Ahura Mazdah spake to Zarathustra: “When I created Mithras, who possesses the cosmic intelligence, I created him to be as venerable, as praiseworthy as Myself: Ahura Mazda”.
Zarathustra looked into the brilliant light & declared: “Him, the powerful Yazata (= worthy of worship or veneration), the mighty Mithras towering above all creatures, I shall honor Him Who owns the wide fields of the intelligences, Who knows the right sayings, Who is silent, yet earnest, Who has a thousand ears, Who is fair, Who has ten thousand eyes, Who stands on a broad rampart, Who is mighty and sleepless and vigilant.
Mithras we look to: Him Who owns wide fields of eternity, the vigilant one, Whose dwelling is as wide as the universe. It is built within matter. It is spacious, exposed to no needs, radiant, and offering shelter all around. Eight helpers of Mithras are dwelling as his spies on all the mountains, on all the ramparts. …
Mithras, the owner of wide fields of light, drives around raising His arms for the sake of safety. He guides His fair chariot, able to withstand all dangers and encrested with golden ornaments, to the radiant House of Praise. The chariot is drawn by four white steeds which are immortal and enjoy the nourishment of the spirit. Their front hoofs are fashioned of gold, their hind ones of silver.”
Then are enumerated the hosts accompanying Mithras at the right and left as he descends. The story goes on: In the chariot of Mithras, who owns wide fields of universe, there are a thousand bows…Moving through the air they fly on the head of the Devas. In the chariot of Mithras, who owns wide fields of intelligences, there are a thousand arrows, golden-pointed, furnished with vulture feathers, set with barbs, beautifully fashioned…Moving through the air, they fly on the heads of the Devas. (The same is said of spears, axes, daggers, clubs, and clubs with a hundred studs.)
Sorely afraid is the evil-doing Anra Mainyav (=Ahriman) and all the other evil beings. Ahriman shivers in fear declaring: “Let us in no wise expose ourselves to the blows of Mithras, who owns wide fields of light, waxing and working earnest for our despair. Mayest thou not, O Mithras, wax furious and send blows against us, thou, who art the most valiant of the Yazata and ownest wide fields of light.”
– From the Avesta, the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism.
Zarathustra, Revealing the Sacred Names of Mithras in the fight against Ahriman: “Mayest thou bestow grace upon me, providence and destiny, when I am writing down these first transmitted Mysteries. I am writing them down for my child, Immortality, the Mystic worthy of this our might, which the great God Helios Mithras has given to me at the hands of his Archangel, so that I, an eagle, may enter Heaven and envisage all”. (Then it is said of Mithras:)
“O Lord, Who hast closed with the spirit-breath the fiery keys of Heaven, thou two-bodied One, reigning over the fire, the light’s creator and guardian, breathing light, invigorated by fire, spirit-radiant, fire-rejoicing, radiantly beauteous, light-dweller, flame-whirler, light-creating, fire-planting, fire-enraged, lightning-swept, light-glorified, light-expanded, light-supporting, star-conqueror: Reveal to me the names that have not been known to mortal nature; the names never pronounced by a human tongue in lucid language, never pronounced by a human sound, or a human voice. Reveal to me the eternally living and reverenced names of you O great servant of Ahura Mazda and of man. – From a Mithras Liturgy of the Avesta.
~adapted by hag
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Mary Gulfleisch
1 October 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: The Full Harvest Moon 5:05 pm cdt TODAY! You can watch our beloved satellite clear the horizon & rise in the east just moments after sunset & remain visible in the sky all night. It’s the first of two Full Moons this month — the second -a Blue Moon will occur on All Hallows Eve October 31.
Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation (26° from the Sun) at 11 am CDT Today. You can spot the solar system’s smallest planet this evening, in the southwest 30 minutes after sunset, By then, some of the brightest stars should be popping out of the twilight: Arcturus, Vega, Deneb, Altair, and Fomalhaut. Jupiter & Saturn should appear about the same time.
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George Mason
“History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of humanity”. ~Percy Bysshe Shelley
286 -Feast Day of Saint Piatus, a Belgian saint, native of Benevento, Italy, Tradition states that he was ordained by Dionysios the Areopagite. He was martyred under Maximianby having the top of his skull sliced off. He may be recognized in depictions holding the sliced portion of his skull. Some of his relics can be found at Chartres Cathedral
331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela
1811 – The first steamboat to sail the Mississippi River arrives in New Orleans
1814 – Opening of the Congress of Vienna, intended to redraw Europe’s political map after the defeat of Napoleon the previous spring
1847 – Birthday of Annie Besant a prominent British socialist, theosophist, women’s rights activist, writer, orator & supporter of Irish & Indian self-rule.
In 1890 Besant met Helena Blavatsky. She became a member of the Theosophical Society & a prominent lecturer. She established the first overseas Lodge of the International Order of Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain. Over the next few years she established lodges in many parts of the British Empire. In 1907 she became president of the Theosophical Society, whose international headquarters were in Adyar, Madras. She also became involved in politics in India, joining the Indian National Congress. When World War I broke out in 1914, she helped launch the Home Rule Leagueto campaign for democracy in India. This led to her election as president of the India National Congress. In the late 1920s, Besant travelled to the United States with her protégé & adopted son Jiddu Krishnamurti, whom she claimed was the new Messiah & incarnation of Buddha. Krishnamurti rejected these claims in 1929.
She is thought to be the reincarnation of Giordano Bruno…?
1880 – First electric lamp factory is opened by Thomas Edison
1890 – Yosemite National Park is established by the U.S. Congress
1908 – Ford puts the Model T car on the market at a price of US$825.
1910 – Los Angeles Times bombing: by union members belonging to the International Association of Bridge & Structural Iron Workers. The explosion started a fire which killed 21 newspaper employees & injured 100 more.
1918 – Arab forces under T. E. Lawrence, also known as “Lawrence of Arabia”, capture Damascus
1924 – Birthday of Jimmy Carter, American lieutenant & politician, 39th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate
1928 – General Secretary Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union introduces its First five-year plan, including the creation of “kolkhoz” collective farming systems that stretched over thousands of acres of land & had hundreds of peasants working on them. This essentially destroyed the kulaks as a class, & also brought about the slaughter of millions of farm animals that these peasants would rather kill than give up to the gigantic farms. To meet the goals of the first five-year plan the Soviet Union began using the labor of its growing prisoner population. This disruption led to a famine in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan as well as areas of the Northern Caucasus.
1957 – First appearance of In God we trust on U.S. paper currency
1961 – The United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is formed, becoming the country’s first centralized military espionage organization
1964 – Japanese Shinkansen (“bullet trains“) begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka
1985 – The Israeli Air Force bombs Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) headquarters in Tunis
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My POD (Poem Of The Day)
~I looked in & saw the dragon writhing In rags of mortality Spitting the cold fire of fear Binding & Hardening… & yet my blood was hot Pulsing with scintillating sparks Forged From the sword of the Archai… Now my tongue flicks flames Licking the fingers of gods Knowing I am Free ~hag
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All Souls Festival:
The Connection Between Epidemics, the Souls of the Dead, & the Spiritual World – Leading thoughts by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.
With Group Eurythmy, Singing & Break out Sessions.
In-person at Elderberries Biodynamic Outpost & 3 fold Cultural Hub, in conjunction with the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago, 4249-51 N. Lincoln Ave.
Greetings Friends on this High Holy Day of Yom Kippur, & also the eve of the ‘Feast of St. Michael & All the Heavenly Hosts’. This year our Michaelmas theme was ‘Joan d’Arc – PURIFYING FIRE: The Power behind the Will’, & my research led me to many amazing resources, including Mark Twain’s, as well as Anthroposopher Joan M. Edmunds Books. But my main source came from Rudolf Steiner who gives us many insights into this powerful individuality.
I was particularly take by what Steiner says in ‘The Destinies of Individuals and of Nations, Lecture 5, The Nature of the Christ Impulse and the Michaelic Sprit Serving It. Berlin, 1915’; a lecture series he gave right at the start of the 1st world war. I felt called to make that my personal focus. I didn’t get a chance to share it at our Festival, so here it is for your contemplation. I hope it moves you to take action as it did me.
What is the mission of The Maid of Orleans?
From the time of her enchanted childhood around the village fairy tree, & then starting at the age of 12, & for 7 years till she was martyred at 19, Jehanne (feminine form of Joannes or John) d’Arc was inspired into by progressive Beings of the Divine Spiritual World. These powers battled the inflammatory Luciferic forces of deception prevailing in humanity at that special time right before the beginning of the Consciousness Soul Age.Joan of Arc, with the aid of Michael, (& his helpers St. Catherine & St. Margaret) was able to vanquish the seductive Luciferic forces which were vying to prevent this shift in human consciousness.
Steiner describes the miracle of her birth, how she went thru a sort of pre-earthy initiation during the potent time of the 13 Holy nights, incarnating on Epiphany, the day the Christ came into a human being at the baptism. And we can also point to her equally auspicious death. Yes it was gruesome, not unlike like the sacrifice of the Christ. In her case, it occurred because all the jealous, selfish, Luciferic forces of her enemies joined together to bring about her sacrifice by fire; not unlike the burning of Ephesus & of the 1st Goetheanum.
Paul Delaroche
At her witch trial she predicted her own death, & said that within 7 years after of her sacrifice: “the English would meet with a much greater reversal of fortune than any they had known before”.
Spiritual Science tells us that the soul of Joan of Arc continued working across the Threshold to shape these events after her death. What the spiritual powers have to bring about will occur whatever the external conditions may be. Many great individualities are working with us even now from across the threshold. The Maid’s adversaries were able to bring about her death, but they were NOT able to prevent her mission.
The power behind the will of the Maid of Orleans, the forces of Michael, are working still against the immoral Luciferic forces that rage in the world.
Dear friends, as you are all so keenly aware, we are also having to deal with hostile forces in our time; but now-a-days these are predominantly Ahrimanic forces; not inflaming, but hardening, materialistic forces, that have come up with the industrial age. These forces are in evidence everywhere, especially if we turn our attention not only to the mechanical element, but thru-out cyber space; a distractive shrouding of the reappearance of the Christ in the etheric.
And so Spiritual science tells us that if we remain unconscious of these forces working into our sense impressions, we are offering an abode to the dragon that seeks to stupefy us. These sclerotic forces influence our earth life, creating the fearful events happening NOW all over the globe.
In the above mentioned 1917 lecture, Steiner talks about how a sort of denial of the build up to the 1st World War had been present for a long time in the astral world, but was held back by something that was also astral: by the fear, doubt & hatred held in the feeling life of human beings. These negative astral forces were able to hold the war back, to prevent it, for a while. Steiner says: “…at 1st a fearful denial was able to stop war from breaking out. But then with the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, there emerged a ‘reversal event’ – this recalls the words from Joan of Arc: “the English would meet with a much greater reversal than any they had known before”. In that case the selfish Luciferic forces came back to destroy the English reign after the sacrifice of Joan of Arc; & in this case of the world war, all the elements of fear from the ahrimanic powers began to gather around the sacrificed soul of the Archduke, creating a focal point, a tear at the threshold.
It’s hard to really phantom this, but we know that anything that has a specific character on the physical plane will have the opposite character in the spiritual world. Everything is reversed in the spiritual world. An element that had a blocking effect, keeping the 1st world war at bay, was now acting in the opposite way, as a spur, an incitement, to war. So we see that a flip of the elements of fear, of the deceiving Ahrimanic elements, became a catalyst for war, which now a 100 years later, has led to the events of our present age, where there is constant war, in all realms of society.
Tyrone Dwelzel
But fear not dear friends, Steiner tells us that we must not try to deny or rebel against these materialistic Ahrimanic elements. We must let them strengthen us; we must develop the courage of Michael to see it as something that is necessary in our time, something that has to be present, so that we can learn to reverse the fear thru our heart-thinking – transforming these forces of resistance thru love.
Pas Beirutt
The question is: How do we make it possible for divine spiritual forces, the ‘ever present help of the spiritual world’, to enter into our actions so that we can consciously reverse fear, doubt & hatred?
How do we offer a positive resistance to this deceptive Ahrimanic element in our age, the way resistance was offered to the Luciferic element at the time of Joan of Arc?
– By taking the path towards a spiritualization of human culture – by cultivating our ability to form ideas & concepts into a thinking will for good. This is the prerequisite foundation needed to manifest the 3-fold social organism. Which we can only do if we stop listening to the prejudices & propaganda currently pounding us deeper into the materialism of our age – a voice that speaks loudly at times, or can be the faintest of whispers from the dragon within.
We generate the great strength we need to offer resistance to these hardening forces by approaching the spirit not only thru the inner powers of revelation & faith, like in the case of Joan of Arc, but by trying to concentrate our powers of understanding on what spiritual science has to give – a rational wisdom, filling us with light.
Irene Olid Gonzalez.
And when we take ahold of ourselves with this attitude, we can consciously work with what Michael, the Spirit of our Age, has to give us now in our time – Meeting every trial & test with a conscious heart-thinking, motivated by the wisdom of love.
~May we strive for at-one-ment on this solemn fast day, in preparation for our journey into the Michaelmas season, where we must kindle our own light of thinking.
28 September 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Retro. Saturn halting its westward motion, coming to an apparent stop 10 pm CDT tonight. The planet of universal memory will then begin moving eastward again — although not as quickly as Jupiter. The King questioner switched directions September 12 & is tracking east much faster than Saturn. Jupiter will ultimately catch up with the ringed planet December 21 for an extraordinary close conjunction that will bring Saturn as close as Jupiter’s own moons.
Our own Moon has pulled away from Sagittarius, where the giant planets now sit, so consider spending some time in this constellation tonight. The tiny dwarf planet Pluto, lies roughly between Saturn & Jupiter, Southwest of Saturn & Southeast of Jupiter.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
551 BC – Birthday of Confucius, Chinese teacher, editor, politician, & philosopher of the Spring &Autumn period of Chinese history
1203 – Deathday of Alanus ab Insulis, Theologian, poet, teacher at Chartres. Alan’s philosophy was a sort of mixture of Aristotelian logic and Neoplatonic philosophy. The Platonist seemed to outweigh the Aristotelian in Alan, but he felt strongly that the divine is all intelligibility and argued this notion through much Aristotelian logic combined with Pythagorean mathematic
“Do not hold as gold all that shines as gold”
In the Anticlaudianus he sums up as follows: Reason, guided by prudence, can unaided discover most of the truths of the physical order; for the apprehension of religious truths it must trust to faith. This rule is completed in his treatise, Ars catholicae fidei, as follows: Theology itself may be demonstrated by reason. Alainus even ventures an immediate application of this principle, & tries to prove geometrically the dogmas defined in the Creed
Rudolf Steiner speaks extensively about this powerful Platonic individuality in many place such as: Karmic Relationships: Esoteric Studies – Volume III, lecture VI – THE SCHOOL OF CHARTRES
1899 – Deathday of Giovanni Segantini,an Italian painter known for his large pastoral landscapes of the Alps. He was one of the most famous artists in Europe in the late 19th century. In later life he combined a Divisionist painting style with Symbolist images of nature. He was active in Switzerland for most of his life.
TODAY in 1924 – Rudolf Steiner gave his ‘Last Address’ in Dornach GA 238 ‘The Individuality of Elias, John, Raphael, Novalis’ with the Michael Meditation:
Springing from Powers of the Sun, Radiant Spirit-powers, blessing all Worlds! For Michael’s garment of rays Ye are predestined by Thought Divine.
He, the Christ-messenger, revealeth in you — Bearing mankind aloft — the sacred Will of Worlds. Ye, the radiant Beings of Aether-Worlds, Bear the Christ-Word to Man.
Thus shall the Heralds of Christ appear To the thirstily waiting souls, To whom your Word of Light shines forth In cosmic age of Spirit-Man.
Ye, the disciples of Spirit-Knowledge, Take Michael’s Wisdom beckoning, Take the Word of Love of the Will of Worlds Into your soul’s aspiring, a c t i v e l y !
1978 – Deathday of Pope John Paul I, born Albino Luciani, served as Pope until his sudden suspicious death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history.
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Tuesday, September 29 MICHAELMAS ‘Talisman for Courage’ Art Workshop with Victoria Martin 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
MICHAELMAS ‘Talisman for Courage’ Art Workshop in person at the Rudolf Steiner Chicago Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago. 6:30-8:30 PM Facilitated by Victoria Martin
6:30 (sunset) Doors open: orientation. Tea, nuts, and fruit are served
7 PM sharp Visual lecture and demonstration
7:15 PM –8:00 PM workshop – Pastels on flat canvas good for 100+ years (archival materials)
8:00– 8:30 PM discussion – We will learn all about symbols of The Michaelmas: Wings, Iron Meteorites/Stars, Scales of Judgment, Sword of Justice, and the Serpent/Dragon. There will be a wide selection of easy to render visual images in any/all of these 5 categories at each workstation. We will use a black charcoal pencil and the colors red, gold, and turquoise archival pastels on raw canvas size 11” x 11” this Talisman will be suitable for mounting on stretchers or framing (no glass needed).
Limited to 10 participants $15 tuition + $5 materials = $20 or pay what you will. Observers and guests are welcome at no charge, but please bring tree nuts, greens, fruit, or other paleo snacks.
Everyone: wear something RED: Michael’s color!
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ON-GOING:
Community Study – Wednesdays at 9:30 am – 11 am at the Branch – Working with Rudolf Steiner’s Karmic Relationships Vol 6.
‘Anthroposophy’, which means Wisdom of the Human Being is a ‘Spiritual Science’ built on the research of Rudolf Steiner. Our current conversation explores: the riddles of existence, the truth of karma, the mystery of evil, historic connections, life after death and more. We incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’, eurythmy, focused discussion and seasonal artistic explorations in our study.
Dear friends – You are welcome to join us tomorrow at 9:30 am CDT for our Annual Michaelmas Festival Onlinehttps://zoom.us/j/97955920156 Meeting ID: 979 5592 0156
The color theme to honor Joan of Arc is white, red & gold, so if it is your will, dress in any of these colors to add to the festive community mood.
We will have an art project. Supplies needed for decoupage: votive or tall glass prayer candle, tissue paper, images of Joan, magazines, glue.
We will also be doing copper rod eurythmy, a broom stick works 😉
Jen Zimberg has joined the program & will offer her music
Michaelmas 2020: Joan d’Arc – PURIFYING FIRE: The Power behind the Will –
Date: Saturday 26 Sept. 2020
*PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE: Doors open at 9 am for Potluck Breakfast, Coffee, Bagels & Fruit provided. Meet in the back-makers-space our Heartland-Schreinerei. Donations Encouraged.
Festival: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Leave for Zinniker Farm Prep Day* (details below)
In-Person at: Elderberries Biodynamic Outpost & Cultural Hub in Chicago – The ‘Have Seeds House’ in LA – ‘The Arc’ in Atlanta – Hudson NY
LucienDante Lazar– Ring the Iron Bell – Welcome (10 minutes)
Group Singing: Michaelmas Time Song (5 Minutes)
Angela Foster – 1. Social Sculpture: The Purifying Fire (10 minutes) (for those joining on zoom, supplies needed for decoupage: votive or prayer candle, tissue paper, images of Joan, magazines, glue)
2. Leading Thoughts, & ‘Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc – Preface’ (10 minutes)
Mary Spalding – ‘Courage Dear Hearts’ Biography of Jeanne d’Arc (10 minutes)
Mary Ruud – Copper Rod Eurythmy: (10 minutes)
Frank Agrama & Dottie Zold with Jen Zimberg interweaving songs – A Michaelic Will: Joan of Arc, Sophie Scholl, Saint Odilie and Jesus of Nazareth. (30 minutes) ‘We are dealing here with a superhuman entity, a being who lived in the spiritual world and heard humanity crying out in misery, calling out to the spiritual worlds for help. This being prepared to receive the Christ Being.’ ‘Humanity cried out in pain and torment, and its cries rose up to that spirit being, who responded by seeking permission from the Sun Spirit to become imbued with Christ.’
Frank Agrama and Dottie Zold, of Elderberries and Have Seeds community, will look at the biographies of these individuals who developed the quality and capacity to work out of ‘a culture of selflessness’ in their community, and the impact this had on the world as young people becoming. We can understand these individuals’ path of sacrifice, as a reflection of the archetype of Jesus of Nazareth, during his growing and seeking years as spoken of in Rudolf Steiner’s Fifth Gospel.
‘Michael is a being of Strength, Courage and Will. He is Sun spirit. He wishes to be regarded.’
Group Singing: Firmly on the Earth I Stand (5 minutes)
Biography Work in Break out Groups – Sharing a story of courage from our lives: Each person takes 3 minutes to tell their tale. (15 minutes)
Harvest from the break out groups – Large Group Sharing (5-10 minutes)
‘The Passage’ by Lucian Dante Lazar (15 minutes)
Impressions, Q’s from the piece – Large Group Sharing (5-10 minutes)
Everyone takes a turn Ringing the IRON, Rudolf Steiner’s ‘Verse for the Michaelic Age’ given at his ‘Last Address’ (5 minutes)
Group 1: Springing from Powers of the Sun, Radiant Spirit-powers, blessing all Worlds! For Michael’s garment of rays We are predestined by Thought Divine.
Group 2: Michael, the Christ-messenger, reveals in us Bearing humankind aloft — the sacred Will of Worlds. You, radiant Beings of Ether-Worlds, Bear the Christ-Word to human beings.
Group 1: Thus shall the Heralds of Christ appear To our thirstily waiting souls. Your Word of Light shines forth to us In the cosmic age of the Spirit-Human.
Group 2: We, disciples who would know the spirit, Follow Michael’s beckoning Wisdom, To take the Word of Love, Willed by Worlds, Into our highest aims of soul-work; actively!
12:30 pm – Goodbye – Thank you – Off to Zinniker Farm –
*From Petra Zinniker: Our fall preparation making will take place on September 26th at 1:30pm, here at the farm. We will be making 3 preparations this year: Horn manure, Chamomile and Dandelion preparations, and have a potluck dinner with a campfire afterwards.
*Please bring a dish to pass and a lawn chair for the potluck*
Please RSVP! Space is limited. Although this is an outdoor event we want to make sure everyone can find the space they need. Dress for the weather!
25 September 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Conjunction of Moon, Jupiter & Saturn!!!
Saturn glows in the south after dusk – a steady yellowish light in the constellation of Capricornus, close to the left of brighter Jupiter – highest in the south at evening twilight. The beneficent King reversed its retrograde (westward movement relative to the stars) on September 12th after halting above the handle of the Teapot of Sagittarius. This evening at dusk you’ll find Jupiter, the expansive thinker – the questioner, next to Saturn holding the memory of the Universe, there to the upper left of the waxing gibbous Moon. They will continue this dance of looking into the past to see World events & how they will move into the future thru our conscious questioning, up until their big conjunction on Winter Solstice.
van Gogh
When we look up to the wonder of the starry world, when we contemplate the whole process of the universe with its glories and marvels, then we are led at last to the feeling that all the glory that lies open to our view in the whole universe that surrounds us only has meaning when it is reflected in an admiring human soul. -Goethe
Birthday of Cleophas, disciple on the road to Emmaus Luke 24:13-32. This occurs three days after the crucifixion, on the day of Jesus’ resurrection. The two have heard the tomb of Jesus was found empty earlier that day. They are discussing the events of the past few days when a stranger asks them what they are discussing. “Their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” He soon rebukes them for their unbelief & gives them a Bible study on prophecies about the Messiah. They ask the stranger to join them for the evening meal. When he breaks the bread “their eyes were opened” & they recognize him as the resurrected Christ, Who immediately vanishes.
Cleopas & his friend hasten back to Jerusalem to carry the news to the other disciples, & learn that The Christ has also appeared to them. The same event is recorded in Mark 16:12-16:13.
810 – Birthday of John Scotus Eriugena, Christian mystic philosopher, translator, theologian & poet. John “of Ireland” (Eriugena means “Irish-born,” where the Scotti were an ancient & extensive tribe) is a major figure in the development of mystical spirituality in western European Christianity. He served as the primary translator-conduit for ideas from the great Greek Christian minds of the Middle-East & Near-East to come into Europe. ‘God is both immanently within and transcendentally beyond all beings’ Expanding richly on the idea of the apokatastasis or “universal salvation” of all souls in God’s all-saving Divine Love. Eriugena also wrote of the conscious Return (reditus)& merging of all beings into God. No souls (including the souls of animals & the demon-souls) would be left out of this grand return, no one would be damned to suffer forever in hell or wither away into oblivion. Eriugena’s enlightened view reveals an astonishingly positive scenario of a triumphantly compassionate, ever-loving God who is the Heart, Source & Substance of everyone.
“…we come across wonderful characters such as Scotus Erigena, a monk from Scotland called the Scottish St. John, who later lived at the court of Charles the Bald. He did not get on well with the Church, and it is told that the brothers of his order tortured him to death with pins. Of course, this is not to be taken literally, but it is true that he was tortured to death. A splendid book was written by him, On the Divisions in Nature which reveals a great profundity of thought… “. ~Rudolf Steiner, Occult Signs and Symbols, lecture 3, GA 101
1789 – The United States Congress passes the Bill of Rights
1930 – Birthday of Shel Silverstein, American author, poet, illustrator, & songwriter
1970 – Erich Maria Remarque, a German novelist who created many works about the terror of war. His best known novel is All Quiet on the Western Front (1928). This made him an enemy of the Nazis, who burned many of his works
1978 – PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides in mid-air with a Cessna 172 & crashes in San Diego, killing 144 people
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“Once I spoke the language of the flowers, Once I understood each word the caterpillar said, Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings, And shared a conversation with the housefly in my bed. Once I heard and answered all the questions of the crickets, And joined the crying of each falling dying flake of snow, Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . . How did it go? How did it go?” ― Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends
“Ideas are for Anthroposophy Vessels, formed out of love, Into which the being of humanity, Is brought from the spiritual worlds. Clothed in thoughts formed with love The light of true humanity Shall shine through Anthroposophy. And knowledge is but the form In which through humanity It shall be possible That the true spirit from the widths of the world Will focus in human hearts It may enlighten human thought. And as Anthroposophy Really can only be grasped through love, Therefore it is love creating If it is grasped by the true being of humanity. Therefore, in the midst of furious hatred A place of love could be built in Dornach. And words Will not be coined in the Anthroposophical realm As they are usually coined today. Words are formed That are all intrinsically pleas. Every word in Anthroposophy If it is spoken in the right sense Is fundamentally a plea A reverent plea: A plea That the spirit may come down to humankind“. ~ Rudolf Steiner, From the 1922 The Christmas Foundation; Beginning of a Cosmic Age
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Igor Zenin
Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner, Translated by Roy Sadler
v25, Autumn Equinox, I may, belonging to myself now, begin to shine a dawning inner light across the darkening of space and time. To sleep is nature’s urge; the depths of soul shall wake and bear the sun’s warm glow through winter storms and snow.
Shiloh Sophia
mirror v28, I can, revived within, now feel my own wide breadth of being, my strength of sun-empowered soul, whose radiance of thinking solves life’s riddles, and lifts the wish-fulfilling wings left lame by hope.
v28 is very special. The Soul Calendar also has a 24 hour rhythm! Human thinking has its first mention here after the opposite verse, 2, says, ‘thought’s power sheds its separate strand’. v28 can be a mantra for the soul every morning on awakening… This is something that could be added in 3 weeks time when we reach v28 in the year’s calendar.
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Screenshot from the “Sky Guide” app. The sidereal zodiac, shared by Sandra Eastburn
21 September 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars“: The messenger of the gods: Mercury & the bright star Spica stand side by side in Virgo this evening. Start searching for them in the west right after sunset, when they’re already quickly sinking toward the horizon. Once Virgo disappears from the evening sky, look east past Libra & into Scorpius to find the waxing crescent Moon. Nearby is bright red Antares, which depicts the star-studded Scorpion’s heart. After these sights have set, move your gaze further east still to find Jupiter & Saturn, shining near the Teapot of Sagittarius. The giant planets are now just under 8° apart; they will continue drawing closer over the next few months until they reach a spectacular close conjunction December 21.
Feast of St. Matthew, a 1st-century Galilean, the son of Alpheus. As a tax collector he was literate in Aramaic & Greek. After his call, Matthew invited Jesus home for a feast. On seeing this, the Scribes & the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors & sinners. This prompted Jesus to answer, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:12-13)
“When seeking to describe the whole course of these events as related in the Gospel of Matthew we should have to say The writer first directs his attention to answering the question: What kind of physical and etheric body could serve such a Being as the Christ for His life on earth? And because of what the writer had experienced he could answer: In order that a suitable physical and etheric body could be prepared it was necessary that they should pass through forty-two generations of the Hebrew people so that the attributes laid down in Abraham might be fully developed. He could then continue to answer the question further by telling us: Such a physical and etheric body could only provide a fitting instrument if the greatest individuality humanity had so far produced for the comprehension of the Christ—that is the Zarathustra individuality — made use of them up to his twelfth year, at which time he had to leave this body and enter another. This was the body of the Jesus of whom the writer of the Gospel of Luke tells. From this point, the writer of the Gospel of Matthew, turning from that to which he had given his attention at first, deals exclusively with the Jesus of whom we read in the Gospel of Luke, and follows the life of Zarathustra until his thirtieth year. The moment had then come, when the astral body and ego-bearer had been so far evolved by Zarathustra that he could sacrifice them to the mighty Being — the great Sun-spirit — who descended from spiritual spheres and took possession of them. This was the moment of the baptism by John in Jordan.” Lecture 12 on The Gospel of Matthew by Rudolf Steiner
19 BC – Deathday of Virgil, Roman poet
1780 – American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.
1792 – French Revolution: The National Convention declares France a republic and abolishes the absolute monarchy
1860 – Deathday of Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher & author
1866 – Birthday of H. G. Wells
1934 – A large typhoon hits western Honshū, Japan, killing 3,036 people
1938 – The Great Hurricane of 1938 makes landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll is estimated at 500-700 people
1942 – In Dunaivtsi, Ukraine, Nazis murder 2,588 Jews
1972 – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos signs Proclamation № 1081, placing the entire country under martial law marking the beginning of his authoritarian rule
1976 – Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Chilean socialist government of Salvador Allende, overthrown in 1973 by Augusto Pinochet
1991 – Armenia is granted independence from Soviet Union
1993 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspends parliament & scraps the constitution, triggering the Russian constitutional crisis
1996 – The Defense of Marriage Act passes the United States Congress. The law prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriage, while allowing states to adopt any marital definition of their choosing
1998 – Deathday of John Wood, Anthroposophical translator
1999 – Chi-Chi earthquake occurs in central Taiwan, leaving over 2,400 people dead
***
The Central Regional Council Invites ALL to our Michaelmas Festival: ‘Courage Born of Wisdom’ – Wednesday 23 September 2020 –On ZOOM – 7:15 pm CDT – 8:30 pm
1st CRC performs a telling of a tale from ancient Chaldea where EA gives birth to Marduk, precursor to Michael.
Proverbs 24: 1-9
then “Wisdom Built herself a house*”…7 members of the various sections of the Anthroposophical Society will stand as Wisdom’s 7 Pillars to share how Courage was born from Wisdom leading to their work in the world.
Pedagogical Section –Michael Holdrege Youth Section – Stephan Ambrose Medical Section –Drs. Molly & Quentin McMullen Eurythmy – Barbara Richardson Social Science Section – Doug Wylie BioDynamic Agriculture – Rand Carter Three-Folding – Dorothy Hinkle-Uhlig
with Original songs by Lucien Dante Lazar!
& a closing about the connection between Michael, The Christ & Anthroposophia!
Meeting ID: 820 7046 0900 One tap mobile +13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 820 7046 0900
LucienDante Lazar– Ring the Iron Bell – Welcome (10 minutes)
Group Singing: Michaelmas Time Song (5 Minutes)
Angela Foster – 1. Social Sculpture: The Purifying Fire (10 minutes) (for those joining on zoom, supplies needed for decoupage: votive or prayer candle, tissue paper, images of Joan, magazines, glue)
2. Leading Thoughts, & ‘Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc – Preface’ (10 minutes)
Mary Spalding – ‘Courage Dear Hearts’ Biography of Jeanne d’Arc (10 minutes)
Copper Rod Eurythmy: (10 minutes)
Frank Agrama & Dottie Zold – A Michaelic Will: Joan of Arc, Sophie Scholl, Saint Odilie and Jesus of Nazareth. (20 minutes) ‘We are dealing here with a superhuman entity, a being who lived in the spiritual world and heard humanity crying out in misery, calling out to the spiritual worlds for help. This being prepared to receive the Christ Being.’ ‘Humanity cried out in pain and torment, and its cries rose up to that spirit being, who responded by seeking permission from the Sun Spirit to become imbued with Christ.’
Frank Agrama and Dottie Zold, of Elderberries and Have Seeds community, will look at the biographies of these individuals who developed the quality and capacity to work out of ‘a culture of selflessness’ in their community, and the impact this had on the world as young people becoming. We can understand these individuals’ path of sacrifice, as a reflection of the archetype of Jesus of Nazareth, during his growing and seeking years as spoken of in Rudolf Steiner’s Fifth Gospel.
‘Michael is a being of Strength, Courage and Will. He is Sun spirit. He wishes to be regarded.’
Group Singing: Firmly on the Earth I Stand (5 minutes)
Biography Work in Break out Groups – Sharing a story of courage from our lives: Each person takes 3 minutes to tell their tale. (15 minutes)
Harvest from the break out groups – Large Group Sharing (5-10 minutes)
‘The Passage’ by Lucian Dante Lazar (15 minutes)
Impressions, Q’s from the piece – Large Group Sharing (5-10 minutes)
The Mars / Saturn Square (10 minutes)
Everyone takes a turn Ringing the IRON, Rudolf Steiner’s ‘Verse for the Michaelic Age’ given at his ‘Last Address’ (5 minutes)
Group 1: Springing from Powers of the Sun, Radiant Spirit-powers, blessing all Worlds! For Michael’s garment of rays We are predestined by Thought Divine.
Group 2: Michael, the Christ-messenger, reveals in us Bearing humankind aloft — the sacred Will of Worlds. You, radiant Beings of Ether-Worlds, Bear the Christ-Word to human beings.
Group 1: Thus shall the Heralds of Christ appear To our thirstily waiting souls. Your Word of Light shines forth to us In the cosmic age of the Spirit-Human.
Group 2: We, disciples who would know the spirit, Follow Michael’s beckoning Wisdom, To take the Word of Love, Willed by Worlds, Into our highest aims of soul-work; actively!
12:30 pm – Goodbye – Thank you – Off to Zinniker Farm –
*From Petra Zinniker: Our fall preparation making will take place on September 26th at 1:30pm, here at the farm. We will be making 3 preparations this year: Horn manure, Chamomile and Dandelion preparations, and have a potluck dinner with a campfire afterwards.
*Please bring a dish to pass and a lawn chair for the potluck*
Please RSVP! Space is limited. Although this is an outdoor event we want to make sure everyone can find the space they need. Dress for the weather!
Tuesday, September 29 MICHAELMAS ‘Talisman for Courage’ Art Workshop with Victoria Martin 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
MICHAELMAS ‘Talisman for Courage’ Art Workshop in person at the Rudolf Steiner Chicago Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago. 6:30-8:30 PM Facilitated by Victoria Martin
6:30 (sunset) Doors open: orientation. Tea, nuts, and fruit are served
7 PM sharp Visual lecture and demonstration
7:15 PM –8:00 PM workshop – Pastels on flat canvas good for 100+ years (archival materials)
8:00– 8:30 PM discussion – We will learn all about symbols of The Michaelmas: Wings, Iron Meteorites/Stars, Scales of Judgment, Sword of Justice, and the Serpent/Dragon. There will be a wide selection of easy to render visual images in any/all of these 5 categories at each workstation. We will use a black charcoal pencil and the colors red, gold, and turquoise archival pastels on raw canvas size 11” x 11” this Talisman will be suitable for mounting on stretchers or framing (no glass needed).
Limited to 10 participants $15 tuition + $5 materials = $20 or pay what you will. Observers and guests are welcome at no charge, but please bring tree nuts, greens, fruit, or other paleo snacks.
We will discuss organizing some of the ALIANT Next Steps
Review ELIANT’s Charter, Vision, and Mission Statement –
Take up a biweekly study of Rudolf Steiner’s Speaker’s Lectures for the Threefold Commonwealth from 1921, found in Communicating Anthroposophy. (We place an order and coordinate shipping, if you are interested please message us, and if you would like support purchasing a book, let us know! ) –
Study our countries’ Constitution wherever we are living.
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/96695622019 Meeting ID: 966 9562 2019 One tap mobile +13462487799,,96695622019# US (Houston) +14086380968,,96695622019# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 966 9562 2019 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aeEGUaSyqT
20 September 1913 – The laying of the Foundation Stone of the 1st Goetheanum. Since only 3 days advance notice could be given, only about 40 folks were present to brave the equinoctial storm that broke on them just as the ceremony was beginning, there in Dornach, at sunset on the Autumnal Equinox. Torrents of rain fell, & a gale howled around them as Rudolf Steiner’s powerful voice sounded out above the blare of the elements. A few members took up some vine stakes that had been piled nearby & lite them, providing the only illumination for the ceremony. Rudolf Steiner called upon the hierarchies to help & protect the undertaking. Then he spoke of the increasing power & malignity of “dark Ahriman clouding vision, who means to spread the darkness of chaos over fully awakened spiritual sight,” & how the human soul, symbolized in the Foundation Stone, must find the strength, in spite of the fear of the spirit induced in humankind by Ahriman, to undertake its spiritual task.
In the ceremony, Rudolf Steiner intoned, for the first time, the ancient prayer that had once echoed in the soul of Jesus of Nazareth when he witnessed the celebration of an ancient Mystery rite that had fallen into decadence. In that overwhelming moment the young man from Nazareth experienced the ‘Fall of Man’ & had to bear within himself all the sorrow that resulted for humanity. This ‘Macrocosmic Lord’s Prayer’ which Steiner later made public in his lectures on the Fifth Gospel, included as its essential element the recognition of the human being’s falling away from the Divine at the beginning of human evolution. The Lord’s Prayer, as given to humankind by the Christ, is the metamorphosis of this ancient prayer.
To emphasize the significance this macrocosmic Prayer had for Rudolf Steiner, a year later on 19 September 1914,” in the Schreinerei, he says: “It was, my dear friends, one of the most sublime moments of my experience in the course of our Movement when for the first time I was allowed to utter the words of the Macrocosmic Lord’s Prayer.”
By linking the Fifth Gospel with the laying of the Foundation Stone of the Goetheanum building, Rudolf Steiner accomplished a deed that stands like a Mystery in the history of our movement.
Here is the full transcript of Rudolf Steiner’s words that faithful night 107 years ago today:
“Thrice the human soul rises up to the three secrets of existence: First they are symbols; then they are tokens when the soul reads the eternal world word; but the profoundest depths of the world secrets are vividly bound to the soul when this soul is able to create its own sheath out of the kingdom of the hierarchies — So be sheathed!
First symbol, then token, now sheathed so that you may become a firm Corner Stone of our striving, for our seeking inasmuch as we have seen it to be right in the evolution of mankind. Let us make of the Stone that is a token of our soul one that is sheathed.”
To the copper stone was added the document that contained the solemn vow of humankind toward the spiritual world; which closed with the words: “Laid by the Johannes Building Association…on the twentieth day of September 1880, after the Mystery of Golgotha, that is, 1913 after the birth of Christ, when Mercury as evening star stood in Libra, the Balance.”
At this point Architect Schmid-Curtius & Engineer Englert cover the Stone, on which Marie von Sivers has laid a bunch of roses — 12 red & 1 white on the earth. Then Rudolf Steiner & the others cross their arms & crosswise take each others hands round the Foundation Stone: Dr. Steiner, Dr. Peipers, Dr. Grosheintz, Marie von Sivers, Architect Schmid & Engineer Englert. Then all except Dr. Steiner depart from the pit. — which has nine steps.
“My dear Sisters & Brothers, Let us today, on this festival evening, understand one another truly. Let us understand that this deed really signifies for our souls a vow. Our endeavours have brought it about that here, at this place, whence we look far out in the four elemental directions of the compass rose, we are permitted to erect this emblem of spiritual life for the new age. Let us understand that on this day, feeling our souls united with that which we have laid symbolically into the earth, we faithfully dedicate ourselves to this spiritual stream in the evolution of mankind which we have recognized as right.
Let us try, my dear Sisters and Brothers, to make this vow in our souls: that in this moment we will look away from all the minutiae of life, from all that binds us — must of necessity bind us – as human beings to the daily round. Let us try in this moment to awaken in ourselves the thought of all that links the human soul with the striving of the Turning Point of Time. Let us try to think for a moment that, as we do what we have vowed to do this evening, we must bear within us the consciousness of looking into far, far cycles of time, in order to become aware of how the mission, of which this Building is to be the emblem, will take its place in the great mission of mankind upon our planet earth. Not in pride and vainglory – in humility, devotion and readiness for sacrifice, let — us try to lift our souls to the great plans, the great purposes of man’s activity on earth.
Let us try to put ourselves into the position in which we really ought to be and must be if we understand this moment aright. Let us try to think how there once entered into our earth-evolution the great announcement, the great communication, the primeval, eternal Gospel of divine-spiritual life, how it passed over the earth at a time when the divine spirits themselves were still the great teachers of mankind. Let us try, my dear Sisters and Brothers, to transfer ourselves back into those sacred ages of earth existence, of which a last yearning, a very last memory still dawns on us when, maybe in ancient Greece, with the last echoes of the mystery-wisdom and simultaneously with the first tones of philosophy, we listen to their great Plato telling of the eternal forms and the eternal substance of the world. And let us try to grasp what since those times has spread over our earth evolution as luciferic and ahrimanic influences.
Let us try to make clear to ourselves how the connection with the divine cosmic existence, with the willing, with the feeling and with the divine-spiritual knowing, has faded from the human soul. Let us try in this moment to feel deep, deep in our own souls what in the countries of the east, the north, the west, the south, those human souls whom we acknowledge as the noblest are feeling today, though they get no further than, let us say, a vague, inadequate longing and hoping for the spirit. Look around you, my dear Sisters and Brothers, and see how this undefined longing, this vague hoping for the spirit prevails throughout mankind today. Feel, and harken, here by the Foundation Stone of our emblem, how in the vague yearning and hoping of mankind for the spirit, there is audible the cry for the answer, for that answer which can be given where Spiritual Science can be present, with its Gospel of the Knowledge of the Spirit.
Try to engrave into your souls the greatness of the moment through which we are passing this evening. If we can hear the longing call of mankind for the spirit and resolve to erect the true Building from out of which the tidings of the spirit shall ever more and more be proclaimed – if we feel this in the life of this our world, then we understand one another truly this evening. Then we know – not in pride and nowise over – valuing our own efforts, but in humility, in devotion and readiness for sacrifice – that in our indefatigable endeavours we must be the continuers of that spiritual work which has been extinguished in the west in the course of advancing human evolution. Inevitably, through the adverse influence of the ahrimanic forces, that evolution ended by bringing mankind to the point where we stand today, the point where souls could only wither and waste away, should that cry of longing for the spirit go unheard.
My dear Sisters and Brothers, let us feel this anxiety! It must be so if – aglow with the fire of love – we are to fight on in that great spiritual conflict it was granted us to inherit, in that great spiritual conflict which was when they repelled the Ahrimanic onslaught of the Moors. Led by karma, we stand at this moment at a place through which important streams of spiritual life have flowed; let us feel within ourselves this evening the full gravity of the situation. Mankind in days gone by had reached the culminating point in its striving for personality. When in the fullness of this earthly personality, the ancient heritage, received from the divine leaders of the very beginning of earth-evolution, had exhausted itself, then in the east the Cosmic Word appeared: In the Beginning was the Word, And the Word was with God, And a God was the Word. And the Word was made manifest to the souls of men and spoke to the souls of men: Fill earth-evolution with the purpose and meaning of the earth! Now the Word Itself has passed over into the earth aura, has been received into the spiritual aura of the earth. Fourfold has been the proclamation of the Cosmic Word through the centuries numbering now well-nigh two thousand years. Thus has the light of cosmic worlds shone into earth-evolution. Deeper and ever deeper Ahriman sank, and had perforce to sink.
Let us feel ourselves surrounded by the souls of men in whom the cry of yearning for the spirit resounds. But let us feel, my dear Sisters and Brothers, how these human souls all round us might be left crying out in vain, since Ahriman, dark Ahriman, is spreading chaos over all spiritual knowledge of the worlds of the higher hierarchies for which they strive. Feel that in our time the possibility has indeed arisen of adding to the spirit-word, four times proclaimed, that other proclamation which I can now present, but in a symbol only. From the east it came – the light and the Word of the proclamation. From out of the east it passed over to the west, four times proclaimed in the four Gospels; awaiting the advent from the west of the mirror that will add knowledge to what is still only proclamation in the four times uttered Cosmic Word. It pierces deeply into our hearts and souls when we listen to that Sermon on the Mount, which was uttered in the hour when the time for the ripening of human personality was fulfilled, when the ancient light of the spirit had vanished and the new spirit-light appeared. The new spirit-light has appeared! But after it appeared, it travelled through the centuries of human evolution from east to west, waiting for understanding of the words which once in the Sermon on the Mount had sounded their way into human hearts. Deep-toned rings out of the depths of our cosmic evolution that immemorial, undying Prayer, uttered as proclamation of the cosmic word when the Mystery of Golgotha was enacted. Deep-toned rang out the undying Prayer which from the innermost core of the human heart was to make known to the microcosm, in depths of soul, the secret of existence. That secret was to be heard in the Lord’s Prayer, as we know it, and as it reverberated from east towards west. Yet it waited patiently, this cosmic word which sank then into the microcosm – waited in order that one day it might resound in harmony with the Fifth Gospel; for the souls of men had to mature before they could understand that which as the most ancient of all, because it is the Macrocosmic Gospel, is now to reverberate from the west like an echo to the Gospel of the east.
If we bring understanding to this present moment, then understanding will also dawn in us that to the Four Gospels a Fifth Gospel can be added. So, on this present evening, may there ring forth in addition to the secrets of the Microcosm, the words which express the secrets of the Macrocosm. As a first revelation of the Fifth Gospel there shall even now sound forth the macrocosmic counter-image of the microcosmic Prayer that was once proclaimed from east to west. So let sound forth towards it as a sign of understanding the macrocosmic World-Prayer of the Fifth primeval Gospel which is connected with the Moon and Jupiter, even as the four Gospels are connected with the earth: AUM, Amen! The Evils hold sway, Witness of Egoity becoming free, Selfhood-Guilt through others incurred, Experienced in the Daily Bread, Wherein the Will of the Heavens does not rule. In that Man severed himself from Your Kingdom, And forgot Your Names, Ye Fathers in the Heavens.
The ‘Our Father’ had been given to mankind as Prayer. There now resounds in answer to the microcosmic Paternoster, which was proclaimed from the east to the west, the primeval macrocosmic Prayer. So does it echoing sound, when, rightly understood by human souls, the Prayer rings out into cosmic spaces and is given back with the words imprinted from out of the macrocosm. Let us take it with us, the macrocosmic Lord’s Prayer, feeling that with it we begin to acquire understanding or the Gospel of Knowledge: the Fifth Gospel. From this grave moment let us take home earnestly and worthily in our souls: our Will.
Let us take home the certainty that all wisdom for which the human soul is seeking – if the seeking be true – is a reflex of cosmic wisdom; and that it makes fruitful from out of the love that is sovereign in the evolution of mankind all of human love that is rooted in the soul’s own selfless love.
Throughout all earthly ages and into all men’s souls there works, out of strong human will that has filled itself with the meaning of existence and the meaning of the earth, a further strengthening – a strengthening through the cosmic power for which men crave today, casting uncertain glances towards a spirit for which they hope – but which they refuse to know, because Ahriman has buried an unconscious fear in the human soul, wherever the spirit is spoken of today. Let us feel this, my Sisters and Brothers, at this moment. Feel this, and you will be able to arm yourselves for your spiritual task and as revealers of the spirit-light, will prove yourselves strong in thought, even in the hour when dark Ahriman, clouding wisdom, means to spread the darkness of chaos over fully-awakened spiritual sight’.
My Sisters and Brothers, fill your souls with the longing for real knowledge of the spirit, for true human love, for strength of will. And try to quicken in yourselves that spirit which has trust in the utterance of the Cosmic Word as it echoes to us out of cosmic distances and out of the wide expanse of space, sounding into our souls. This is what one who has grasped the meaning of existence must truly feel in this evening hour: Human souls have reached the limit of their striving. Feel in humility, not in pride, in devotion and willingness for sacrifice, not in arrogant presumption, what is to come of the emblem for which we have laid the Foundation Stone today.
Feel this portent of the knowledge which should come to us because it is given to us to know: In our time, the veil enshrouding the spiritual beings in the expanses of space must be pierced through, as the spiritual beings come to speak to us of the meaning of existence. Everywhere, everywhere in the surrounding world the souls of men must needs receive into themselves the meaning of existence. Hear how, in whatever cultural centres there is talk of or knowledge of the spirit, of religion, of art, the energies of souls are growing more and more barren. Feel how you must learn to quicken these souls, these energies, out of Imaginations, Inspirations, Intuitions of the spirit. Feel what he will find who hears aright the ring of creative spirituality. Those who in addition to the old Lord’s Prayer learn to understand the meaning of the Prayer from the Fifth Gospel, they will recognize the root of that meaning out of the Turning Point of our Time. If we learn to understand the meaning of these words, we shall seek to receive into ourselves the seeds that must blossom now if earth- evolution is not to wither, if it is still to bear fruit and thrive, so that through the will of man the earth can reach the goal set her from the very beginning.
Feel, then, this evening, that the wisdom and the meaning of the new knowledge, of the new love and of the great new strength must come alive in the souls of men. The souls who will be working amid the blossoming and the fruits of future ages of earth-evolution will have to understand that which we today mean to implant in our souls for the first time: the macrocosmic voice of the age – less, eternal Prayer, sounding towards us. AUM, Amen! The Evils hold sway, Witness of Egoity becoming free, Selfhood-Guilt through others incurred, Experienced in the Daily Bread, Wherein the Will of the Heavens does not rule, In that Man severed himself from Your Kingdom, Ye Fathers in the Heavens.
Thus we will go our separate ways – taking with us in our souls the consciousness of the meaning of the earnestness and the dignity of the solemn act we have performed. The consciousness which remains of this evening shall kindle in us the striving for knowledge of a new revelation given to mankind, for which the human soul thirsts, from which it will drink. But only then when, without fear, it wins faith and confidence in what the Science of the Spirit can make known, the Science that is to unite once more those three that, for a time, per – force took their several roads through the evolution of mankind: Religion, Art and Science.
Let us take this with us, my Sisters and Brothers, as a memory of this hour we have celebrated together, and as something we would wish never to forget.”
With a final invocation of the hierarchies, which included this time the elementals that were calling to be heard in the storm, the Foundation Stone-the copper (sacred to Venus) double dodecahedron, “symbol in its twofold twelvefoldness of the striving human soul, was sunk as microcosm into the macrocosm” let down “into the condensed kingdom of the elements.”
The Foundation Stone was covered over & cemented in.
Ten years later, after the tragic fire; at the Christmas Foundation meeting of 1923/24, Dr. Steiner presented a ‘Spiritual Foundation Stone of Love,’ – the ‘Dodecahedron of the human being’ as he called it, to the members of the newly-formed General Anthroposophical Society, called to initiate a new phase in the revelation of the Mysteries. The meditation is a mantric revelation in which sound, form & rhythm integrate with the esoteric meaning found in its 5 layers, an evocative multiplicity, to awaken the Human Soul.
The Foundation Stone that was laid into the earth on this day 107 years ago; is still there under the 2nd Goetheanum. May it also live within our hearts striving to unveil the truths which will set us free.
~hag
Resources: “Rudolf Steiner: Herald of a New Epoch” by Stewart Easton, “The Christmas Foundation; Beginning of a new Cosmic Age” by Rudolf Grosse
1906 – Founding of the Paracelsus Branch, Basel Switzerland
1913 – The laying of the Foundation Stone of the 1st Goetheanum
1913 – Founding of the Moscow Branch of the Anthroposophical Society
1933 – Deathday of Annie Besant. In 1890 Besant met Helena Blavatsky. She became a member of the Theosophical Society & a prominent lecturer. She established the first overseas Lodge of the International Order of Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain. Over the next few years she established lodges in many parts of the British Empire. In 1907 she became president of the Theosophical Society, whose international headquarters were in Adyar, Madras. She also became involved in politics in India, joining the Indian National Congress. When World War I broke out in 1914, she helped launch the Home Rule League to campaign for democracy in India. This led to her election as president of the India National Congress. In the late 1920s, Besant travelled to the United States with her protégé & adopted son Jiddu Krishnamurti, whom she claimed was the new Messiah & incarnation of Buddha. Krishnamurti rejected these claims in 1929. She is thought to be the reincarnation of Giordano Bruno
1941 – Holocaust 403 Jews (128 men, 176 women & 99 children) were murdered by Einsatzkommando 3 in Nemencing, Latvia.
1942 – Holocaust in Letychiv, Ukraine. In the course of two days the German SS murders at least 3,000 Jews
Umbra Perchiazzi
The Central Regional Council Invites ALL to our Michaelmas Festival: ‘Courage Born of Wisdom’ – Wednesday 23 September 2020 –On ZOOM – 7:15 pm CDT – 8:30 pm
1st CRC performs a telling of a tale from ancient Chaldea where EA gives birth to Marduk, precursor to Michael.
Proverbs 24: 1-9
then “Wisdom Built herself a house*”…7 members of the various sections of the Anthroposophical Society will stand as Wisdom’s 7 Pillars to share how Courage was born from Wisdom leading to their work in the world.
Pedagogical Section –Michael Holdrege Youth Section – Stephan Ambrose Medical Section –Drs. Molly & Quentin McMullen Eurythmy – Barbara Richardson Social Science Section – Doug Wylie BioDynamic Agriculture – Rand Carter Three-Folding – Dorothy Hinkle-Uhlig
with Original songs by Lucien Dante Lazar!
& a closing about the connection between Michael, The Christ & Anthroposophia!
Meeting ID: 820 7046 0900 One tap mobile +13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 820 7046 0900
LucienDante Lazar– Ring the Iron Bell – Welcome (10 minutes)
Group Singing: Michaelmas Time Song (5 Minutes)
Angela Foster – 1. Social Sculpture: The Purifying Fire (10 minutes) (for those joining on zoom, supplies needed for decoupage: votive or prayer candle, tissue paper, images of Joan, magazines, glue)
2. Leading Thoughts, & ‘Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc – Preface’ (10 minutes)
Mary Spalding – ‘Courage Dear Hearts’ Biography of Jeanne d’Arc (10 minutes)
Copper Rod Eurythmy: (10 minutes)
Joan of Arc, Sophie Scholl, Saint Odilie and Jesus of Nazareth. (20 minutes) ‘We are dealing here with a superhuman entity, a being who lived in the spiritual world and heard humanity crying out in misery, calling out to the spiritual worlds for help. This being prepared to receive the Christ Being.’ ‘Humanity cried out in pain and torment, and its cries rose up to that spirit being, who responded by seeking permission from the Sun Spirit to become imbued with Christ.’
We will look at the biographies of these individuals who developed the quality and capacity to work out of ‘a culture of selflessness’ in their community, and the impact this had on the world as young people becoming. We can understand these individuals’ path of sacrifice, as a reflection of the archetype of Jesus of Nazareth, during his growing and seeking years as spoken of in Rudolf Steiner’s Fifth Gospel.
‘Michael is a being of Strength, Courage and Will. He is Sun spirit. He wishes to be regarded.’
Group Singing: Firmly on the Earth I Stand (5 minutes)
Biography Work in Break out Groups – Sharing a story of courage from our lives: Each person takes 3 minutes to tell their tale. (15 minutes)
Harvest from the break out groups – Large Group Sharing (5-10 minutes)
‘The Passage’ by Lucian Dante Lazar (15 minutes)
Impressions, Q’s from the piece – Large Group Sharing (5-10 minutes)
The Mars / Saturn Square (10 minutes)
Everyone takes a turn Ringing the IRON, Rudolf Steiner’s ‘Verse for the Michaelic Age’ given at his ‘Last Address’ (5 minutes)
Group 1: Springing from Powers of the Sun, Radiant Spirit-powers, blessing all Worlds! For Michael’s garment of rays We are predestined by Thought Divine.
Group 2: Michael, the Christ-messenger, reveals in us Bearing humankind aloft — the sacred Will of Worlds. You, radiant Beings of Ether-Worlds, Bear the Christ-Word to human beings.
Group 1: Thus shall the Heralds of Christ appear To our thirstily waiting souls. Your Word of Light shines forth to us In the cosmic age of the Spirit-Human.
Group 2: We, disciples who would know the spirit, Follow Michael’s beckoning Wisdom, To take the Word of Love, Willed by Worlds, Into our highest aims of soul-work; actively!
12:30 pm – Goodbye – Thank you – Off to Zinniker Farm –
*From Petra Zinniker: Our fall preparation making will take place on September 26th at 1:30pm, here at the farm. We will be making 3 preparations this year: Horn manure, Chamomile and Dandelion preparations, and have a potluck dinner with a campfire afterwards.
*Please bring a dish to pass and a lawn chair for the potluck*
Please RSVP! Space is limited. Although this is an outdoor event we want to make sure everyone can find the space they need. Dress for the weather!
Tuesday, September 29 MICHAELMAS ‘Talisman for Courage’ Art Workshop with Victoria Martin 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
MICHAELMAS ‘Talisman for Courage’ Art Workshop in person at the Rudolf Steiner Chicago Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago. 6:30-8:30 PM Facilitated by Victoria Martin
6:30 (sunset) Doors open: orientation. Tea, nuts, and fruit are served
7 PM sharp Visual lecture and demonstration
7:15 PM –8:00 PM workshop – Pastels on flat canvas good for 100+ years (archival materials)
8:00– 8:30 PM discussion – We will learn all about symbols of The Michaelmas: Wings, Iron Meteorites/Stars, Scales of Judgment, Sword of Justice, and the Serpent/Dragon. There will be a wide selection of easy to render visual images in any/all of these 5 categories at each workstation. We will use a black charcoal pencil and the colors red, gold, and turquoise archival pastels on raw canvas size 11” x 11” this Talisman will be suitable for mounting on stretchers or framing (no glass needed).
Limited to 10 participants $15 tuition + $5 materials = $20 or pay what you will. Observers and guests are welcome at no charge, but please bring tree nuts, greens, fruit, or other paleo snacks.
We will discuss organizing some of the ALIANT Next Steps
Review ELIANT’s Charter, Vision, and Mission Statement –
Take up a biweekly study of Rudolf Steiner’s Speaker’s Lectures for the Threefold Commonwealth from 1921, found in Communicating Anthroposophy. (We place an order and coordinate shipping, if you are interested please message us, and if you would like support purchasing a book, let us know! ) –
Study our countries’ Constitution wherever we are living.
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/96695622019 Meeting ID: 966 9562 2019 One tap mobile +13462487799,,96695622019# US (Houston) +14086380968,,96695622019# US (San Jose)
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