Christopher Mann speaking at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute which he co-founded with his wife Martina & Ruth Zinniker
Thru the ‘Traveling Speakers Program’ run for many years by Margret Shipman, I was asked to bring a weekend workshop to the Michael Fields Institute in East Troy WI. Over 3 days we explored ‘The Spiritual Guidance of the Individual and Humanity’ – one of the rare lecture series’ that Rudolf Steiner reworked & cast into the form of an essay. It was there that I met & became fast friends with Christopher Mann & his beloved co-worker Angela Curtes, Land Protection Specialist & founder of GROUNDED LLC. Christopher was very excited about his new project – The Alchemist, a film he made with Frigyes Fogel – following those who are called to heal, & consecrate the earth through biodynamics…He was such an inspiration to my daughter & her Waldorf School friends who he hosted, sharing fascinating bits from his amazing biography, (His parents knew Steiner & did the Mann translation of the Calendar of the Soul).
Throughout his lifetime, Christopher created land trusts to support biodynamic, organic, & sustainable agriculture, along with research & education.
Christopher, his wife Martina & Ruth Zinniker founded the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI) in East Troy, Wisconsin in the 80’s. Back in those days it was the mission of MFAI to train biodynamic farmers, as well as do research into organic & biodynamic methods.
Christopher hadn’t been out to MFAI for years because they had gotten away from working biodynamicly; but when he saw my program he came out wanting to support Anthroposophy which he said was sorely missed. He talked about how the Class Lessons of the School of Spiritual Science used to be held in the upper room of the beautiful barn where we held our workshop.
At that time Perry Brown had just become the new Executive Director. He admitted that he knew nothing about biodynamics, & that Anthroposophy was new to him. Everyone who attended hoped that the workshop would spur a fresh impulse into MFAI
I was to come back to do another workshop for St. John’s which never happened. Although a few years later the spark was again ignited when Petra Zinniker held the Prep makers conference there of which I was able to offer a Candlemas Festival ‘Applying the Wisdom of Light – BD 501 and 508 – Tools to bring the cosmic light into the earth.’
I knew that some of the parcels of land had been sold off, but recently they sold half the campus to a group that runs a meadery! Then I was shocked to hear that the remaining part of the MFAI campus donated by Christopher & Martina Mann, including the two amazing architecturally stunning barns are now on the market!
Originally they had offered it to a land trust that Christopher had co-founded, but then just before it was to be transferred, the board of MFAI upped the asking price.
Pastor Rogers, of Victory Christian Academy seeking to bring inner city youth from Milwaukee to learn about agriculture & growing food was the highest bidder – but the MFAI board turned down the higher offer & has instead decided to sell the remaining campus, to another maker of alcohol, a whiskey distillery .
Dear friends, they have 40 days to close. Perhaps we can still turn the tide by reaching out to Perry Brown the Executive Director of MFAI to ask them to reconsider. Wouldn’t we want the legacy of Christopher Mann to be upheld & honored?
“For in the past, festivals used to bind human beings strongly together. Just think, for instance, of all that has been done and said and thought in connection with festivals for the whole of civilisation. In our epoch, Western man’s development has again reached a point where he is confronted with the necessity of bringing forth new forms of the venerable, sacred ideals of religion, art and science. This is what can enter physical life through the establishment of festivals directly out of the spirit –to do something that connects the earth with the heavens, that reconnects physical with spiritual conditions.
If to-day one could see the working of the whole universe when autumn approaches, if one could decipher the whole face of the universe, and acquire creative force out of it, then the establishment of such a festival would reveal, not only the will of human beings, but also the will of Gods and Spirits. Then the Spirit would again be among mankind!” ~Rudolf Steiner – Michaelmas VII: The Creation of A Michael Festival Out Of The Spirit
Blessings & thanks to all who make our Michaelmas Season come alive!
For those who are longing for a deep dive: The Applied Anthroposophy Course (AAC) brings transformative online content into the alchemy of individual and group inner work. The mission is to explore the urgent issues of our time through the lens of spiritual philosophy, awakening meaning, inner reflection, and outer action.
I will be facilitating one of the Chrysalis Groups: ‘The Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation into the New Mysteries’ – every Thursday at 10 am CT.
20 October 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: As autumn advances the Full Hunter’s Moon illuminates the world 19-21 October…Exact this morning at 9:57 a.m. CDT…Bella Luna rises in the east about 20 minutes after sunset. Right after dark, look three fists above the Moon for Alpheratz, the head of Andromeda and the leftmost corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. For the early risers: As the Sun rises the Moon sets…
RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler MICHAELMAS IV Michaelic Hope v29 To have the inner fire to kindle thinking’s radiance and draw the meaning of experience from worldwide spirit’s well of power is now for me the summer’s heritage, is autumn’s peace and also winter’s hope.
Reginald Perkins
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day – One of the many for today is : Dornach, 20 October 1917 – Excerpt from: Fall of the Spirits of Darkness LECTURE 10 – The Influence of the Backward Angels
The masses of humanity go through life as if asleep, without thought; they are completely unaware of what is going on in groups, some of them quite large, which may be right next door. Today, more than ever, people are much given up to illusion. Just consider the way in which many people keep saying today: ‘lt is amazing how effective modern communications are and how this brings people together!
I have spoken of this to show that it is entirely possible today for the mass of people to know nothing of radically new developments which are right on their doorstep.
The ahrimanic powers will also thrive if people nurture the elements which they desire to spread among people today: prejudice, ignorance and fear of the life of the spirit. There is no better way of encouraging them.
Just think how many people there are today who actually make it their business to foster prejudice, ignorance and fear of the spiritual powers.
So you see, the people who consider themselves to be the most enlightened today are living with entirely unrealistic ideas.
Since 1879 the situation is like this: people go to school and acquire scientific attitudes and thinking; their philosophy of life is then based on this scientific approach and they believe only the things which can be perceived in the world around us to be real, whilst everything else is purely imaginary. When people think like this, and infinitely many people do so today, Ahriman has the upper hand in the game and the ahrimanic powers are doing well. Who are these ahrimanic powers which have established their fortresses in human minds since 1879? They are certainly not human. They are angels, but they are backward angels, angels who are not following their proper course of evolution and therefore no longer know how to perform their proper function in the spiritual world that is next to our own. If they still knew how to do it, they would not have been cast down in 1879. They now want to perform their function with the aid of human brains. They are one level lower in human brains than they should be. ‘Monistic’ thinking, as it is called today, is not really done by humans. People often speak of the science of economics today, a science in which it was said at the time when the war started that it would be over in four months — I mentioned this again yesterday. When these things are said by scientists — it does not matter so much if people merely repeat them — they are the thoughts of angels who have made themselves at home in human heads. Yes, the human intellect is to be taken over more and more by such powers; they want to use it to bring their own lives to fruition. We cannot stand up to this by putting our heads in the sand like ostriches, but only by consciously entering into the experience. We cannot deal with this by not knowing what monists think, for example, but only by knowing it; we must also know that it is Ahrimanic science, the science of backward angels who infest human heads, and we must know about the truth and the reality.
It is indeed true, and initiates have always said so: ‘When human beings are filled with spiritual wisdom, these are great horrors of darkness for the ahrimanic powers and a consuming fire. It feels good to the ahrimanic angels to dwell in heads filled with ahrimanic science; but heads filled with spiritual wisdom are like a consuming fire and the horrors of darkness to them.’ If we consider this in all seriousness we can feel: filled with spiritual wisdom we go through the world in a way which allows us to establish the right relationship with the ahrimanic powers; doing the things we do in the light of this, we build a place for the consuming fire of sacrifice for the salvation of the world, the place where the terror of darkness radiates out over the harmful ahrimanic element.
Let those ideas and feelings enter into you! You will then be awake and see the things that go on in the world. ~Rudolf Steiner
All Hallows Eve Gathering to honor our beloved ones across the threshold & to strengthen our work on this side of the veil.
31 October 5 pm Potluck – Please bring food & drink to share & dress up as who you want to be in the New Year…
Sunset ritual with Rev. Jeana Lee, Rev. Victoria Capon.
Greetings Friends – In preparing for our ‘Building the Temple of the Heart’ I offer you these quotes:
“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men`s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever- growing insistency. Remember that our sons and granddaughters are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty.” ~Daniel Burnham City planner for Chicago
“If ever your soul is weak, if ever you believe that the goals of earth-existence are beyond your reach, think of man’s divine origin and become aware of those forces within you which are also the forces of supreme Love. Become inwardly conscious of the forces which give you confidence and certainty in all your works, through all your life, now and in all ages of time to come”. ~Rudolf Steiner, The Birth of the Sun-Spirit as the Spirit of the Earth 12-26-1911
For more info. contact Jenny Doty jenny.meyer17@gmail.com
(Meal plan consists of 3 lunches, 3 dinners, coffee, tea, & snacks will include some veggies from Angelic Organics – Sign up now so we know how much food we need!!!)
For those who are longing for a deep dive: The Applied Anthroposophy Course (AAC) brings transformative online content into the alchemy of individual and group inner work. The mission is to explore the urgent issues of our time through the lens of spiritual philosophy, awakening meaning, inner reflection, and outer action.
I will be facilitating one of the Chrysalis Groups: ‘The Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation into the New Mysteries’ – on 10 am CT Thursday mornings starting Oct. 21, 2021
The Royal Art of community awaits your participation.
See you there ~hag
4 October 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars:” Over in Aquarius the Water-bearer, asteroid 2 Pallas is slowly sliding southwest, diving south through the ecliptic, the plane of our solar system.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
“To truly know the world, look deeply within your own being; to truly know yourself, take real interest in the world.” Rudolf Steiner
Feast Day of Crispus & Gaius, Martyrs baptized by St. Paul at Corinth, Greece. Crispin headed the local Jewish synagogue. Gaius served as St. Paul’s host & was praised by St. John. Before being martyred, Crispin served as the bishop of the Aegean Islands, & Gaius served as bishop of Thessalonica, Greece.
1 Corinthians 1:14 – I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius
Acts 10:48 – So he ordered that Crispus and Gaius be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.
Acts 18:8 – Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard the message believed and were baptized.
Romans 16:23 – Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings, as does our brother Quartus.
3 John 1:1 – The elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth
1515 Birthday of Lucas Cranach the Younger, He is known for portraits & mythical scenes
1582 – Deathday of Saint Teresa of Ávila, a prominent Spanish mystic, saint, Carmelite nun, theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer & author during the Counter Reformation.
Her books, which include her autobiography (The Life of Teresa of Jesus) & her seminal work El Castillo Interior (The Interior Castle), are an integral part of Spanish Renaissance literature as well as Christian mysticism & Christian meditation practices. She also wrote Camino de Perfección (The Way of Perfection).
Teresa of Avila was born in 1515. Her paternal grandfather, was a marrano (Jewish convert to Christianity) & was condemned by the Spanish Inquisition for allegedly returning to the Jewish faith. Her father, bought a knighthood & successfully assimilated into Christian society. Teresa’s mother, was especially keen to raise her daughter as a pious Christian. Teresa was fascinated by accounts of the lives of the saints, & ran away from home at age seven with her brother Rodrigo to find martyrdom among the Moors.
When Teresa was 14 her mother died; this resulted in Teresa becoming grief-stricken. This prompted her to embrace a deeper devotion to the Virgin Mary as her spiritual mother. Along with this good resolution, however, she also developed immoderate interests in reading popular fiction (consisting, at that time, mostly of medieval tales of knighthood) & caring for her own appearance. Teresa was sent for her education to the Augustinian nuns at Ávila.
In the monastery she suffered greatly from illness. Early in her sickness, she experienced periods of religious ecstasy through the use of the devotional book the Third Spiritual Alphabet. This work, consisted of directions for examinations of conscience & for spiritual self-concentration (known in mystical nomenclature as oratio recollectionis). She also employed other mystical ascetic works.
She claimed that during her illness she rose from the lowest stage, “recollection”, to the “devotions of silence” or even to the “devotions of ecstasy”, which was one of perfect union with God. During this final stage, she said she frequently experienced a rich “blessing of tears.”
The kernel of Teresa’s mystical thought throughout all her writings is the ascent of the soul in four stages (The Autobiography Chs. 10-22):
The 1st Devotion of Heart, is mental prayer of devout concentration or contemplation. It is the withdrawal of the soul from without & especially the devout observance of the passion of Christ & penitence
The 2nd Devotion of Peace, is where human will is surrendered to God. This is by virtue of a charismatic, supernatural state given by God, while the other faculties, such as memory, reason, & imagination, are not yet secure from worldly distraction. While a partial distraction is due to outer performances such as repetition of prayers & writing down spiritual things, yet the prevailing state is one of quietude
The 3rd Devotion of Union, is absorption in God. It is not only a supernatural but an essentially ecstatic state. Here there is also an absorption of the reason in God, & only the memory & imagination are left to roam. This state is characterized by a blissful peace, a sweet slumber of at least the higher soul faculties, or a conscious rapture in the love of God
The 4th Devotion of Ecstasy, is where the consciousness of being in the body disappears. Sense activity ceases; memory & imagination are also absorbed in God or intoxicated. Body & spirit are in the throes of a sweet, happy pain, alternating between a fearful fiery glow, a complete impotence & unconsciousness, & a spell of strangulation, sometimes by such an ecstatic flight that the body is literally lifted into space. This after half an hour is followed by a reactionary relaxation of a few hours in a swoon-like weakness, attended by a negation of all the faculties in the union with God. The subject awakens from this in tears; it is the climax of mystical experience, producing a trance. Indeed, she was said to have been observed levitating during Mass on more than one occasion.
Teresa is one of the foremost writers on mental prayer, & her position among writers on mystical theology is unique. In all her writings on this subject she deals with her personal experiences. Her deep insight & analytical gifts helped her to explain them clearly. Her definition was used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Contemplative prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.” She used a metaphor of mystic prayer as watering a garden throughout her writings.
Around 1556, various friends suggested that her newfound knowledge was diabolical, not divine. She began to inflict various tortures & mortifications of the flesh upon herself. But her confessor, the Jesuit Saint Francis Borgia, reassured her of the divine inspiration of her thoughts. On St. Peter’s Day in 1559, Teresa became firmly convinced that Jesus Christ presented himself to her in bodily form, though invisible. These visions lasted almost uninterrupted for more than two years. In another vision, a seraph drove the fiery point of a golden lance repeatedly through her heart, causing an ineffable spiritual-bodily pain.
I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it…
This vision was the inspiration for one of Bernini’s most famous works, the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa at Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.
The memory of this episode served as an inspiration throughout the rest of her life, & motivated her lifelong imitation of the life & suffering of Jesus, epitomized in the motto usually associated with her: Lord, either let me suffer or let me die.
Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours. ~Teresa of Ávila
1582 – Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, & Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15
10:10 Thought-Seed Meditation as antidote to the madness
Clear your mind of what fills it now & live into the Word…Make yourself comfortable, as we share the air…taking a deep breath…filling your belly…Thrilling your lungs…Let your body sink deep & Relax…Set the rhythm with your breath…& as your awareness is internalized, fully connected with the Breath of Life, gently moving through you…Make all your senses alert to this life force…Enjoy its power & perfect simplicity…feel the sustaining energy behind every molecule of oxygen in every breath… Feel the life force coursing through your cells & thoughts…& when you are ready, become a channel open to the abundant potency pouring into this planet from the Heart of the Sun that we all share…feel the honey-gold radiance of the Sun infusing your will with the power to manifest Love…Reach out with your Heart-Self & let your thoughts attract & connect with the radiant-golden healing energy of our Day Star, as its power merges with your ripening heart…
Feeling balanced in this loving energy, let your feet sprout thick limber roots that pull this pure illuminated Love deep into the core of this planet, infusing all life with the brilliance of connective intelligence, healing all hate…oxidizing all dis-ease in the root rays of the solar power harmonizing with our planet made sacred…
Remember that you are unique in the light that fuels your gifts…& when we all add our divine sparks together, we fuel the fires of transformation to create positive change…as we find ourselves intertwined in this circle of life, forming the wholeness in the Sun-Heart beating in rhythm with the pulse of our Mother Earth…we know we are all beacons of this vivid starburst of evolution…Look around this amazing world with your mind’s eye, & see the fields, ripe with the end of summer’s abundance…
Find yourself in the center of this abundance holding a large willow basket, eager to begin your autumn harvest…Step first into an expanse of sweet corn…See the tall, regal, green stalks…
Observe a ripe golden ear which seems to be reaching out to you…Under its wispy silk, kernels sparkle like precious gold shining through…Let it remind you of your own riches, both tangible & intangible…Reach out & pick this ear of corn & put it into your basket…
Leave the corn field, & enter an apple orchard…See the beauty of these trees…these majestic symbols of the Great Goddess Herself…Feel the fullness of her boughs…the ripeness of her ruby red apples, the fruit of knowledge…Reach up, way up, & pick two…Put one in your basket & eat the other…Taste & enjoy this perfect fruit…For in this gracious garden, tasting the fruit of knowledge is never forbidden…
Now move toward an onion field, which beckons to you…Once green, now browning spikes, point up to you, tempting you to dig below…Pull gently & the ground gives birth to an iridescent, opal bulb, full of body & character & strength…A vegetable with the power to make you feel the beauty of your tears of joy…Add this to your growing harvest…
Notice ahead thick bushes of ripened raspberries, Sharp brambles protecting their precious, succulent garnets…The juicy nectar of these berries reminds you of your own sensuality, your own ability to feel, express, extend all that is sweet & loving & honest to others…Take your time here, & pick plenty of these supple jewels for your basket…
Step away now & look around you, Find a patch of fruit or vegetables that appeals to you…Enter it, admire its offerings, select a precious jewel of your own to harvest…Choose a resource that will sustain you in the upcoming time of cold & darkness…glean some warmth & light & savor its presence…
With your arms now laden with this basket of bountiful treasures, it is time to rest…Take your harvest to a clover covered knoll in the still warm sun, just beyond, to sit & bask in the glory of its healing heat…Rest in contentment knowing you have gathered in all that you need, to give you strength & balance, peace & nourishment in the winter days to come…
Put yourself back in the sky now…Become the Sun once again…Shine down upon yourself & your hardy harvest…Absorb the energy of the fruits of your labors, bless the seeds you planted in the Spring & nurtured to fruition through the Summer…
Become One with the Spiritual Sun…Shine down upon all that is good & giving…spread the light of hope & peace, love & understanding, to all you shine upon…Everything you have touched with your luminous rays is vibrating in harmony, in the eternal truth of our authentic self…
Begin to integrate & cultivate these blessings received…opening to the vision of our Divine-Self, in the wholeness of our heart soul, we can Resolve to act on our own unique life-purpose & make it ever more real…ever more whole…
Gradually bring your experience to the present once again, to the here & now…Feel your body refreshed & renewed, here & now, in your room, in your sacred space…know you are sacred…know you are here for a reason…
& Gently, joyfully, when you are ready, open your senses…to see the unity of your community… know in your heart of hearts that the journey we have taken together, whether near or far, in the flesh, or thru the net, is full of effulgent effective power which we manifest for ourselves & for the planet, a healing harvest of love’s light…
RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler MICHAELMAS Michaelic Firepower v26 Natura, in the being of my will I bear thy soul of motherhood and in my will enkindled firepower my spirit impulses are tempered, steeled, that feeling of the selfhood formed from them bear I in me
The Michaemas movement from v26 to 27 is the Soul Calendar’s second mirror point.
MICHAELMAS II Soul Springtime v27 To fathom my depths of being arouses longing, ardently divining, that I, Self-contemplating, find myself as gift the summer sun’s bequeathed my autumn mood as warming seed of germinating soul force.
Here are some notes edited from Eloise Krivosheia (Calendar-of-the-Soul-Verse-27-2020.pdf (anthroposophyla.org).
At Easter the soul turned to outer nature and the cosmos. Turning inwardly now it longs to know itself in its spiritual depths, arousing “Ahnung” (that I always translate with an “ah”, sound for the future, felt as a presience of the divine). In warm attentiveness to the summer’s sun-gift the soul is able to recognize the summer’s secrets, which as a seed will germinate will forces. Now with the powerful gift of the summer sun the spiritual sun can consciously expand within my inner being all through the autumn.
Karl König descibes how the spirit-germ of the self is a reflection of the Michael being, which illumined by the Sun of Christ begins to develop and grow in Christ light. “The more conscious this seed is of itself, the more graciously will the Sun of Christ shine upon it. For it is in the growing darkness of autumn and winter that the dawning of His Spirit-Sun begins. The self of man, which has now arisen, has to find it.”
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.
1942 – Spaceflight: The first successful launch of a V-2 /A4-rocket from Test Stand VII at Peenemünde, Germany. It is the first man-made object to reach space.
1952 – The United Kingdom successfully tests a nuclear weapon to become the world’s third nuclear power.
1962 – Project Mercury: Sigma 7 is launched from Cape Canaveral, with astronaut Wally Schirra aboard, for a six-orbit, nine-hour flight.
1963 – A violent coup in Honduras pre-empts the October 13 election, ends a period of reform, & begins two decades of military rule.
1981 – The hunger strike by Provisional Irish Republican Army & Irish National Liberation Army prisoners at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland ends after 7months & 10 deaths.
1985 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis makes its maiden flight. (Mission STS-51-J)
1986 – TASCC, a superconducting cyclotron at the Chalk River Laboratories, is officially opened
1990 – German reunification: The German Democratic Republic ceases to exist & its territory becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany. East German citizens became part of the European Community, which later became the European Union. Now celebrated as German Unity Day
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
Bobby Rankle
POD (Poem Of the Day)
~have you seen it…? how the fist of order tries to hold back chaos how chaos oozes between the grasp of fingers held without purpose how the sun is born & dies 12 hours later how the weights swing in the scale balanced on the fingertip of a god…? ~hag
Zosia Nowak
Greetings friends – It is a true esoteric deed to be an active participant at a spiritual convocation, & a rare honor to host such an historic hybrid event at the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago. (see this link to find a hybrid Host Center in your neck of the woods)
Don’t miss this opportunity to be counted as a foundational member of the construction team ‘Building the Temple of the Heart’.
Monday October 4this the Deadline for Registering for this ASA Annual Conference and Members Meeting 7-10 October 2021 online and in-person
(Meal plan in Chicago consists of 3 lunches, 3 dinners, coffee, tea. AND snacks will include some veggies from Angelic Organics – Sign up now so we know how much food we need!!!)
THURSDAY, October 7 – CENTRAL TIME
*Special in-person activities – (*Vendor load in 9 am – 3 pm For those in the pageant: Tech rehearsal – 3 pm)
*5 pm Dinner in the RS Branch ‘Schreinerei’
6:30- 8:00 PM Annual General Meeting (AGM) – Members Meeting (Note: This portion is free and open to all members)
FRIDAY, October 8 – CENTRAL TIME
*9:30 AM In the Upper Room our Class Reader Clark Remington will give Lesson XI for the School of Spiritual Science (Note: There will be no online gathering for the Class Lesson) 11:15 AM Snack Break in the RS Branch ‘Schreinerei’ 11:30 AM What is the School of Spiritual Science? A conversation led by Helen-Ann Ireland, open to all 12 Noon LUNCH in the RS Branch ‘Schreinerei’ 1:00 PM Conference Opening 2:00 PM The Stairway of Surprise: Rudolf Steiner’s 6 Basic Exercises with Michael Lipson 3:00 PM 30-minute Snack Break in the RS Branch ‘Schreinerei’ 3:30 PM Thinking / Clear Thinking with the New Orleans Hub Doing / Right Action with the Austin Hub Musical Interludes by Morgan Vallat 4:30 PM Biography with Janey Newton 5:00 PM 60-minute Break *DINNER in the RS Branch ‘Schreinerei’ 6:00 PM Singing with Dennis Dietzel and the Twin Cities group 6:15 – 7:15 PM Building the Temple through Spiritual Research: Sections of the School of Spiritual Science as Columns of the Temple
8:00 PM Optional opportunity to attend a ‘Close of Day Serve’ at our local Christian Community Church 2135 W. Wilson Ave. (Walkable)
SATURDAY, October 9 – CENTRAL TIME (*For those in the pageant: Breakfast at 8 am – Tech rehearsal – 9 am)
11:00 AM Eurythmy with Mary Ruud 11:15 AM The Life of the Heart in Space, Time and Eternity with Michaela Glöckler 12:30 PM Biography with Janey Newton 1:00 PM 60-minute Break *LUNCH in the RS Branch ‘Schreinerei’ 2:00 PM Eurythmy with Mary Ruud 2:15 PM Feeling / Equanimity with the Twin Cities Hub Loving / Positivity with the Northern Michigan Hub Opening / Open-mindedness with the Ann Arbor Hub Musical Interludes by Morgan Vallat 3:30 PM 60-minute Snack Break in the RS Branch ‘Schreinerei’ 4:30 PM Exploring the Heart Connections between Chartres Cathedral and Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival with Brian Gray 5:45 PM Biography with Janey Newton 6:15 PM 60-minute Break *DINNER in the RS Branch ‘Schreinerei’ 7:15-8:30 PM Thanking / Inner Harmony / Wholeness with the Chicago / Youth Section Hub
SUNDAY, October 10 – CENTRAL TIME ~Everyone is invited to wear white and black for this capstone offering~(*For those in the Pageant- Breakfast at 8 am – Run Through – 9 am)
11:00 AM Singing with Dennis Dietzel and the Twin Cities group Experiential Pageant: ‘Building the Temple of the Heart- The Royal Art: A Social Pilgrimage of the Soul’by Hazel Archer featuring the 6 HUBS, Friends and Hosts, Dennis Dietzel, Mary Ruud, Katherine Thivierge & YOU 12:15 PM ART ACT with Lisa Dalton- Break – (Timing Subject to change) 1:00-2:00 PM Conversation and Conference Closing LUNCH in the RS Branch ‘Schreinerei’
For Questions about registration contact Jenny Dotty
For those who are longing for a deep dive: The Applied Anthroposophy Course (AAC) brings transformative online content into the alchemy of individual and group inner work. The mission is to explore the urgent issues of our time through the lens of spiritual philosophy, awakening meaning, inner reflection, and outer action.
I will be facilitating one of the Chrysalis Groups: ‘The Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation into the New Mysteries’ –
The Royal Art of community awaits your participation.
Dear Sisters & Brothers – In our present world crisis it is essential to align ourselves with the Being of Michael to enable us to overcome all that is of the ‘dragon ‘rearing its many heads in our time. We can come to know this mighty Time Spirit by taking into our hearts earnest wisdom-filled thoughts concerning the countenance that this being holds. If we do this we will soon see the light of wisdom mount into fiery flames of will – that empower us to fulfill the tasks that are incumbent upon us.
During Harvest season these energies firing up our will are especially available & are strongest when joined in a community effort. In concert with friends & co-creators, we can work with Michael/Christ at this crucial time, when the Mystery of Evil unfolds together with the Reappearance of Christ in the Etheric.
Mi-cha-el is a Hebrew name consisting of three separate words – the word Mi, pronounced My, means “Who?” cha, pronounced kai, means “like” or “as.” And El pronounced “L”, is the abbreviated form of Elohim – the name of God in the plural – the 7 Spirits of Form or the creator gods referred to in Genesis: “In the beginning God [Elohim] created heaven and earth…” Put these three word-syllables together & we get Mi-cha-el: “Who is like God?” This name prods our ordinary thinking – providing an opportunity to penetrate beyond the surface – to pose important questions. Facts are dead if they are not stepping-stones to more penetrating questions which allow further answers.
The very essence of Michael is not a proper noun but a verb – a deed. What if we applied this kind of spiritual questioning to all of our striving toward knowledge? Who, or what, is the essence behind the Word? What is it that we seek in all of our ‘questing’ for wisdom & knowledge? The ‘Holy Grail’ is to uphold the wisdom of god – to know the spiritual foundation of things.
Rudolf Steiner reminds us that “Every idea we hold that does not become an ideal slays a power within us.” Instead of slaying the dragon in us, this kind of lazy thinking slays the Michael power within us. But when our thoughts rise to the ideal, they have a force that is useful & eternal, imbued with will – fired with an indomitable force. These thoughts rise up to God.
Michael as Time Spirit is cosmopolitan – universal – a role model to prepare us for the collective culture of the future that began with the Christ event, blossoming in the future with ‘Philadelphia’ – the culture of ‘brotherly love’ which leads us into the ideal community of the New Jerusalem – where we are the 10th hierarchy – the universal human being – co-creator in the cosmos.
What is universal goes completely beyond groups, beyond divisions – to the One -to the All as One – the Christ within us. This divine spark that we have in common with all of humanity is universal. Until we can embrace all, accept all, love all—as Christ shows us—we have not arrived at universal individualism. As students of the Michaelic intelligence we are called to mirror the highest in the other.
Anyone who striving to do the ‘Great Work’ on the path of personal development & spiritual research knows that it is an arduous, lonely path – And ironically it is often in community where the most suffering & pain is triggered, offering our deepest sorrow as well as our biggest opportunities for growth.
From a broad evolutionary perspective we can understand that every soul is on ‘the path’. Can we recognize & feel the cry of the spirit, the seeking soul within the annoying person on the street, our family members, or co-workers? Can we have compassion for others & for ourselves in our various conditions of soul &spirit sickness? Can we see beyond the soul sicknesses, to meet the hungering individual who is, in their own way, seeking for a fulfillment that only the spirit can bring?
This is how we can work with Michael; then we are a co-worker learning to mirror the highest in the other – striving to hold the countenance of Christ – this is what we come to understand in the school of Michael. When we are recognized by another on the level of spirit, we naturally awaken to our latent potential & connect more readily with our unique life-purposes.
Can we trust that no matter where a fellow human being is on their journey that we can acknowledge the Christ within them? Or do we hold the individuals around us captive to their past? Do we unconsciously cast judgment on them? We have seen them fail perhaps countless times. Is there a subtle condemning in us when we speak to them or of them to others?
How about those who ascribe to a different social philosophy or support a different political party – do we judge them as inferior for their beliefs & unworthy of our help or support? Do we think of them as evil – never able to progress or change? If so, we are aligning ourselves with the adversary of our own soul’s progress as well as theirs.
Can we forgive them & ourselves, & step up to be the person in their life that helps them see their true potential? Are we living up to our own? If we are able to do this, then we are working with Michael as a mirror to the divine nature within others. What a beautiful harvest that will bring to the world.
Let this season enkindle in us a renewed hope, an unshakeable faith, a sure strength – endowing us with the spiritual will of Michael-Sophia. In the name of Christ, we can stand fast in freedom – to sure up the practical reality that Spiritual Science offers as a world view.
~hag
Rev. Craig Wiggins
Meeting the Dragon with our 4-Fold Being Our Annual Michaelmas Festival Leading thoughts with Rev Jeana Lee, Collaborative sculptural creation, & transformation with Rev Victoria Capon. (Bring your found objects to help build the dragon!)
September 28th, 2021 Potluck at 5:30 pm in the Branch Schreinerei – Please bring a dish to share Talk at 7pm in the Upper Room
Our inspiration can come to life through our collaboration at the Rudolf Steiner Branch – 4249 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
In order to know how much food to order REGISTRATION ENDS OCT. 1ST
Details for the in-person conference:
$75 will cover the expenses for facilities, 3 lunches and 3 dinners, snacks, and printing.
You will enjoy a pre-AGM dinner on Thursday Oct. 7 Doors open at 5 pm. Lunch and Dinner on Fri. and Sat. and Lunch post-conference on Sunday. As well as Snacks/Coffee-Tea during the breaks.
$40 will cover only the bare expenses – no meals
Be a Master Builder Patron for $100 or more, to help pay for the tech costs!
For those who are longing for a deep dive: The Applied Anthroposophy Course (AAC) brings transformative online content into the alchemy of individual and group inner work. The mission is to explore the urgent issues of our time through the lens of spiritual philosophy, awakening meaning, inner reflection, and outer action.
I will be facilitating one of the Chrysalis Groups: ‘The Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation into the New Mysteries’ –
The Royal Art of community awaits your participation.
