Category Archives: Festival

Mysteries of the Body & Blood

August 3, 2021Celestial Event, Central Regional Council, Festival, History, Poetry, Rudolf Steiner Quote~hag

Greetings friends on this the Feast day of Nicodemus. As fate would have it, yesterday as I was doing some research about the Holy Grail for the Pageant: ‘The Royal Art: A Social Pilgrimage of the Soul’ (for the ASA AGM on Sunday 10 October); I was reading from Sergei O. Prokofieff’s book ‘The Spiritual Origins of Eastern Europe and the Future Mysteries of the Holy Grail’ Chapter 3 ‘Scythianos & the Grail Stream’, where he reveals the connection between this great initiate of the mysteries of the physical body (The blood & body) & his 2 pupils – Joseph of Arimathea & Nicodemus. So this powerful individuality was already ‘visiting me in the night’.

Just like Lazarus, Nicodemus does not belong to the tradition of the Synoptic Gospels & is only mentioned by John, who brings him in 3 times, devoting more than half of Chapter 3 of his Gospel, a few verses of Chapter 7 & again in Chapter 19.

The first time Nicodemus is mentioned, he is identified as a Pharisee who comes to see Jesus “at night”. John places this meeting shortly after the Cleansing of the Temple & links it to the signs which Jesus performed in Jerusalem during the Passover feast. “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2).

Then follows a conversation with Nicodemus about the meaning of being “born again” or “born from above” (Greek: ἄνωθεν), & the mention of seeing the “kingdom of God”.

In Chapter 7, Nicodemus advises his colleagues among “the chief priests and the Pharisees”, to hear & investigate before making a judgment concerning Jesus. Their mocking response argues that no prophet comes from Galilee. Nonetheless, it is probable that he wielded a certain influence in the Sanhedrin.

Finally, when Jesus is buried, Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh & aloes—about 100 lbs [John 19:39]

“We have already pointed out in these lectures that in the words of Christ-Jesus to Nicodemus, we must recognize a conversation between Christ and a personality who is able to perceive what can be beheld outside of the physical body by means of higher organs of cognition if developed to a certain stage. For those who understand such things, this is clearly and distinctly indicated in the Gospel wherein it is stated that Nicodemus came to Christ-Jesus “in the night,” meaning in a state of consciousness in which the human being does not make use of his outer sense organs.” ~Rudolf Steiner, The Gospel of St. John, lecture VI -THE “I AM”

You can also find some amazing insights about Nicodemus from the work of Emil Bock in his book ‘The Three Years’ Chapter 8.

3 August 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Today is a great day to view Saturn, which reached opposition at 1 am last night. If you’re up early, the ringed planet won’t set until nearly sunrise; if you’re an evening observer, it will rise again as the Sun sets in Capricornus the Sea Goat.

Bella Luna reaches apogee, the farthest point from our planet in its orbit. ~astronomy.com

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1829 – Birthday of Laurence Oliphant – a Member of the British Parliament, was a South African-born British author, traveler, diplomat, intelligence agent, & Christian mystic. (see Steiner’s Quote below that in a former life he was Ovid)

From Rudolf Steiner in Karmic Relationships, VIII: Lecture V

“In the early years of this century I was several times in London. On the occasion of one of these visits I was prompted to make myself acquainted with an extraordinarily significant personality — to begin with, simply in his writings. And as in those days there were rather longer intervals between the journeys than there are now, I obtained from the Theosophical Library the books he had written — the books that is to say, of Laurence Oliphant.

Laurence Oliphant is a remarkably interesting and significant personality: he strikes you in this way directly you begin to study his writings. These books deal with the similarities to be found in different religions, with spiritual religions, and so forth; and all of them bear evidence of a deep understanding of how in the various processes of his body and soul, man is connected with the secrets of the universe. When you read Oliphant’s writings you have the impression: Here is a picture of man in his earth-life that owes its inspiration to deep cosmic instincts. The processes of the earthly life of man that are connected with birth, embryonic life, descent and so forth, are described in such a way as to show how man, as microcosm, is wondrously rooted in the macrocosm.

Now I was very soon led in this study to a point where the figure of the dead Laurence Oliphant stood before me, but not in a form which suggested that I had here to do with the individuality as he was then living after death; it was rather that what was contained in these writings (which may be described as setting forth a kind of cosmic physiology, a cosmic anatomy) began to come alive, began to spiritualise; and a figure appeared, not all at once entirely clear, but unquestionably there before me on many different occasions. I was able to make occult investigations into the matter and I could never do otherwise than bring the figure into connection with what came to me from reading Oliphant. It was very often there before me. At first I was often unable to satisfy myself as to what this figure wanted, what its manifestations meant. The whole manner of its appearance however, left me in no doubt whatever that it was none other than the individuality of Laurence Oliphant; and it was likewise clear to me that this figure had had a long life in the time between death and a new birth — that is to say, the birth as Laurence Oliphant — probably only broken by one earth-life that was not very significant for the rest of the world. What might not then be hidden in the personality of Laurence Oliphant! In short, this appearance of the figure of Laurence Oliphant suggested significant questions of karma.

When I entered on an investigation of the karma, a spiritual Being became manifest who is engaged in the elaboration of human karma…

Now the investigations which I described in Torquay led me into close contact with the spirit of Brunetto Latini, the teacher of Dante. When one penetrates into these spiritual worlds in the manner described, it also becomes possible to stand before individualities in the form in which they lived in a particular epoch. Thus one can stand face to face with Brunetto Latini, the great teacher of Dante in the 13th century. Brunetto Latini still possessed a knowledge whereby nature was seen, not in the abstraction of natural laws, but as under the influence of living spiritual Beings. On the way back to his native town of Florence from his post as Ambassador in Spain, Brunetto Latini heard all kinds of reports that troubled and disturbed him, and in addition he had a slight sunstroke. In this condition and under the influence, too, of the pathological disturbances, glimpses came to him of nature in her creative work, of cosmic creation, and of the connection of man with the planetary world. What he was able to see was wonderful and sublime and no more than a shadow-picture of it subsequently found its way into the great work of Dante — the Divine Comedy.

But now if we follow this Brunetto Latini, we find that in a critical moment, when the knowledge was like to suffocate him, when it seemed to him that he might go astray from true knowledge and fall into error — in this critical moment, Ovid became his guide, Ovid, the Roman author of the Metamorphoses which contain such wonderful visions of the old Greek age, though expressed in the prosaic, characteristically Roman style.

And so we meet the individuality of Ovid together with Brunetto Latini. If we have a true grasp of the connection we can see Brunetto Latini, in the pre-Dante time, actually together with Ovid. Ovid is with him. And now, precisely in connection with the scientific, medical researches of which I was speaking, Ovid revealed himself as Laurence Oliphant.

In reality, Ovid was the guide in the spiritual world for many Initiates, appearing again as Laurence Oliphant with his sublime treatment of physiology and pathology. This connection between Laurence Oliphant and Ovid is of most far-reaching import and is one of the most illuminating examples one could possibly find. ~Rudolf Steiner, Karmic Relationships, VIII: Lecture V

1929 – Krishnamurti dissolves the Order of the Star in the East

1936 – Jesse Owens wins the 100 meter dash, defeating Ralph Metcalfe, at the Berlin Olympics.

1977 – Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world’s first mass-produced personal computers

On August 3, 2019, a mass shooting occurred at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, United States. 21 year old Patrick Crusius shot & killed 23 People & injured 23 others, in an act of domestic terrorism -a hate crime described as the deadliest attack on Latinos in modern American history.

Shortly before the shooting Crusius posted a manifesto with white nationalist anti-immigrant themes, online, citing that year’s earlier Christchurch mosque shootings & the right-wing conspiracy theory known as the Great Replacement as inspiration for the attack.

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I travel inwardly
I gather berries that have fallen
Fully ripened to the ground
& swing the scythe under hot blue skies…
What is remembered, lives…
~hag

Harvest Home

August 2, 2021Celestial Event, Festival, History, Insight, Poetry~hag

O sweet sacrifice, teach me your Love –

Just like in days of old, we come can together, each from our own homestead, farm or condo, we can come together, to help our neighbor gather the 2nd harvest home…

As we enter the time of the grain harvest, a wealth of beauty in nature surrounds us…Mid-Summer has past & the fruits are ripening…now we begin to take this abundance in, digesting & cultivating seeds in our memory.

Like the animal kingdom storing food for a barren winter, we store the meaning of Summer’s richness within our souls, harvesting with a discerning eye – full of appreciation & compassion for our current crop – looking ahead to the next harvest…

Learning from our endeavors…we take the late Summers gifts into our heart & soul & belly – we know, that like the season’s inevitable movement, one into the next, we too are always becoming…We are always creating, always moving from the already been, to the not yet, always strengthening in the present what will happen in the soon to be…& as we do this, we give ourselves a gift grander than any earthly gift…We reap truth… We give ourselves to our Self…

We need the outer world of nature to understand our inner nature…just as we need both the in-breath & the out-breath, we need to see what we are in the world, to see our authentic Self & purpose…

We stand at the Cross-quarter a powerful turning point on the wheel of the year…between the Summer Solstice & the Fall equinox…we have breathed out into the lushness of Summer…& now we can hold the memory of Summer within us – as soul strength – as we prepare to turn inward during the winter’s long in-breathing…

We know that as we feel our existence in the world, we are a part of an ongoing cosmic dance…the endless dance of becoming…& we feel the stirrings of our soul longing to be gathered in…We know we must feed the inner fruit, at the same time that we harvest the earth, which in turn feeds the World Soul…

Invisibly & silently, the cosmic light is moving into each of us, just as it goes into the grain, preparing us for the threshing floor…even as we nourish our bodies from the fruits of the earth, we become the fruit that will sustain the Soul of the World…it is a dance of being & becoming, waxing & waning, feeding & being fed…Such is the dance of life…

Some Divine Archetypes to tap into:

Lugh the Long Arm – This festival is also called “Lugnasadh” (Loo-nah-sah), “nasadh” Gaelic, “to give in marriage,” Tailltean marriage.

Demeter (the Greek version of the Roman goddess Ceres = cereal) is the goddess of grain. It is her job to feed the world. After her reunion with her daughter Persphone, Demeter gave the gift of agriculture to humankind, so we could cultivate for ourselves.

Freya on the Boar – The boar as totem personified prosperity, vitality & ceremonial feasting for both the Norse & Celts also represented the time before agriculture, when food was foraged, the Boar is a great forger. Freya riding the Boar is a symbol of the cultivated grain overcoming the old ways of hunting & gathering.

Born from a tree that was gouged open by a boar, Adonis was later killed by a boar, he is an example of the dying vegetation god, sacrificed so that all may live.

Danu – Irish Goddess of fertility & plenty, Mother of the fairies – the force that turns the flower to the sun.

“John Barleycorn” is a personification of the important cereal crop barley, & of the spirit beverages made from it, beer & whiskey. In the old English song, “John Barley Corn must die”, He is represented as suffering attacks, death, & indignities that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping & malting – emulating also the passion of The Christos.

John Barleycorn represents the ideology of nature’s cycles, the spirit within nature, & the harvest. As a result of his being cut down, bread can be produced; therefore, Barleycorn dies so that others may live. His body eaten as bread.

The Empress –represents the Mother principle, referring to reproduction & growth; she sets all things in order. Symbolic of Venus & the material world, she rules the senses, teaching us to appreciate beauty in all forms. She is the figure of Creative Imagination, displaying the art of visualization. She is fertile & nurturing, providing the means to attract our desires. Confer with The Empress to increase creativity, manifest prosperity, & magnetize love…She is a wise woman who makes decisions based on her intuition & the facts at hand. She is a woman who can be forceful & strong willed in her position of authority…She is a business-woman who is level-headed & practical but she is also kind & charitable, one who instills confidence & nurtures others. She is a role model. The throne of The Empress is built of endurance, tenacity, loyalty & sheer determination…

I am The Empress, I celebrate this knowing,
I am The Empress, I am ripe, I am growing…

Abundant Blessings of Lammas
& Peace –
~hag

PS. Gather the seeds you want to save, & feed the rest to the birds of the air…Thank the Farmer (Bless you Farmer John & your Biodynamic abundance https://angelicorganics.com/ ) & enjoy the feast…!!!

xox

2 August 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: With the advance of Summer the Sagittarius Teapot, in the south after dark now, is tilting and pouring from its spout to the right. The Teapot will tilt farther and farther for the rest of the summer — or for much of the night if you stay out late.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

“An ethical misunderstanding, a clash, is impossible among ethically free human beings. Only someone who is ethically unfree, who obeys natural drives or the conventional demands of duty, will thrust aside someone who does not follow the same instincts and the same demands. To live in love of action, and to let live in understanding of the other’s will, is the fundamental maxim of free human beings.” — Rudolf Steiner, The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

216 BC – The Carthaginian army led by Hannibal defeats a numerically superior Roman army at the Battle of Cannae

Feast day of “The Virgen de los Angeles” (the Virgin of the Angels) is Costa Rica’s patron saint, also known as La Negrita. According to tradition, La Negrita, the Black Virgin, is a small (less than a meter tall), representation of the Virgin Mary found on this spot on August 2, 1635 by a native woman. As the story goes, when she tried to take the statuette with her, it miraculously reappeared twice back where she’d found it. The townspeople then built a shrine around her. In 1824, the Virgin was declared Costa Rica’s patron saint. La Negrita now resides on a gold, jewel-studded platform at the main altar in the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles in Cartago. Each August 2, on the anniversary of the statuette’s miraculous discovery, pilgrims from every corner of the country (and beyond) walk the 22 km from San José to the basilica. Many of the penitent complete the last few hundred meters of the pilgrimage on their knees.

1832- Birthday of Henry Steel Olcott – an American military officer, journalist, lawyer & the co-founder & 1st President of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first well-known American of European ancestry to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. From 1874 on, Olcott’s spiritual growth & development with Helena Blavatsky & other spiritual leaders would lead to the founding of the Theosophical Society. In 1875, Olcott, Blavatsky, & others, notably William Quan Judge, formed the Theosophical Society in New York City. Olcott financially supported the earliest years of the Theosophical Society & was acting President while Blavatsky served as the Society’s Secretary. In December 1878, they left New York in order to move the headquarters of the Society to India.

1921 – Birthday of Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor & actor

1922 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-Canadian engineer, invented the telephone

1922 – A typhoon hits Shantou, Republic of China killing more than 50,000 people

1924 – The last of Rudolf Steiner’s “19 Class Lessons” was given in Dornach.

1934 – Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg

1939 – Albert Einstein & Leo Szilard write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon

1943 – Jewish prisoners stage a revolt at Treblinka, one of the deadliest of Nazi death camps where approximately 900,000 persons were murdered in less than 18 months

1968 – Deathday of Antonio d’Achille , Aquinas scholar

1969 – Deathday of Anna Samweber – an active co-worker in Berlin with Rudolf Steiner and Marie Steiner-von Sivers. Her anecdotes & recollections were recorded by Jacob Streit during an intensive two days shortly before Anna’s death. They contribute a warm & intimate picture of Rudolf Steiner, the man, & his work. “Frau Dr Steiner owned a lovely diamond watch with her initials inscribed on the lid. It was broken, and I had to take it to a well-known watchmaker who lived a long way from the Motzstrasse (the house at 17 Motzstrasse in Berlin was where Rudolf and Marie Steiner lived from 1903 – 1913, and where the work of the Anthroposophical Society was carried on). It was late on a cold and foggy November evening when I made my way in the direction of Nollendorfplatz, where the building site for a subway was situated. I was walking along a long, wooden blank wall when suddenly two human shapes appeared from the dark and attacked me. I remembered that once Rudolf Steiner had told me that if ever I was in need I could call on him. So when these two attackers went for me, the one holding me from behind so that the other could rob me, I called inwardly and spontaneously: ‘Doctor, help me!’ At the same moment both fellows fell back like lightning and were gone. When Rudolf Steiner came for breakfast the next morning he greeted me with the words ‘Good morning, Sam. What was the matter that you cried so loud last night?’ When I told him about my experience and he had listened quietly, he said simply: ‘But I did help you, didn’t I?’ “ ~Anna Samweber from her book Erinnerungen an Rudolf Steiner (Reminiscences of Rudolf Steiner)

***

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is sag2_1024x1024.jpg — Tashina Suzuki

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~i am the reed from which words flow…
the honey i’ve tasted, the lips i’ve kissed
have all left their marks upon me…
this body is the book of all i remember
open me ever wider
beloved, i am yours…
~hag

Summer walk-about

June 29, 2021Celestial Event, Festival, History, Remembering~hag

Video’s of past presentations

Listen on the ‘I Think Speech’ podcast

Summer-Tide is a time of relationships & harmony…Showing us how we are connected to the cosmos, to nature & its rhythms…with the longer days the pineal gland receives more light & we feel creative power shining in on us.

Here is a little guided meditation for this time of year: Make yourself comfortable…as we share the air…taking a deep breath… filling your belly…thrilling your lungs…Let your body sink deep & Relax…

As your awareness is internalized, connect with the Breath of Life, gently moving through you…Make all your senses alert to the breath…Enjoy its power & simplicity…Feel the sustaining energy behind the breath…Feel the life force coursing through your cells & thoughts…

Direct your inner vision to a large field, a field of glorious, full, sunflowers…It the dawning of a new day…a perfect Summer morning, with a white-cloud-dotted clear sky,& a warm sun beginning to dazzle the world with its light…The sunflowers are tall & abundant, swaying in the warming breeze blowing across the field…Listen to the rustle of their music, dancing in the harmony of the elements together…Their beautiful, rich color casting a golden glow all around you…

There is a path ahead, meandering through the flowers, many much taller than you are, magnificently facing the sun absorbing its rays…You follow this path, slowly & leisurely, feeling every part of your feet making contact with the fertile earth…The sunflowers lining the path acknowledge you, every step of the way, whispering of riches & abundance, of the golden prosperity of your soul…

You look down to your right & see a large patch of St. John’s Wort in full bloom…Receiving permission from the plant spirit, you begin to harvest the bright yellow blossoms, putting them reverently into the pouch at your hip…Thanking the glorious medicine of this spirit you move on down the path, feeling the heat rising with the sun, enflaming your souls purpose…

You stop to drink from a clear stream…& as you begin to stand, you notice a patch of pennyroyal…You commune with its magic, gathering the fragrant leaves into your pouch…Feeling enlivened & in rhythm with the height of summer, you are lead to wisteria & roses…Fields of thyme & mugwort & chamomile…

This is where the plant fairies dance & play in the lengthening shadows…You are called to look up to the sky, & you see the first pink traces of dusk approaching… As you come to the end of this path, your heart is at peace…

A little way ahead there is an opening…You make your way there, seeing that it is a small mound with magnificent oaks & a pristine pond… Under one of the oak trees, on the edge of the pond there is a blazing campfire crackling as the sky turns orange-crimson…You are at home here…Your fire is born of oak & fir tree branches…The flames call out to you, whispering your secret name…You offer up the harvest pouch you filled with love & summer herbs, casting it into the blue core of the flames…throwing in with it all thoughts of negativity…all obstacles…all pain…all worries, into its hot light of transformation…& as it burns free…take in the rising fragrance of your healing harvest…feeling cleansed…& energized

The twilight lingers, Our Day Star-Sun Takes its time to set triumphantly in the west…The sky is a canvas, & Mother Nature is expressing all her creativity…Her grand design is reflected on the still pond at your feet…When you look at the pond, you see that it is a perfect reflection of your life, & on its surface you are able to see or experience all parts of who you are…What you are…What you will to become…

Your soul’s beauty, vastness & great love blend, with the sunset colors, & the pond’s liquid shimmer…As the light fades, a soft breeze ripples across the pond, & the colors are set into motion. There is a sweet music in the air of flutes, & harps, bells & drums…a light begins to surface from the pond…you see a form crystallizing…You realize this is the spirit of Mother Earth come to dance with you…She hovers over the pond & in a sublime voice speaks to you…

“I have come, for you have honored me, by honoring yourself…I have come, for many do not know of Me…I have come thru you…Your life & mine are the same…Your welfare & mine are the same…What is good for you is good for me…When you feel love, I feel love…So won’t you share your goodwill with others? Won’t you share your goodwill with the planet?

Won’t you share your goodwill with yourself? I ask, for I see you are willing & able…I see you are a bright power…You are full of courage & light…You are a transformer of reality…Transform the reality that no longer serves you…& as you do, link with others who know Me, & recognize the family of Life…When you recognize in someone, what you know inside to be true, seek to expand that truth…for as light is shared & love is grown, so shall the world change…You are my feet & hands, my eyes & voice…You do not live alone…The world is yours to craft as you choose…Choose freedom…Choose the way that creates the best for all; children, women, men, bodies of water, mountains, the land, all life…I gift you with Life & the ability to care for it…Embrace this gift.”

Take a moment now & pledge to the Mother what you will do to help the world, the environment; to help others; & to help yourself.

Cultivate the blessings received & the vision of your Divine-self in your heart-soul…Resolve to act on your life-purpose & make it real…

Gradually bring your experience to the present once again, to the here & now…Feel your body refreshed & renewed, here & now, in time & space, in your own sacred space…know you are sacred… know you are here…& Gently, joyfully, when you are ready, open your eyes…to see the unity of the cosmic community to which you belong…& say – Blessed be…

~hag

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day(RSarchives)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (Rudolf Steiner’s original Calendar of the Soul; The Present Age, Wikipedia)

4 positions of moon, plus Jupiter, and Saturn, with locations of Neptune and Pluto marked.

29 June 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Before dawn on Wednesday morning, watch for Jupiter near Bella Luna. Saturn is also nearby. By early August, Saturn will be opposite the sun, rising in the east when the sun sets in the west. Saturn’s opposition comes on August 2, and Jupiter’s opposition comes on August 20. ~earthsky.org

Readings & Reflections: Memorial of Saint Martha, July 29,2015 | PagadianDiocese.org

Feast Day of Martha, named in the Gospels of St. Luke & St. John, as the sister of Lazarus, the rich friend of Jesus who the Lord resurrected. She was also the sister of Mary Magdalen. They lived in Bethany. The Gospels speak of Martha as a dutiful housekeeper, serving the Lord hospitably when He visited: “but Martha was busy about much serving…” (Luke 10:40)

Complaining that her sister Mary was listening to Him instead of helping, Our Lord sweetly rebuked: “Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things: But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42)

When her brother, Lazarus, fell ill, she sent for the Lord; when He arrived, Lazarus had been four days in the tomb. She cried to Jesus about His delay, but He assured her: “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live.” (John 11:25) And he proceeded to call Lazarus forth from the tomb before a crowd of astonished witnesses.

After the martyrdom of St. James in Jerusalem, as persecution intensified, tradition says that Lazarus & his two sisters, along with others, were placed in a boat & set out to sea. This boat landed on the southern shore of France. While Lazarus & Martha went on to evangelize Provence, a fact recorded in French history, Mary retired to a cave in a mountain, to do penance for the rest of her life.

“...A legend relates that Martha then went to Tarascon, France, where a monster, the Tarasque, was a constant threat to the population. The Golden Legend describes it as a beast from Galicia; a great dragon, half beast and half fish, greater than an ox, longer than an horse, having teeth sharp as a sword, and horned on either side, head like a lion, tail like a serpent, that dwelt in a certain wood between Arles and Avignon. Holding a cross in her hand, Martha sprinkled the beast with holy water. Placing her sash around its neck, she led the tamed dragon through the village. There Martha lived, daily occupied in prayers and in fastings. Martha eventually died in Tarascon, where she was buried. Her tomb is located in the crypt of the local Collegiate Church.” — CATHOLIC ONLINE

1613 – The Globe Theatre in London burns to the ground

1888 – George Edward Gouraud records Handel’s Israel in Egypt onto a phonograph cylinder, thought for many years to be the oldest known recording of music.

Exhibition: Antoine de Saint Exupéry: A Little Prince among Men, Cité de l'Espace | Tiqets.com

1900 – Birthday of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French poet & pilot – “The Little Prince”.

1974 – Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union to Canada while on tour with the Kirov Ballet.

1975 – Steve Wozniak tested his first prototype of Apple I computer

2007 – Apple Inc. releases its first mobile phone, the iPhone.

POD (Poem Of the Day)
~From our own
Bodies we give
Birth to all time
In its season…
Look now
With new eyes
& see the wise star within…
~hag

The Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago will be one of 6 Hybrid Host Centers
for this years AGM & Conference of the Anthroposophical Society in America!*

There will be a meeting for those who would like to be part of
the Hospitality Committee on Tuesday 29 June 2021,
potluck at 5:30pm – meeting 6:30 – 7:30pm CDT.

Live in the area? Come on by in person 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL. 60618

Think you might want to come in for the confernece & want to help?
Join us on zoom for the meeting

Jenny Doty is the Chair of the Chicago Hosting Committee. You can reach her at jenny.meyer17@gmail.com

Hazel Archer is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: AGM Hosting Meeting
Time: Jun 29, 2021 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/7052931041?pwd=NWMxUS9ORWtnWks2T3htdCtWUmlzUT09
Meeting ID: 705 293 1041 – Passcode: Temple

Or Dial by your location – Meeting ID: 705 293 1041 – Passcode: 767319
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/a961qZZhF

*The AGM & Conference for the Anthroposophical Society in America has traditionally been hosted by the various regions in one place. Last year it was completely vitual. The Central Regional Council has the honor of planning for this year, & we are going to create a hybrid event with the theme:
“Building the Temple of the Heart” 7-10 October 2021
There will be 6 HUBS from the Central Region bringing in Rudolf Steiner’s 6 Basic Excersies, as the foundation for our Temple; as well as 6 Hybrid Host Centers around the country to make participation & travel more convenient.

6BE HUBS

NOLA – Thinking
Austin – Will
Twin Cities- Equanimity/Feeling
Northern Michigan – Positivity
Ann Arbor- Open-Mindedness
Chicago/Youth- Harmony

6 Hybrid HOST Centers (in person & on-line):

Key-note speakers include: Dr. Michaela Glockler, Michael Lipson, and Brian Gray. Featuring Biography Art, Eurythmy, Speech, Singing…Class Lesson #11, & a grand ‘Pageant’ on Sunday.

More info. coming soon

True Word’s Fire

June 27, 2021Festival~hag

Here is an interesting painting: ‘John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene’ by Angelo Puccinelli, bringing these 2 important individualities working with Christ on earth, together. Just as the Baptizer prepared the way for the arrival of the Messiah, Mary Magdalene was chosen to prepare the hearts of the apostles for the visitation of the Resurrected Christ. And in her connection to The Sophia, in our time now, she works to prepare the way for us to receive the Christ in the etheric.

St. John the Baptist and St. Mary Magdalene. Triptych Side Sash by Hans Memling ❤️ - Memling Hans — John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene ~Hans Memling

RUDOLF STEINER’S C ALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler
SAINT JOHNSTIDE II
God’s True Word’s Fire
v13
And when I am in senses’ heights
the gods’ true Word from spirit fire-worlds
is flaming in my depths of soul:
Foreseeing, seek your vision, find your star,
divine in spirit ground
the spirit bond with who you are.

A key word here in the German is ahnend, often translated as ‘divining’
or ‘dawning vision’. It’s the only word whose sound I also bring into English.
The ‘ah’ opens our feeling for the future. Last week’s verse asks us to seek
our true self ‘in cosmic warmth and light’ – for our higher self, our star, to shine in us.

Karl König describes the Soul Calendar as having 4 voices.
This is the last verse of the first movement, the voice of the Tenor,
uniting with the spirit through the senses. Next week will be the first
verse of the Baritone, incarnating spirit with imaginative insight.

Moon with Jupiter and Saturn at dawn, June 27-28, 2021

26 June 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Very early risers on Sunday morning June 27th will find Saturn over the waning gibbous Moon, with Jupiter off to their upper left.

Painting of St Mary Magdalene and St John the Baptist on the tomb of Alice de la Pole, Church of St Mary, Ewelme, Oxfordshire Stock Photo - Alamy — St Mary Magdalene and St John the Baptist on the tomb of Alice de la Pole, Church of St Mary, Ewelme, Oxfordshire

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day(RSarchives)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (Rudolf Steiner’s original Calendar of the Soul; The Present Age)

Hypatia | Death, Facts, & Biography | Britannica

444- Deathday of Cyril of Alexandria, early Church father, prompted the murder of Hypatia

The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz: Johann Valentin Andreae, Johannes Valentinus Andreae, Jason Augustus Newcomb: 9781631189883: Amazon.com: Books

1654 – Deathday of Johann Valentin Andreae – writer of “The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz“

1844 – Deathday of Joseph Smith – Founder of Mormonism

1880 – Birthday of Helen Keller – deaf-blind author & activist. Read her Biography from AFB

TODAY!!! The Forerunner & and the Archangel of Summer, Uriel–
An Experiential online Festival
Sunday 27 June 2021 on Zoom:

Noon – 1:30 pm PT / 1 – 2:30 pm MT / 2 pm – 3:30 pm CT / 3 – 4:30 pm ET /
8 – 9:30 pm London Time / 9 – 10:30 pm CET

If we strive to understand the connection of human morality with the crystalline element in the depths of the Earth; and of human virtues living in the shining beauty above in the Sun imbued sky; and if we take these connections into our inner experience, Spiritual Science tells us that the true ‘St. John’s Imagination’ will come to meet us.

In our time together on Sunday we will behold the working together of Spirit-Father, with Earth-Mother, to beget – thru the Holy Spirit – The Son in the Center. This is The Trinity revealed in the St. John’s Imagination available to us now.

Musical Performances by Lucien Dante Lazar
Speech – Geoffrey Norris
Eurythmy- Elizabeth Carlson
Practicum – Lisa Dalton
Leading Thoughts – Hazel Archer

Hazel Archer is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: St. John’s
Time: Jun 27, 2021 02:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/7052931041?pwd=TkMwcGVVdk5GTVJmVzVJS2s5YVFtQT09
Meeting ID: 705 293 1041
Passcode: Uriel

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/a961qZZhF

For more info. contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
Hazel Archer Hazel@reverseritual.com

E-O-Ah

June 26, 2021Celestial Event, Festival, Rudolf Steiner Quote~hag

Who is this John of St. John’s-Tide?

Studying Rudolf Steiner’s work on the Gospels, we gain profound insights that have the power to touch deep truths buried in the unconscious regions of our soul, regarding one of the most powerful personalities in the history of humankind. In the Gospel of St. John the Evangelist, right after the mighty description of the evolution of the cosmos, we read: “There came a man, send from God, his name was John.” (John 1.6.)

In the original Greek, Johannes, is made up of the vowels “E – O – Ah“, 3 very powerful Eurythmy gestures. The “E” represents the upright human being – one arm pointing toward heaven, the other left to rest, grounding toward the earth; an admonition to be here now. The “O” is a round gesture of “inclusive inwardness”, an embracing of the soul. The “Ah” is an opening to heavenly revelation; both arms raised in a V, becoming a vessel that opens to heaven, a gesture of “vision, reverence &revelation”.

The Gospel of St. Luke describes the birth of John; how an angel appeared to the priest Zechariah, telling him, “your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, & you shall call him John.” (Luke 1.13.) The angel also foretells the task of this being John: “… even from his mother’s womb will he be filled with the Holy Spirit. And he will turn many sons of Israel to the Lord their God again. He will be his forerunner and will pave his way, bearing within him the spirit and power of Elijah, to change men’s hearts so that fathers shall rediscover the meaning of childhood, and those who have become alienated from God shall find the meaning of Good again. So shall he make a well-prepared people ready for the Lord “(Luke 1.15-17.)

The birth of John takes place just after the height of Summer, on June 24^th, framed by the births of the two Jesus children. On the one hand, the birth of the Matthew Jesus child on January 6th, with the visitation of the ‘three wise men from the East’, taking place in Bethlehem. And months later, we hear of the other birth, of the Luke Jesus child, on December 24^th, with the heavenly revelation to the shepherds.

In another mystery, we see the spiritual body or angel of Gautama Buddha, which appears in the etheric-astral realm, first, in the meeting between Elizabeth, (just before John the Baptist is born), with Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1.39-56.) & then also at the revelation to the shepherds (Luke 11.8-15.).

Rudolf Steiner tells us that the Gospel of St. Luke brings us a new form of Christ-centered Buddhism, expressing the kind of love & compassion that can be understood by even the simplest souls. The interplay between the 2 polarities of the Buddha to John the Baptist is interesting to contemplate.

John the Baptist’s sermon at the river Jordan shows how the teachings of Buddha come forward in a new form. – Just like the Buddha declared certain truths & warnings in his famous sermon at Benares some five hundred years before, so too did JB speak in a similar way. Buddha says: “Do not think, because you are a Brahman, you are able to advance …“, John changes this admonition to fit his time, saying: “Do not think, because you are children of Abraham …” Buddha gave the teaching of love & compassion – JB gave the parable of the man who has two coats, how we must share with those that have none. And just as the monks came to Buddha with questions; now the tax collectors & soldiers come to John the Baptist.

After his life as an ascetic, JB begins publicly preaching & baptizing. In the 5^th Gospel, Steiner describes how JB was close to the community of the Essenes.

Yep there’s more (Remember, the Festival of St. John’s-Tide lasts 4 weeks)

Until soon

~hag

26 June 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: On the last nights of June 2021, watch for three worlds in space: Bella Luna, Jupiter, Saturn. The waning gibbous moon is past full on these nights. It’s rising later in the evening or after midnight. On June 25, Saturn follows the moon into the sky by roughly an hour. Jupiter follows an hour or so after Saturn. But the moon is moving, always, toward the east in orbit around Earth. As a result, the moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night. So the moon catches up to Saturn and then Jupiter. On the night of June 26 (morning of June 27), the moon is near Saturn in the sky. By the night of June 27, the moon rises between Jupiter and Saturn. And so it goes, as the evenings pass, with the moon shifting constantly toward the east. ~earthsky.org

Emperor Julian and the Jews of Late Antiquity – UC Press Blog

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day(RSarchives)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (Rudolf Steiner’s original Calendar of the Soul)

363 – Julian the Apostate murdered. Rudolf Steiner speaks a lot about him as Tycho Brahe, astronomer, astrologer & alchemist & Herzeloyde, Percival’s mother, in Karmic Relationships Vol. 4 Lec. 5

“…One of the outstanding figures in world history is Julian the Apostate (a successor of Constantine) who fell by the hand of an assassin in the campaign against the Persians in the year A.D. 363. Julian occupies a special place in the history of the West. His life and career show how the course of world history is determined by the clash of contending forces

Now from earliest childhood Julian was held in low esteem by the Imperial family and their adherents. In the age with which we are dealing it was the custom to anticipate the future of an individual such as Julian by resorting to prenatal prophecies. The Imperial family had been obliged to conclude from the predictions of the Sibylline oracles that Julian would actively oppose the policy pursued by the Emperor Constantine. From the first, therefore, they tried to prevent Julian from being raised to the purple. It was decided that he should be murdered while still a child and preparations were made to have him butchered along with his brother. There was a strange aura attaching to Julian which inspired terror in those around him and countless stories relating to his personality testify to the fact that there was something uncanny about him. On one occasion during his campaign in Gaul a somnambulist cried out as the army passed by: “There is the man who will restore the old Gods and their images.”

The appearance of Julian at this moment in history must be seen as something predestined, something deeply significant. As often happens in such cases his life was spared lest his murder should bring greater disaster in its train. People persuaded themselves that whatever steps he might take against the policies of Constantine could be quickly nullified. And precautionary measures were taken to neutralize the dangerous tendencies of Julian’s make-up and his leanings towards Paganism. In the first place it was decided to give him a sound Christian education which accorded with the ideas of Constantine. It was wasted effort and met with no response. Anything which had survived from the ancient Hellenic traditions fascinated him. Where powerful forces are at work in such a personality they ultimately prevail. And so, because his mentors sought to protect him from dangerous associations he was driven into the arms of Hellenic tutors and was introduced to Hellenic culture and civilization. When he grew older Julian learned how the neo-Platonic philosophers were imbued with the spirit of Hellenism and in consequence he was finally initiated into the Mysteries of Eleusis. Thus at a time when the Roman Emperors had already dispensed with the principle of initiation, an initiate in the person of Julian once again sat on the throne of the Caesars.

Everything that Julian undertook must be judged in the light of his initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries (and history has been at great pains to misrepresent his actions in every possible way). Through direct spiritual perception he learned the secrets of cosmic and world evolution, the spiritual origin of the world and how spiritual forces operate in the planetary and solar systems.

Through complicated psychological processes which are difficult to describe in detail he lighted upon the idea of utilizing the last surviving remnants of initiation in order to ensure continuity in evolution. In reality he was not an opponent of Christianity; he simply favoured the continuity of Hellenism. He was more interested in promoting Hellenism than in opposing Christianity. With passionate enthusiasm he strove to arrest the decline of Hellenism and to transmit its traditions to posterity. He was opposed to any sudden break in continuity, any radical change.

The thought occurred to him: “I have already been initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries. Perhaps it is possible to have myself initiated into the Persian Mysteries and into the Mysteries which are in accordance with the doctrine of the Manichaeans. By this means perhaps I may be able to achieve my aim — the continuity of the pagan Mysteries.” This was a momentous thought. Just as Alexander’s campaign had deeper motives than the mere conquest of Asia, so Julian’s expedition had other motives than the conquest of Persia. He wished to find out whether he could further his objective with the help of the Persian Mysteries.

The Manichaeans did not cultivate abstract ideas which divorced the world of thought from the world of reality. The Manichaeans and the initiates of the Eleusinian Mysteries were alike incapable of abstract thinking. In earlier lectures I attempted to show the difference between logical concepts and concepts in conformity with reality. The basic principle of Manichaeism was to cultivate only those ideas which are consistent with reality. Not that unreal ideas do not play a part in life; unfortunately they play a large part in life, especially at the present day, and the part they play is disastrous

The aim of Manichaeism was the conquest of evil and of matter by thought. Julian was brought face to face with the deeper implications of the problem of evil and the relation of Christ Jesus to this problem. He hoped to find an answer through initiation into the Persian Mysteries and to return to Europe with the solution. But unfortunately he fell by an assassin’s hand during the Persian campaign. It can be proved historically that this was the work of an adherent of Constantine. Thus we see that in the course of history the attempt to establish the “principle of continuity” was fraught with tragedy and that in the case of Julian it led into a blind alley.” Rudolf Steiner, Building Stones for an Understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha, lecture 7

The Forerunner & and the Archangel of Summer, Uriel–
An Experiential online Festival
Sunday 27 June 2021 on Zoom:

Noon – 1:30 pm PT / 1 – 2:30 pm MT / 2 pm – 3:30 pm CT / 3 – 4:30 pm ET /
8 – 9:30 pm London Time / 9 – 10:30 pm CET

Musical Performances by Lucien Dante Lazar
Speech – Geoffrey Norris
Eurythmy- Elizabeth Carlson
Practicum – Lisa Dalton
Leading Thoughts – Hazel Archer

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/a961qZZhF

For more info. contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
Hazel Archer Hazel@reverseritual.com

Cognitive Ritual

~Confessions of a Modern Rosicrucian

Category Archives: Festival

Mysteries of the Body & Blood

Harvest Home

Summer walk-about

True Word’s Fire

E-O-Ah

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: