Our work done for now, we left the Live Power Farm in Round Valley & made our way thru the mountains to Stockton CA. where Hermes lives. The Sun beat in as we made our way South. All the forces that had propped me up during the conference were gone. I was tired, & hungry – done with driving. We managed to make it to a Chinese restaurant without me imploding, although it was a culture shock after being on the land for so long. With a nice full belly all I wanted to do was fall into bed.
art by Lucien Dante Lazar
But when we arrived at the artists retreat, & dear Sarah & Tobias greeted us in the lovely entryway, I could hear music rising up. I said ‘Is that a didgeridoo’? I ran down to what I discovered was ‘the music room’ to find 3 friends engaged in a session. All my weariness fell away. I began to dance & tone along with the drums & didge & guitar.
The Music Room in the Stockton Artists Residence
I am always joyfully amazed at how revitalizing playing music is for the body, soul & spirit – such a gift – The perfect homecoming. After a few hours of these healing vibrations, I was renewed & grateful to have connected with these new musical friends. Dr. Tobias Handschin, who grew up in Dornach, not far from the Goetheanum, & who spearheads the Artistic Center, had to leave for Simi Valley, CA, where he was scheduled to work for the next week. The children who are his patients are lucky to have him as their healthcare provider.
The Emerald & Ruby
That night I kept dreaming of my rings. Most of my bangles are what we might call costume jewelry – but my emerald ring was a birthday present from my beloved CG when I turned the big 6.0. The other – which I refer to as ‘the family jewel’ – is my ruby ring, which he gave me as an engagement ring. The thing about that is, since I was a little girl I had a vision of ‘my perfect ring’ – a marquise cut ruby – my birthstone – nestled between 2 small diamonds, wrapped in band of yellow gold.
Our Wedding Day 4 August 2001
Well after knowing each other for a mere 3 months CG asked me to marry him at a crossroads by the lake, presenting me with that very ring! So my vision came true in more ways than one…
When I woke up in that beautiful retreat-center-home all I could see in my mind’s eye was my ring case sitting in the medicine cabinet of the tiny house in Gloria’s pear orchard where we had stayed. Yet I remembered taking it out of there thinking: ‘O I don’t want to forget this’; so I put it with the rest of my jewelry. I looked in the draw-string bag where it should have been. Nope. Stumped, I searched everything twice, 3 x’s, & so did CG, but the rings were nowhere to be found…
O those Gnomes
I called Gloria, she looked everywhere in the tiny house, twice, 3 x’s. Nope, the ring case was not there. How could this be? I tried to settle down so I could go backward in my memory thinking where it might have gone to. Gloria called back, she had looked again…& found it – in the dusky bookcase made of dark wood, which is where the draw-string bag had been. I must have put it next to the bag not in it, & so it was that the small velvet case just disappeared into the dark cave of the bookcase with one of the land Gnomes for a while.
Lucien Dante Lazar & Ultra-Violet Archer of the Anthroposophical Musical Initiative Velsum
Relieved that the family jewels were found; now we had to figure out how to get them back. CG didn’t feel comfortable having them sent by mail. There was the thought that perhaps we would return in January when Velsum Voices comes in to Cali. to do an artist’s residency, performing in Stockton & possibly at White Feather Ranch as a tribute & fundraiser for Nancy Poer, but CG felt uneasy with that as well. The only thing as far as he could see was for him to drive back out to Live Power to get them! That seemed unfathomable to me, but he was upbeat & ready to make the drive. This man is a road warrior, loves to drive, making business calls along the way. It’s like his traveling office. He found a faster route, & made sure Hermes could go with me to the lunch date I had in Sacramento that day with a friend. Feeling sad & guilty, I made him breakfast, & packed a lunch. Happy to have a mission, CG hit the road.
Hermes & hag admiring The Sophia art by Lucien Dante Lazar
Enjoying our many conversations during our time together, Hermes & I set off for the lunch date. I thought it was just going to be Sandra Stoner who lives in Sacramento, but Anne Dale drove in 2 hours from Sebastopol; & Sandra invited a bunch of friends who came in from the Branch in Fair Oaks CA: Gayle Davis, Cheryl Martine, Alice Stamm, Sandra Stoner, Anne Dale, Hermes Work & me…so there were 7 of us.
What a delight to be with these familiar friends, our relationships forged during the many zoom breakout rooms & various online presentations – So strange to think, after so much intimacy shared over this time, that we were actually meeting in person for the first time! (In this life) It felt like a reunion of the School of Michael.
Anne Dale, hag & our Old Sac friend
Afterward Anne & I strolled around in ‘Old Sac’ like the unpretentious tourists we were. As the Sun was beginning to twilight, she drove me to my airport hotel for the final leg of the journey.
CG arrived like the hero he is – exclaiming how he had made great time – & how it was all meant to be – because of the important conversation he had with Gloria! They talked for an hour about the Community Alliance with Family Farms (CAFF) & how they worked with her to preserve the farm thru property equity, which Gloria felt could benefit Zinniker Farm. It’s all about building a movement to foster family-style agriculture that cares for the land, sustains local economies, & promotes social justice.
My beloved CG
CG standing in his beautiful uprightness, handed me the rings with a hug. With deep gratitude, I sheepishly put them on, & noticed how they glowed with a renewed force, having been the catalyst to the furthering of the precious gem of connection. At 5 am we flew home to the Heartland, radiant with the priceless jewel of love & purpose.
Thank you dear friends for being part of this Grand ‘Festival of Life Tour’
Here are the links to all the chapters for the ‘Festival of Life Tour’on the blog: White Feather Ranch, Part 1 – Arrival at Live Power Farm, Part 2 – The BD Michaelmas Gathering, Part 3 – The last day of the Gathering on Rosh Hashanah, Part 4
The last day of the BDANC Michaelmas Gathering was on the New Moon heralding Rosh Hashanah – The Jewish New Year, (רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, literally “head of the year“) the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe). Rosh Hashanah invites us to celebrate new beginnings – birth & creation on many levels. The liturgy suggests that Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the Earth.
Family-oriented services often include a birthday cake for the world. Customs include sounding the shofar (a hollowed-out ram’s horn) & eating symbolic foods such as apples dipped in honey to emphasize the sweetness of starting the cycle of seasons once again, & round challah to remind us of the eternal wholeness in the cycles of life.
Peter Paul Ruben
From one angle in working the mystical side of Cabbalism,we can see this as a commemoration of the creation of Adam & Eve, & their first actions toward the realization of humanity’s role in the world. It combines seriousness with celebration & begins the 10 days of repentance that culminate in Today’s High Holy Day of Yom Kippur. This Autumnal New Year focuses our attention on themes of judgment, repentance, right memory & the Presence of the Divine (The Shekinah) in the world.
Gloria had a ram’s horn which CG could have sounded for us, but with the day so full we never brought that piece in. Instead we headed over to the Community Building for some delightful Eurythmy with Cynthia Hoven. We clapped out our names finding the similar or diverse rhythms to our fellows. We played with a children’s story, then wove a beautiful eurythmy form to a wonderful poem. Such joy.
After another hardy breakfast we gathered in a circle under the warming Sun for the ‘Anthroposophical Salon’, where we further explored the theme of ‘Bridging Heaven & Earth’ which I had brought as the keynote on Saturday. This time digging deeper & getting more personal & biographical. I began by teaching the song: ‘When you were born you cried, & the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries & you rejoice.’
I brought in this Steiner quote from The Dead Are With Us: “In the spiritual sense, those from the‘past’, have not really passed away, but are still there. In physical life human beings have this conception in regard to Space only. If you stand in front of a tree, then go away and look back at it later on, the tree has not disappeared; it is still there. In the spiritual world this is so in regard to Time. If you experience something at one moment, it has passed away the next so far as physical consciousness is concerned; spiritually conceived, it has not passed away. You can look back at it just as you looked back at the tree.
Salman Bin Soon
Richard Wagner showed that he had knowledge of this, in the remarkable words: “Time here becomes Space”. It is an occult fact that in the spiritual world there are distances which do not come to expression on the physical plane. That an event is past means simply that it is farther away from us. I want you to bear this in mind.” ~Rudolf Steiner – GA 182 – Nuremburg, February 10, 1918
We then talked about how to connect with the ‘so-called dead’ since we know they have not really ‘passed away’ but are still with us – The best times being before sleep & after waking.
Our conversation wove a powerful chalice allowing folks to take turns pouring their heartfelt stories of the Farmer, & the Human Being: Stephen Decater, into the sacred space. Cathartic tears & laughter flowed & sparked, opening us to the spiritual world, pouring blessings into the group & onto the land.
When we ended with the song, it came forth with a sense that the past was honored & healing -the present acknowledged & open, & the future ready to manifest in freedom & grace. And so it is, & ever shall be…
It was the perfect ending to this gathering of the most amazing hard working human beings, in service to the Higher Will, enlivening & ultimately redeeming Mother Earth, so that our Earth may become a Star…
And as I mentioned in Part 2, before we left Gloria took us to a magical place divined by Earth Healer Marko Pogacnik’s daughter Anna, where the ‘future potential’ radiated out into Round Valley. As we drove up I could sense a powerful essence; that side of the mountain seemed to be especially lit from within. Yes, there is always hope for healing – for this the future calls.
Friends these kinds of vortexes are all around us, even in the city, waiting for us to tune into their forces, enhancing them with our heart-thinking.
Stay tuned for the final chapter of our ‘Festival of Life Tour’
~hag
TODAY on this High Holy Day of Yom Kippur 2022, there is a powerful opportunity to take up the tradition of granting & seeking forgiveness, making amends, atoning for our sins – those times we missed the mark.
So dear ones I publicly ask for forgiveness – of myself – & from you. And to all that I have wronged, knowingly or unknowingly – I humbly apologize for any harm I have caused you, consciously or unconsciously.
“I am sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you…”
May there be healing for all.
I pray that our fasting will bring true & lasting purification, opening us to a hallowed Space & Time full of deep reflection & blessed illumination, bringing a good sealing in the book of life for a sweet New Year, where we can truly live “Christ in me” – & see the Christ in each other.
~hag
Yes, dear friends I am back making podcasts on ‘I Think Speech‘ check out the new episodes:
At Live Power Farm in Covelo CA. the nights are chilly, with swirling mists covering the valley in a thick dewy blanket of Atlantean-like vapors. We came together on the 1st day of the BDANC Michaelmas Conference at dawn, for the traditional ceremony of ‘Honoring the Cow’. When I first heard this term I thought O we’ll be singing & perhaps put a flower crown or some such on the cow. But this ceremony is more practical, essential, & down to earth – It’s about life & death. The Autumn-Tide is harvest time after all, when the plant & animal kingdoms yield to the reaping – returning the individual to the group soul in the cycle of birth & death as we enter the dark of the year. And how often are we actually present to the sacrifice, able to add our human attention & intention to the process?
Monty, the butcher, a slim rugged mountain man showed up in his truck, & we followed him to the barn. Charles & Gloria had chosen 3 cows & put them in a pen separate from the herd. Monty, with white beard & red suspenders, his small rifle held reverently on his shoulder, took some time to commune with these beings to see which one was called to be honored for this year’s ceremony.
The brown cow stood looking directly at Monty as Gloria read the powerful prayer that Nancy Poer wrote years ago specifically for this ritual, to honor the sacrifice of these cosmic & earthly beings that do so much to spiritualize the earth, & provide sustenance for the human being.
Everyone stood around embracing each other in quiet reverence. Monty raised the rife & shot the brown cow once in the skull – it crumpled to the ground without a sound in one swift movement. The shot was surprisingly not very loud at all, but for this city girl it was a shock; I gasped, & then began to hum & tone, as they brought the sacrifice out of the pen into the straw where we were standing.
Monty began the work of skinning the animal with such precision & artistry, as the community bore witness & held the sacred space. Every part of the animal is used. Harold & Luke laid out the innards which became the sheaths for the various biodynamic preparations that we then engaged in making all that day.
After breakfast & the official Welcoming by Cynthia & Harald Hoven, I facilitated a calling in of the Elementals. Altars were set up in each of the 4 directions, adorned with substances representing Earth, Air, Fire, Water & in the Center Spirit. We went from the center point as individuals, out to the periphery to form the eternal circle, with the imagination that when you square the circle it becomes the symbol for Earth. We sang & moved around the circle passing each altar until we felt called to stop at one, to commune there with our fellows who also chose to stand in that particular quarter to explore the Elemental Beings of each realm: The Gnomes & Trolls of the Earth Element in the North, The Sylphs of Air in the East, The Salamanders of Fire in the South, the Undines of Water in the West, & in the Center the Human Being as the 5 pointed Star of Spirit. Then each group reported their experience, sharing with the larger circle. We ended with another song feeling enlivened & bonded with the Elemental Beings of the land, & the Spirit of Place.
We worked for the main part of the day making the Biodynamic preparations which Harald Hoven distributes to many farms in the region: Chamomile blossoms moistened with nettle tea are stuffed into the cow’s intestines – this helps the metabolism of calcium in the soil; Dandelion Flowers put into the sheath of the cow’s peritoneum – which has an important role for silicic acid; Oak Bark was ground from trees on the land & after the cow’s skull was cleaned it was filled with this substance to combat plant diseases; & Horn Manure stuffed into the cow horns to stimulate soil life & root growth.
As the day progressed it became quite hot, almost 100 degrees. After another Circle with introductions & lunch, we finished the prep making, & gathered in the newly constructed community building for a round table discussion led by Gloria Decater & Chuck Ginsberg on ‘The evolution of Biodynamic legacy farms – old farms that need new farmers’ – A difficult issue calling to open opportunities for the future.
The next event was a workshop bringing the questions raised in the discussion into a living perspective reminding us that we have helpers on the other-side waiting for us to recognize them by rising in our thinking to meet them. The workshop was called: ‘Bridging Heaven & Earth’ – Working in consciousness community beyond the threshold for the future evolution of the Earth. Thru singing, & storytelling I brought the picture that, in the realities which Rudolf Steiner shows us in his many teachings on communicating with the ‘so-called dead’, working with the spiritual hierarchies, & coming to know the Christ as the meaning of the Earth, we learn what our beloved dead & the unborn can teach us about what it means to be human in a spiritual sense here on Earth. I taught a song that Ultra-Violet wrote, & shared a story that I crafted especially for Gloria & Stephen Decater, inspired by a healing tale from Susan Down that I call: ‘The Farmer’s Hat’. You can listen to it on my podcast ‘I Think Speech’, along with parts 1 & 2 of the ‘Festival of Life Tour’.
It finally stated cooling down a bit as we set up outside for a very interesting ‘Discussion about Sequential Spraying for Drought Remediation’ with Michael Aldinger & Alexandra Kravetz. The original intention of this technique is ‘to use the BD preps to harmonize overly wet or dry atmospheric conditions, to help create Balance, by spraying each preparation individually. Stir and spray BD 500 & BC (Horn manure and Barrel Compost) together the first evening, followed by BD 501 & 508 (Horn Silica and Equisetum) the following morning. (Note: this can and should be adapted as needed for individual and regional needs!) By following the above schedule, all nine BD preparations are sprayed in a short period, ideally coinciding with beneficial energies from the heavens to achieve maximum benefits. This is ideally done while the moon is in front of the constellation you wish to work with. Three water trines in a row are happening this November. The very best dates to encourage moisture are: Monday November 14 Moon in Cancer, Sun trine Neptune (especially beneficial) Tuesday November 15 Venus trine Jupiter, Moon opposition Saturn (especially beneficial) Wednesday November 16 Mercury trine Jupiter (especially beneficial) December 1-3 Moon in Pisces’. (See works by Hugh J. Courtney, Hugh Lovel, Lloyd Nelson & others for more background)
What I love about this is that Alexandra is setting up a spreadsheet so that all the participating farmers can add their input to co-create a document showing the Spiritual Scientific results. Kudos friends! It is very exciting to see this kind of research being done, especially since drought conditions can be devastating.
We ended the evening with a Jody’s delicious dinner of Pork & Lamb roast sourced from the Live Power Farm; much lively community conversation, & a bonfire with music & socializing under that magnificent night sky. Willow & Lew Summer brought song sheets for the sing-along – there were ukuleles, guitars & drums. Jupiter was the 1st to make his appearance in the East; & since it was the eve of the New Moon the constellations were unveiled in all their glory. What a gift to a perfect day of work & fellowship.
Stay tuned for the last installment of our ‘Festival of Life Tour’
~hag
3 October 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: First Quarter Moon occurs at 7:14 P.M. CDT today. Bella Luna is now in Sagittarius, floating amid the stars of its famous Teapot asterism.
Above Sagittarius is Aquila, which contains the famous luminary Altair, part of the Summer Triangle with its fellow stars Deneb in Cygnus and Vega in Lyra. You’ll notice this large asterism stays relatively low in the sky these days, now that fall has arrived.
508 BC – Deathday of Lucretia an ancient Roman woman whose fate played a vital role in the transition of Roman government from the Roman Kingdom to the Roman Republic. She committed suicide after being raped by an Etruscan king’s son was the immediate cause of the anti-monarchist rebellion that overthrew the monarchy. As a result of its sheer impact, the rape itself became a major theme in European art & literature
Deathay of Jarius. The record of the daughter of Jairus is a combination of miracles of Jesus in the Gospels (Mark 5:21–43, Matthew 9:18–26, Luke 8:40–56) The story immediately follows the exorcism at Gerasa. Jairus, a patron or ruler of a Galilee synagogue, had asked Jesus to heal his 12-year-old daughter. As they were traveling to Jairus’ house, a sick woman in the crowd touched Jesus’ cloak & was healed of her sickness. Jesus turned round to the woman & says: “Take heart, daughter,” your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” Moments later, a messenger arrived with the news that Jairus’ daughter had died, & he was advised not to trouble Jesus any further. However, Jesus responded: Be not afraid, only believe. (Mark 5:36) Jesus continued to the house, where he informed all those present that the girl was not dead but asleep. He then went upstairs & restored the little girl to life. In Mark’s account, the Aramaic phrase “Talitha Koum” (transliterated into Greek as ταλιθα κουμ meaning, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”) is attributed to Jesus
Deathday of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, a Syrian Christian theologian & philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, the author of the set of works commonly referred to as the Corpus Areopagiticum or Corpus Dionysiacum, portraying himself as the Athenian convert of Paul of Tarsus mentioned in Acts 17:34 (Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus) This attribution to the earliest decades of Christianity resulted in the work being given great authority in subsequent theological writing in both East & West. His works are mystical & show strong Neoplatonic influence. For example he uses Plotinus’ well-known analogy of a sculptor cutting away that which does not enhance the desired image.
In a letter addressed to Polycarp, pseudo-Dionysius asks “What have you to say about the solar eclipse which occurred when the Savior was put on the Cross? At the time the two of us were in Heliopolis and we both witnessed the extraordinary phenomenon of the moon hiding the sun at the time that was out of season for their coming together…. We saw the moon begin to hide the sun from the east, travel across to the other side of the sun, and return on its path so that the hiding and the restoration of the light did not take place in the same direction but rather in diametrically opposite directions.…” This is illustrated in an astronomical fresco in the main gallery of the Escorial Library, near Madrid, Spain, which shows Dionysius the Areopagite observing an eclipse at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.
Luke, 23-45 (It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. 45The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle) We can notice a quadrant & an astrolabe in the hands of the amazed men!
287 AD – Deathday of Saint Candidus. The Golden Legend states that he was a commander of the Theban Legion, which was composed of Christians from Upper Egypt. He opposed Maximian, who had ordered them to harass the local Christians in his name, stating that “we are your soldiers, but we are also servants of the true God. We cannot renounce Him who is our Creator and Master, and also yours even though you reject Him.” Candidus, along with St. Maurice, the other staff officers & 6,600 soldiers, were martyred at the Swiss town of Saint Maurice-en-Valais
1226 – Deathday of Francis of Assisi, Italian friar & saint. Based on a study of the life of Francis of Assisi, Rudolf Steiner shows how the development of morality is based on the belief in the Divine at the bottom of every human soul, on the boundless love that springs from this belief, and on the hope for each human soul that it can find its way back to the Divine. Anthroposophical Ethics…St. Francis, Lecture III
1250 – Deathday of Gilbertus Anglicus. His major work, the Compendium Medicinae, written in Latin, running to seven books, is an attempt to provide a comprehensive encyclopedia of medical & surgical knowledge as it existed in his day. He quotes extensively from Roger of Palma, & acknowledges that his work is indebted to Greek physicians including Galen, Hippocrates & Theophilus Protospatharius, & Arab physicians such as Averroes & Avicenna.
1884 – Birthday of, Paul Foster Case, an American occultist, founder of Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), original member of Alpha et Omega, an organization that inherited the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Paul Foster Case played the organ in the Congregational Church, where his father was a deacon. In childhood, he started working to have lucid dreams. Rudyard Kipling, spurred his interest in their correspondence, confirming that such a phenomenon is possible, & can be developed.
Case became a member of the Order of Alpha et Omega, but he was distrustful of Enochian Magic. He explored certain practical ceremonial magic, with his sometime partner Moina Mathers.
Case was fascinated by the “New Thought” movement, he met William Walker Atkinson, & co-authored the modern literary mystification “The Kybalion”, as one of the anonymous “three wise men”.
from my library
Case studied various yoga’s & the karma of past lives, & was said to have worked with “the healer Dr. Fludd” who claimed that the Count Saint-Germain had sent him to be his teacher.
1995 – O. J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson & Ronald Goldman
2008 – The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act is signed by President George W. Bush – commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis authorizing the United States Secretary of the Treasury to spend up to $700 billion to purchase distressed assets, especially mortgage-backed securities, & supply cash directly to banks
A. Cedur
~my words are forged in star-fire that i may speak the language of earth a sacrifice on the altar of angels… ~hag
After many hours of sharing stories with Nancy Poer under the spreading shelter of the Live Oaks near the Ranch barn, Doctor Tobias Handschin, a pediatrician who runs an artist retreat center in Stockton CA. had to set off for work. CG & Hermes Work our young Astrosophy friend, currently studying with our dear Brian Gray, went up to Nancy’s house, while I prepared for the BD conference.
That night I dreamt that the robots working for the 1 percent, had enslaved all the Biodynamic farmers putting them to work to keep certain sections of the earth a paradise garden exclusively for them. We were kept from directly interacting with each other, but I found a way to make up songs based on Spiritual Science that let us communicate as we worked the land. Thru this sacred music we were able to connect with the elementals who gave us clues on what to do so that the cosmic forces we were bringing in would eventually spread out, like a ripple in a pond, to spiritualize the whole Earth – redeeming it from the adversarial powers that seek to condense & deaden all life. I awoke with a shiver to the sound of a Hoot owl.
And at the break of day, CG, Hermes & I, set out for the 6 hour road-trip North West to Live Power Farm for theBDANC Michaelmas Fall Gathering. The twisty turny climb up & down the mountain ranges, thru miles of orchards – mostly almond, walnut & pistachio trees, past village vistas like beautiful Clear Lake, CA., was filled with majesty & wonder. We couldn’t stop exclaiming ‘WOW, O WOW, look, look’, at the wondrous topography, so different than the planes of our beloved Heartland region.
Covelo CA. is in a volcanic caldera valley, surrounded by the many mountain ranges of Round Valley. Mountains have always held a special place in the soul of humanity. Is it their rugged vastness? Their vast grandeur & solitude? Is it the challenge of climbing them? Do mountains loom large in our mind because they are the closest point to heaven here on Earth? The ancients believed that that gods ruled from the top of mountains, which formed the foundation of the world, providing a resting place for the firmament.
Moses received the 10 commandments etched on stone tablets from Mount Sinai, also called Horab which means thorny mountain? Mohammad obtained his first revelation just outside of Mecca in the Hira cave of Mount Jabal al-Nour which means “Mountain of Light”. Why did the Transfiguration of Christ Jesus happen on Mount Tabor (which means camp or navel)?
Mountains are a powerful force, which sparks the creation of new worlds in an attempt to describe them.
But this particular Mountain Valley has a dark history which I learned from a conversation during one of our meals.
The Yuki Tribe, one of many indigenous Tribes of Round Valley, part of Mendocino County, CA., called themselves “Ukomno’om” meaning “Valley People” before the arrival of the Europeans. But starting in 1848, due to the California Gold Rush, white immigrants flooded into the Valley, increasing the settler population from 1,000 to well over 300,000 in little more than a decade – The sudden influx of miners, strained the space & natural resources of the 400,000 Native Americans who had been peacefully living in the area for many generations.
Long ago, thousands & tens of thousands of years, the glaciers swept down the eastern slope of the Mountain ranges in Mendocino, carrying with them trees which were four times the size of the giant redwoods which now tower above the valleys. Stumps, with a vast acreage of roots, can still be found nowadays hidden in the forest depths, indicating the mammoth growth of those primeval days.
Extraordinary landslides must have occurred. Volcanic action threw up ridges, out of which many coal seams cropped, especially along the Eel River, which the miners wanted.
And so it was that from these splendid heights, with its majestic vista of peace & beauty spreading far to the horizon, Round Valley, then became ‘stolen valley’ — for I was told, that those far-off purple hills are dotted with the unmarked graves of thousands of murdered native peoples — killed not in the heat of mountain quarrels, but one by one, thru years of greed & prejudiced malice, with cold, slow, deliberate purpose, because the Native people born in Round Valley chose to maintain their right to live there & refused to allow the theft of their stock, the burning of their homes, & the systematic persecution in the courts, to turn them from their birthright. And for that they were murdered. The woman raped & the children sold into slavery.
Later when the Gold Rush was raging, many other tribes were dumped into the Valley. They were rounded up from the far corners of California, some of whom were traditional enemies of one another, which added to the hostile social environment in the concentration camp conditions. Every mountain pass into this paradise holds this horrendous memory.
Gloria & Stephen Decater took on this painful legacy, seeking to remediate the land thru Biodynamics; humbly acknowledging the Indigenous people who lived there before them.
Before we left Gloria took us to a magical place where the ‘future potential’ radiated out – divined by Anna Pogacnik, the daughter of Marko, who uses earth healing techniques similar to acupuncture by positioning carved stone pillars, on the ‘lithopuncture’ points of the landscape. Fox, bear & wild boar come to the spring there on a regular basis.
Steve came to Covelo in the early 1970’s to work side by side with Alan Chadwick, the famous horticulturist, & was instrumental in establishing the gardens at both the University of California in Santa Cruz & in Covelo. After Chadwick’s death in 1980, Steve was the one that carried the work forward, training apprentices & maintaining the farm in Covelo; welcoming & inspiring countless classes of children & their teachers over the years.
When we pulled up, dear Gloria welcomed us with a delicious lunch sourced from the farm, & put CG & I up in the tiny house nestled in amongst the pear orchard. Hermes was the 1st of many to set up camp in the field across the way. Charles Nodolf the stalwart land manager/apprentice at Live Power, who stayed on the farm all thru Covid & thru the harrowing fires that blacked the sky for many weeks, brought a vase of flowers in while we were eating, & basically did everything to make the weekend flow.
Folks started pouring in; cooking in the kitchen; as well as outside in the brick oven, built by Gloria’s son Alexander; families, & many farmers with their apprentices, coming from near & far.
Luke Frey, a true philosopher who does the Biodynamics for his families famous Frey Vineyards, helped lead the prep making withguru Harold Hoven, founder & director of the Raphael Garden at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA.
Alexandra Kravetz & Raphael Smadja came in from Elster Ranch in Grass Valley. Alexandra & Michael Aldinger lead the workshop on ‘Sequential Spraying’ (more about that later)
Michael Adams, from Nurturing Seed Farm – a community farm that has been growing &selling food & medicinals in & around Willits CA. in Mendocino County since 2010.
Serendipity brought me together with Willow Summer, Biodynamic farmer for the Three Springs Community Farm in Bodega CA. when we were both attending the AAP training at Kimberton Camphill this Summer. I was driving in from the airport & there she was at the side of the road; we stopped to talk & I immediately felt like we were sisters. It was sweet to be with her again. Willow & her husband Lew brought a fine crew of young apprentices to the event. What a joy to work alongside them & learn about their dreams for the future.
Betsyann’s gardening class from a few years ago harvesting fava beans
There was a wonderful presence from the regional Waldorf Schools. Betsyann Gallagher is Gardening Teacher for Marin Waldorf School,Katja Wishart also taught there. Christy Barron is 3-4 grade teacher at Waldorf School of Mendocino County. Gloria feels very much called to continue to make Live Power a teaching center for children young & old.
It was a pleasure to meet so many people like Julia Bernardini, working with Orland Bishop at a Retreat Center called Peaceful Valley Sanctuary.
Jodi Geren was the main cook for the weekend, coming up from San Francisco where she runs Four Barrel Coffee, assisted by former Live Power Apprentice Ali Anderson.
As folks were arriving, I set up for my presentation to be offered that evening for the Front Range Anthroposophical Café in Gloria’s living room, next to the memorial shine for her beloved husband Stephen Decater – the quiet Power behind the horses for the farm – who crossed the threshold 4 November 2021, prompting me to bring the theme of ‘Bridging Heaven & Earth’ to the Festival weekend.
The topic Friday Evening for the Front Range was: The “Cognitive Ritual” of Anthroposophia – Living into the New Mysteries’, which brought an interesting dimension to the Biodynamic component we were living into. I asked: What is the difference between the Sacramental Communion (the gesture of bringing Heaven to Earth – the 1st Michael Revelation: Spirit to matter), & the Cognitive Ritual (Rising in our thinking to meet the spiritual world – the second Michael Revelation: Matter to Spirit), & why are they both important for us today?
Here is the link for my presentations on the Front Range Anthroposophical Cafe.
It was a bit bizarre being online with people from all over the world while folks were gathered a few feet away in the kitchen. But I was able to join them after our amazing community conversation redeeming cyber space, which ended up turning toward the spiritual scientific research around the Corona crisis – Very enlightening.
And then to end the evening, Charles took me out into the field amongst the campers where we had a magnificent view of the starry night sky. I have only experienced this kind of piecing clarity with the Milky Way popping, a few times in my urban life. I was speechless & filled with awe & reverence.
Stay tuned as we continue the ‘Festival of Life’ adventure tomorrow if time allows as we are heading over to the Zinniker Farm for a prep day…
As the approaching Michaelmas Equinox Pulls the Afternoon Sun into a Blinding Shaft – The Drawn Sword of Michael – Pierces Thru On the Oblique Angle of the Sun Casting a long Shadow That Stretches to the Western Horizon Where I am going to meet it A greeting In Silent Admonition Thru Strident Free Discernment Revealing the Revelation In the Spirit-Light of Thought Made manifest in fertile soil ~hag
Yep, CG & I are making our way to the West Coast to visit Gloria Decater & friends at Live Power Farm, a 50-acre, solar electric & horse-powered, diversified, certified biodynamic farm, expanding our local Family Farm Initiative to honor & celebrate those who work to spiritualize the Earth in the mountains & valleys of Cali.
And by creating sanctuaries like Nancy Poer’s White Feather Ranch – Nancy who is an Internationally Recognized Waldorf Educator, Author, Artist & Activist is currently fighting to prevent a bill that would punish doctors who suggest natural alternative remedies. Her sacred land has been a refuge for many.
If you are in the area come join our Festival of Life Tour. (send us strength, we’ll need it)
When Rudolf Steiner founded the‘New Mysteries’ thru Anthroposophia at the Christmas Conference of 1923-24, he laid the foundation on earth for a new “cultus”, which had been part of the Michael School in the Super-sensible world during the 18th & 19th Centuries. He referred to this practical aspect of the New Mysteries as: the “Cognitive Ritual”, the “Ritual of Knowledge”, the “Spiritual Communion of Humanity”, the “Cosmic Communion”, the “World Ritual”, the “Reverse Ritual”, or “the “Cosmic Ritual”. How is it different from the Sacramental Communion? And why is it important for us today?
Sophie Takata
You are invited:Saturday/Sunday 24-25 September 2022 The BDANC Fall Michaelmas Gathering hosted Gloria Decater at Live Power Community Farm, Covelo
Saturday: *Honoring the Cow *Honoring the Elementals – with Hazel Archer Ginsberg *Hands on prep making with Harald Hoven *The Evolution of Biodynamic Legacy Farms – Old farms that need new farmers – Round table discussion with Gloria Decater and Chuck Ginsberg
*Bridging Heaven and Earth through Singing, Storytelling and Biography Work with Hazel Archer Ginsberg
The Michaelmas 2022 Bridging Project at Live Power Farm
We will work in conscious community to connect beyond the threshold for the future evolution of the Earth. Spiritual Science brings us many teachings on communicating with the ‘so-called dead’, working with the spiritual hierarchies, & coming to know the Christ as the meaning of the Earth. We can learn what our beloved dead & the unborn can teach us about what it means to be human in a spiritual sense here on Earth.
*Discussion about Sequential Spraying for Drought Remediation with Michael Aldinger *Catered dinner
Sunday: *Eurythmy – with Cynthia Hoven *Anthroposophical Salon – with Hazel Archer Ginsberg and Nancy Poer
For details, accommodations, meal reservations and schedule see www.bdanc.org
Live Power Community Farm is a seasoned, long-time biodynamic farm whose farming family have passed through many seasons of soul, soil and spirit. Gloria Decater, whose husband Stephen crossed the threshold last year, is currently in the process of exploring how the future incarnation of this living farm individuality needs to evolve. Although the CSA aspect of the farm is on hold right now, Gloria has been continuing to host educational activities for children and adults.
PURCHASING PREPARATIONS: Preps must be ordered at least three days in advance – by Sept 21st – to be picked up at the meeting. These BD preparations are hand made by groups of BDANC practitioners on various BD farms around NORCAL. Supervision and distribution by Harald Hoven.
Horn Manure (500) $5 members/$7 non-members
Horn Silica (501) $3 members/$4 non-members
Compost Prep Set (502-507) $18 members/$21 non-members
Contact Harald Hoven – Phone: (916) 837-8776 Email: hhoven@att.net
Some of the Chicago folks from ‘Building the Temple of the Heart’ 2021
Greetings friends – This is a dynamic moment in time…let’s strengthen and enkindle connections within our community and beyond. Last year’s annual conference theme was ‘Building the Temple of the Heart’ – now we can imagine entering this temple to connect with other striving souls around the World.
Join us in-person for a Community Gathering to celebrate Michaelmas as we stream the tour of the model of the first Goetheanum live from Dornach, Switzerland, followed by leading thoughts from Rev. Daniel Hafner, with Velsum Voicesas the capstone, & a potluck meal to end the afternoon.
at the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. 60613 on 29 September 2022 the Feast Day of Saint Michael and All the Heavenly Hosts Doors open at 11:30 am Noon CT – Live stream 1:15 pm CT – Velsum: singing: ‘Enkindling Connections-& The Heart Rose’ 1:30 pm – 3 pm Potluck – Please Bring Food & Drink to Share
Dear friends – The Michaelmas Season is looming. The oblique angle of the Sun cuts across the shadows like a sword. The days grow shorter & the harvest has begun
Biodynamic agriculture has a keen focus on tuning into the natural rhythms of the Earth, & the cosmos. The alteration between night & day can be seen as the Earth breathing in & out, so it is with each turn on the wheel of year – there is a seasonal cycle in tune with the Earth’s journey around the Sun. Once a year in the Autumn the planet takes a deep breath in, as everything comes to harvest & slowly goes into a Winter dormancy.
So it’s time to gather on the land for the Fall Prep Day at the Zinniker Farm. October 1st, 2022. Suggested donation: $20 per person in support of the Stewardship of Zinniker Farm We’ll start at 1:30pm. Dress for comfort with layers. Please bring a dish to pass for the evening potluck & bonfire.
As always in the fall we will be filling horns for the BD 500 Horn Manure Preparation: It is a powerful means for structuring the soil It stimulates soil microbial activity of the soil and the production of humus It regulates the pH balance of the soil It stimulates seed germination and root development, in particular vertical growth, increasing depth of root systems It improves the development of leguminous plants (Fabaceae) and nodule formation It helps dissolve minerals even in deep layers (alios) and can helps counteract excessive salt levels.
We won’t need to make any of the compost preparations, so we will spend the remaining time with application of the preparations. We will learn how to add the preparations to the compost pile and stir and spray Horn Manure.
Zinniker Farm N7399 Bowers Rd Elkhorn, WI 53121 262-642-5775
19 September 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”
“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
The Feast of San Gennaro, an Italian-American festival. Originally a one-day religious commemoration, the festival was first celebrated in the United States in September 1926, when immigrants from Naples congregated along Mulberry Street in the Little Italy section of Manhattan in New York City. The immigrant families on Mulberry Street who started the feast, a group of cafe owners, erected a small chapel in the street to house the image of their patron Saint. They invited all to partake of their wares, asking the devoted to pin an offering to the ribbon streamers that are hung from the statue’s apron. This money was then distributed to the needy poor of the neighborhood. Over time, the festival expanded into an 11-day street fair organized & run by people outside the neighborhood. It is now an annual celebration of food & drink, & a major tourist attraction. Centered on Mulberry Street, which is closed to traffic for the occasion, the festival generally features sausages, zeppole, street vendors, games, parades and other such attractions.
The Feast of Our Lady of La Salette
1846 – Two French shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat & Maximin Giraud, experience a Marian apparition on a mountaintop near La Salette, France, now known as Our Lady of La Salette. They returned from the mountain where they had been minding cows & reported seeing “a beautiful lady” on Mount Sous-Les Baisses, weeping bitterly. They described her as sitting with her elbows resting on her knees & her face buried in her hands. She was clothed in a white robe studded with pearls; & a gold colored apron; white shoes & roses about her feet & high head-dress. She wore a crucifix suspended by a necklace from her neck.
According to their account, she continued to weep even as she spoke to them, first in French, then in their own dialect. After giving a secret to each child, the apparition walked into a hill & vanished. The following day the children’s account of the apparition was put into writing & signed by the visionaries & those who had heard the story.
According to the children’s account, the Virgin invited people to respect the repose of the seventh day, & the name of God. She sorrowfully threatened punishment, in particular a scarcity of potatoes, which would rot. The context of these punishments places the warning just prior to the winter of 1846–1847, which was in Europe, & especially in Ireland & in France, a period of famine in the months which followed the apparition. This was one of the factors of the apparition’s popular appeal
1893 – Women’s suffrage: In New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 is consented to by the governor giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote
1812 – Deathday of Mayer Amschel Rothschild, founder of the banking dynasty
1946 – The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich, calling for a “United States of Europe”
1952 – The US bars Charlie Chaplin from re-entering the country after a trip to England
1957 – First American underground nuclear bomb test (part of Operation Plumbbob)
