AIR ArtActs  Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech 

6:00-7:30 pm       Dinner Together*

7:30 pm               Fireside Chats – Story and Sharing – Breakout circles led by friends and organizers 8:30 pm               

Stargazing with Mary Stewart Adams 
 

 SATURDAY, April 23

                            Breakfast – On your own

8:30 – 9:30 am       WEAVING ETHER Eurythmy

9:30 – 10:00 am     Break  

10:00 -11:15 am      The Virgin of Guadalupe: Sophia Rising in the Americas                                 with Stephanie Georgieff – The Virgin of Guadalupe is one of the first recorded apparitions in the Americas. Revealing herself to a Nahuatl Native and ultimately to the Bishop of New Spain and his entourage in December of 1531, this image has continued to inspire countless souls for nearly 500 years. The symbolism and timing of her appearance presents deep mysteries for our age, and points to the ultimate Sophianic impulse for the present and future of Humanity. 

11:30 – 12:30 pm    WEAVING STORIES Biography Work

12:30 – 2:00 pm       Lunch Together*

2:00 – 4:00 pm  ‘ANTHROPOSOPHIA: OUR ALCHEMICAL WEDDING’ with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg and Friends. At the heart of this convergence is a Grand Experiential Soul Journey to ‘Know Thyself’’ – A Temple Experience in the New Mysteries, built up and worked on during all the WEAVING sessions, preparing us to enter a deeply intensive initiatory experience – a ‘Movable Feast’ with various stations engaging us in group eurythmy, singing, Steiner verses, color gestures in art, and a telling of the New Isis Myth. Passing through Trials of the Soul we meet powerful Spiritual Beings on the way to our sacred marriage – a union of Warmth and Light, so that we can unveil the ‘Sophia Rising’ within ourselves, and the world.   

4:00 – 4:30 pm        Break

4:30 – 5:30 pm       WEAVING COLOR Invoking Natura: Sensing the Cosmic within the Earthly Pastels with Helen-Ann Ireland

5:30 – 6:00 pm       WEAVING STORIES Biography Conversation

6:00 pm                 Dinner – On your own

8:00-9:30 pm         WEAVING COMMUNITY Sophia Rising- Past, Present, and Future MC’d by Lucien Dante Lazar & Ultra-Violet Archer. Sign up to bring something to share! Poetry, Instruments, Story 
 

SUNDAY, April 24

8:00 – 9:00 am      WEAVING LIGHT Bathe in the Natural Warmth and Harmony  of the Metal Gold with Helena Hurrell – A metal color light therapy experience inspired by the glass windows at the Goetheanum 

9:00-10:30 am      WEAVING FIRE with Carrie Schuchardt 
                           HeartMath with Michele Mariscal 

10:30 – 12:00pm  Brunch Together*

12:00-1:00 pm    WEAVING WATER Water Ritual with Joyce Reilly and Friends
                          WEAVING WHOLENESS Closing with Angela Foster and Friends 

Notes: *Meals marked with an asterisk are included in the price of the ticket – Coffee, tea, and snacks will also be provided through the conference 

A quiet ‘Sanctuary Room’ will be provided for contemplation 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER See you Santa Fe! 


PRESENTERS AND GUIDES (Not a full list-more to come!) 

Mary Stewart Adams is a Star Lore Historian, and host of the weekly public radio program and podcast “The Storyteller’s Night Sky”.  Through her research in spiritual science and her education in literary arts, Mary has developed a unique, humanities-based approach to understanding our relationship with the stars.  Her work is further augmented by an extensive knowledge of ancient mythologies and fairy tales, which she relates to the research and ideas of contemporary astronomy in order to understand the new star wisdom of astrosophy.


Eyahnna DalBo (artist of the Sophia Rising painting) came to anthroposophy 30 years ago when her daughter attended a Waldorf school. Her studies have included an undergraduate degree in fine art and graduate work in psychology using the arts for healing.  In her private practice, she developed various energetic modalities. Her experience with subtle energy fields gave her the opportunity to teach and take part in designing a curriculum for a 2-year program focusing on energy healing. As a consultant, she initiated numerous therapeutic programs to assist in pioneering the field of art therapy. Through the gift of an apprenticeship with indigenous people she was able to bring their practices and ceremonies to what she offered deepening her ability to be of service.  As an artist, she continues to utilize the spoken word, movement, sound, and visual imagery to honor and create a field that fosters awareness, growth, and transformation.

Angela Foster has been an active student of anthroposophy since 2008. After growing up in Texas, Angela is now embracing life in Atlanta, Georgia as an artist, teacher, and mom of two daughters, shepherd to two mini sheep. As a conscious practitioner of “beginner’s mind”, Angela has completed programs in foundation studies in Anthroposophy numerous times and is currently enrolled in Foundation Studies in Goethean Science through the Nature Institute. She and her husband manage the Anthroposophical Resource Center (ARC) an initiative in Decatur, Georgia that offers space for community events and serves as a little house for Anthroposophia.

Stephanie Georgieff, MS is an author, podcaster and pilgrim. Residing mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, she has written several books on The Divine Feminine as presented through the genre of The Black Madonna, The Virgin of Guadalupe and The Divine Sophia. She has spoken at conferences and venues throughout North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. The Black Madonna Speaks is her latest endeavor, a weekly podcast exploring the mysteries of The Black Madonna from an Anthroposophical and Esoteric Chritian perspective, along with artists, poets, authors and scholars on the subject.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings.

Helena Hurrell joyfully met Anthroposophy in San Fransisco in 1977 and has been working with individuals and groups as a Waldorf educator since 1981 and then throughout her life trained to become a therapist while living in Australia, the UK and North America. She is currently in private practice in Colorado blending the therapeutic work she offers through her love of color ~ as an Art and Metal Color Light Glass Therapist trained in the UK and Germany. Both of these trainings are certified by the Medical Section at the Goetheanum. Metal Color Light Therapy is a relatively new initiative originated by the late Marianne Altmaier who developed this therapy and training out of her deep interest in and knowledge of the Goetheanum windows in Dornach. Helena’s website: www.helioscenter.org

Helen-Ann Ireland has been involved in anthroposophical studies for over 30 years as a Waldorf teacher, member of the School for Spiritual Science, Class holder, and now as chair of the Anthroposophical Society of America. A special interest has been in the area of the Divine Feminine and the Being of Sophia.

Michele Mariscal has 30 years of experience in the health and wellness field. She is a skilled facilitator in soft skills, speaker, coach and author. She is an Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist as well as a Trainer and Coach with the Institute of HeartMath. She facilitates greater heart-based living for individuals and organizations Michele is also a five-time author with her most recent publication of Growing Through Grief – The Alchemy of Healing from Loss.

Joyce Reilly Joyce studied psychology in college and was fascinated by the idea of a therapeutic community. She has worked in Camphill for many years, and is trained as a Waldorf and Therapeutic teacher.  She founded Gheel House, a therapeutic community near Kimberton Pennsylvania, still thriving after 37 years. Joyce’s interests expanded to international conflict work and refugee resettlement. She works with organizations such as the Janusz Korczak Association, Karuna Peacebuilders, Kiwimbi International, Good Grief, the Worldwide Storytelling and Puppetry Association, and especially with the New York Anthroposophical Branch, and also works part-time at the local public library. Joyce is also trained in Psychosynthesis therapy and Anthroposophical psychology – currently practicing as a life coach and counselor.

Carrie Schuchardt co-founded The House of Peace in 1990, a home that is a physical and spiritual refuge for victims of war in a community with adults with special needs. In the last 15 years over 400 refugees from approximately 30 countries have been received in the healing embrace of The House of Peace, giving supportive assistance in establishing themselves in the US. In addition to the daily work of The House Peace, Carrie participates in many activities for the conversion of consciousness and policies from war to peace. Carrie has begun a network of women who witness publicly, Women Weeping, where women dress in mourning carrying symbolic lifeless children in order to help people feel what is rarely expressed in the media: the grief of hundreds of thousands of mothers in war zones around the world who lose their children to the terrible violence of war.

Maria Ver Eecke is presently the therapeutic eurythmist for the School of Eurythmy, Spring Valley, NY. She taught eurythmy for forty years in Waldorf schools, a charter school, and a home-school program. Maria met anthroposophy in Maseru, Lesotho, when she was a class teacher in an English-medium preparatory school. Currently she is the editor of the newsletters for the Eurythmy Association of North America and the Association of Therapeutic Eurythmy in North America.