Category Archives: Lecture

Comet LoveJoy & the April Fool

Celestial Event, Central Regional Council, Chicago Event, Festival, Insight, Lecture, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars, Spring

April Fool’s Day 2017 – Astro-Weather:

“…Just as something quite special enters the life of a family with the birth of a new earth-citizen, so something quite different enters the progress of the human race on earth through the appearance of a comet, which breaks through the ordinary process of cosmic existence. It is actually as though something new were born, when a comet appears.

“If we bear this in mind, we shall then encounter in the right way what we call ‘Signs from the Heavens.’ New births in the universe are not always to be greeted with the same joy as the birth of a young citizen into a family. All sorts are born into the universe; those that bring humanity forward as well as those that drive it back.”

“…If we wish to understand the nature of a Comet, wandering as it does in cosmic space regardless of the other laws of the Solar System, we must be clear as to the fact that the Comet carries the laws belonging to the old Moon-existence into our own. Those laws it has preserved, and with those it enters our existence…In the year 1906, during the Congress in Paris, I called attention to the fact that Spiritual investigation from its knowledge of the nature of Comets, was able to say: As the combinations of carbon and hydrogen play the same part on our earth as did the combinations of carbon and nitrogen (cyanogen) on the Old Moon, the cometary life must contain cyanogen compounds, — combinations of carbon and nitrogen. Our Spiritual Science, therefore, some time ago announced that the cometary nature must contain cyanogen in some form. During the last few weeks this fact has been mentioned in all the newspapers as an external fact discovered by spectro-analysis. This is only one case — hundreds of others could be quoted — in which Spiritual investigation builds bridges for the facts of external research. In this case spectro-analysis asserts what Spiritual Science stated years before.” ~from CORRESPONDENCES BETWEEN THE MICROCOSM AND THE MACROCOSM, by Rudolf Steiner, Berlin, 9 March, 1910.

Appearing now: Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, or “T-G-K”, behaving as expected, high in the northern evening sky all April. It appears fairly large, since it’s passing relatively close to Earth; mostly diffuse & low-surface-brightness but with a sharp nucleus.

Comet C/2017 E4 Lovejoy is the surprise. Discovered on March 10th 2017 at magnitude 12, it was only expected to reach 9th magnitude at its brightest in mid-April. It’s in Pegasus, in the east just before the beginning of dawn; go out 2 hours before sunrise . The Moon won’t interfere until about the morning of the 7th.

Also: The waxing crescent Moon hangs with Aldebaran, the Hyades & Pleiades in the early evening.

Mars & Mercury, together at dusk. By the end of the week Mercury has greatly faded. . .

The huge, bright Winter Hexagon is still in view after dusk, filling the sky to the southwest  & west. It’s the biggest well-known asterism in the sky. Start with brilliant Sirius in the southwest, the Hexagon’s lower left corner. High above Sirius is Procyon. From there look even higher for Pollux & Castor, rightward from Castor to Menkalinan & bright Capella, lower left from there to Aldebaran (near the Moon tonight), lower left to Rigel at the bottom of Orion, & back to Sirius.

This evening Aldebaran is lower right of the Moon, & Betelgeuse is a bit farther to the Moon’s lower left Have you ever closely compared the colors of Betelgeuse & Aldebaran? Can you detect any difference in their color whatsoever? I can’t, really. Yet Aldebaran, is often called an “orange” giant, while Betelgeuse, is usually called a “red” supergiant.

***

Georgia O’Keeffe

April is Poetry Month so here’s my POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I re-member
The perfume of morning
Sharp as I carry the egg of light home
A simple flower unfurling
Slowly after a night of anguish
I sway under a fragmented sky thinking how
Star patterns & Moon-magic pulse within me…
& how
Unseen music follows…
~hag

***

Bea Garth

The Goddess & the April Fool: A guided Imagination

You are walking in a dense forest. The sky is overcast, and the woods are gloomy, although occasionally, a feeble ray of sunlight makes its way through the clouds and the trees. The branches of the trees are bare, although the tips are just beginning to bud. Old leaves from last year’s fall scurry about your feet as an occasional gust of wind blows them about. The ground is, for the most part bare, with occasional patches of snow in the shade. Hints of new green life make their way up through the snow and dead leaves.

As you walk, you notice a grove of beautiful white birches, the pale glint of their trunks and branches, a pleasant contrast in the otherwise dark woods. You walk towards the birch grove and then deep into it. When you are surrounded by the birches, you notice a large tree that looks as if it has been struck by lightning. It’s upper trunk has been split in two, the inner wood has been exposed to the air, dead leaves have blown their way into the nooks of the tree, in every way this tree looks as dead as it can be.

Suddenly you hear a whimsical whistle from behind the fallen lightning struck branches. Out pops “THE FOOL” in his colorful patch work coat, holding his knapsack up on a stick, a white rose in his hand, with a wolf cub snapping at his heels…

“OH DON’T MIND THE WOLF FAWNING ABOUT, HE KEEPS ME HONEST.
I SEE YOU WERE LAMENTING ABOUT THE TREE. DO YOU REALLY THINK IT’S DEAD (He laughs) REMEMBER, EVERY ENDING IS BUT A NEW BEGINNING. IT’S ALL ABOUT TRUST. BELIEF, IN THE ULTIMATE GOODNESS OF CREATION – THAT LIFE HAS A POINT. THAT DEATH IS TRANSFORMATION. THAT SUFFERING CAN BE PURPOSEFUL, WHEN WE BEGIN LIVING CONSCIOUSLY, IN THE HOPE OF A BRIGHT ETERNAL NOW.

OK, I KNOW, AT FIRST GLANCE THINGS SEEM DARK, AND YES, IF YOU LOOK AT THE EVIL OF GREED AND WAR IN THE WORLD, AT THE LOSS OF YOUNG LIVES, THE FAILURE OF PRINCIPLE, BELIEVING IN PEACE, HAVING HOPE & TRUSTING, CAN LOOK PRETTY (clears his throat) FOOLISH. BUT BELIEVE ANYWAY!!! THAT’S MY MOTTO. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO RISK, TO JUMP INTO THE ABYSS OF BELIEF, TO GO AGAINST EVERYTHING SOCIETY SAYS IS SENSELESS. IT MEANS TRUSTING THE HIGHER GOOD. THE INNER FORCES. WHICH ARE AT THE HEART OF GREAT EVOLUTIONARY ENDEAVORS.
RISK LOOKING LIKE A FOOL. LIVE IN THE MOMENT, OF HOPE FULFILLED.
BE PEACE & PEACE WILL PREVAIL.

HEY WHAT’S THAT OVER THERE…(laughs,) MADE YOU LOOK…

And with that “THE FOOL” is gone. Make sure your shoe laces aren’t tied together as you walk closer to the tree.

You are surprised to see a bright light outlining the figure of a woman. She is clad in brilliant greens and sunny yellows. She holds a large golden basket. Her gaze is steady, her eyes make you think of clear streams running in the middle of old forests, her skin reminds you of the first fair flower of spring, and her hair is long and unbound. At her feet sits a small brown rabbit nuzzling the hem of her skirt. She gestures, indicating that you should come forward. You walk towards her. She points at her covered basket, and lifts the cloth. Inside, you see an astounding array of pastel eggs, all colors, all patterns. You can think of nothing better than to pick one of these beautiful eggs, and have it for your very own. Your hand reaches out, and she shakes her head. You realize that while she wants you to have an egg, she wants you to pick it sight unseen. So, you close your eyes, reach out your hand, and reach into the basket. Eyes still closed, you draw your hand back, holding an egg. You open your eyes, and look upon your egg. What does it look like?

Think to yourself what the decoration on the egg means, and why Ostara, The Goddess of The Spring Resurrection wants you to have this particular gift for the coming season.

After you have looked at your egg, you raise your head to thank the Goddess, but she is gone. You look about for her in vain. You wonder if it has all been a dream. The reality of your heart tells you otherwise, and you know you have received the blessing of the Green Goddess.

As your attention moves from yourself to the forest, you realize that the trees now have tiny, but beautifully formed green leaves at the end of their branches. And you notice that the birch tree struck by lightning, the one that looked dead, now has green shoots rising from its split trunk. As you make your way out of the birch grove, it seems that the clouds have lightened, and even as you think this, the sun comes out. Small, barely formed flowers lightly scent the forest floor, birds are singing, and the rich smell of moist earth fills your nose.

Softly at first you hear that care-free whistling coming from what seems like everywhere. As you mount the crest, you see “THE FOOL” once again. He’s playing catch with the wolf, precariously close to the edge of the precipice. He calls out to you…

“A MONK WAS OUT WALKING IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ANCIENT JAPAN.
HE ENCOUNTERS A WILD TIGER. AND AS HE IS FLEEING, HE SLIPS OVER A CLIFF, BUT MANAGES TO GRAB HOLD OF A GNARLED ROOT AT THE EDGE. HE LOOKS DOWN, & SEES SHARDS OF BROKEN ROCKS FAR BELOW. HE LOOKS UP & SEES THE WILD CAT, SNARLING AT HIM IN HUNGER. AS HE LOOKS AROUND, HE ALSO SEES BESIDE HIM A BUSH WITH A SINGLE BRIGHT, SUCCULENT BERRY ON IT. HE LOOKS UP. HE LOOKS DOWN.
HE SMILES, & PLUCKS THE BERRY, & POPS IT INTO HIS MOUTH…
HOW SWEET IT TASTES!”
(He begins to whistle, letting it swell & then fade out)

This is the way of the wise fool. He knows that a life lived in trust is sweet. Take this Zen teaching into your heart, into your mind, into your body.

As you make your way out of the forest, you wonder how you could have found this green growing place gloomy, it seems so alive, and pleasant to walk through, full of hope and positive forces, which you can call on anytime, to influence your choices, as you take the leap, into the joys of Spring.

~Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

***

 

EASTER-TIDE EVENTS for 2017:

(PLEASE NOTE: THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE HAS CHANGED FROM THE PRINTED CALENDAR)

Holy Week Gatherings:

This year we dedicate our study to those who have crossed the threshold. We will be reading to the dead from Chapter 5 of ‘An Outline of Esoteric Science’, entitled ‘Initiation’. We will incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’ verse for Easter,  Group eurythmy, & focused discussion.

Study: 9 April 2017, Palm Sunday 2 pm – 3 pm

*SPECIAL EVENT: 3 pm – 6 pm – Work Party at the branch with Elisabeth Swisher & the youth from CWS – All are Welcome

Study: 13 April 2017, Maundy Thursday 7 pm – 8 pm  

Study: 14 April 2017, Good Friday 7 pm – 8 pm

15 April 2017, Holy Saturday – Our Easter-Tide Festival: ‘The Mystery of Golgotha – Then & Now’ – 2 pm – 4 pm

The Midwest Eurythmy Group will perform The Easter Verse from the Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner

What was the Mystery of Golgotha?
What is the Mystery now?
What will it be for the future?
~Art Projections & Discourse with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Group work: Based on Baruch Urieli’s
‘Learning to Experience the Etheric World,
Empathy, the After-Image and a New Social Ethic’

$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged

Study: 16 April 2017, Easter Sunday – 2 pm – 4 pm We continue our study & the reading to the dead from Chapter 5 of An Outline of Esoteric Science, entitled ‘Initiation.’ We will incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’ verse for Easter, Group eurythmy, & focused discussion.

There I find the secret path…

Lecture, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars

11 March 2017 – Astro-Weather: Bright Bella Luna hangs a few degrees below & left of Regulus this evening. The Sickle of Leo extends from Regulus toward the upper left.

Bella Luna is equally full this evening & tomorrow night in the Americas. That’s because the exact time of full Moon, 11:54 am March 12th CST, lands halfway between the two evenings. Tonight the Moon shines by the dim hind leg of Leo. Tomorrow evening it’s by the dim head of Virgo.

Venus shines brilliantly in the western sky after sunset all week. The inner planet of Love glows brighter than the evening sky’s second-brightest point of light, Jupiter. Venus shows up easily within a half-hour after sunset & remains on view until nearly 8 pm CST.

Late tonight comes the second-brightest asteroid occultation predicted this year for North America – A star in Leo’s snout, just in front of the Sickle.

Daylight-saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday morning for most of North America. Clocks spring forward.

TODAY: the Sun enters the astronomical constellation of Pisces, the stars of this cultural age

***

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

“We understand only the very smallest part of human history and of our own life if we consider it in its external aspect, I mean in that aspect which we see from the limited view-point of our earthly life between birth and death. It is impossible to comprehend the inner motives of history and life unless we turn our gaze to that spiritual background which underlies the outer, physical happenings” ~Rudolf Steiner. Karmic Relationships, Volume IV: Lecture III

222 – Emperor Elagabalus is assassinated, along with his mother, Julia Soaemias, by the Praetorian Guard during a revolt. Their mutilated bodies are dragged through the streets of Rome before being thrown into the Tiber. Elagabalus served as a priest of the Syrian god Elagabal, barely 14 years old, when he became emperor, initiating a reign remembered mainly for sex scandals &religious controversy.

Elagabalus showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions & sexual taboos. He replaced the traditional head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter, with Elagabalus. He forced leading members of Rome’s government to participate in religious rites celebrating this deity, over which he personally presided. Elagabalus was supposedly “married” as many as five times, lavished ‘favors’ on male courtiers &  was reported to have prostituted himself in the imperial palace. He developed a reputation among his contemporaries for extreme eccentricity, decadence, & zealotry. His behavior estranged the Praetorian Guard, the Senate, & the common people alike.

336 BC – Deathday of Attalus important courtier of king Philip II of Macedonia.

Attalus’ niece Cleopatra Eurydice married king Philip II of Macedonia. At the wedding, Attalus made a prayer that Cleopatra give birth to a male heir. This was seen as a direct insult to Alexander the Great.

Philip II appointed Attalus & Parmenion as commanders of the advance force that would invade the Persian Empire in Asia Minor. After Philip II had been assassinated & Alexander became king, Cleopatra Eurydice, her two children, & Attalus were all killed.

According to a story of Aristotle‘s, Attalus sexually assaulted Pausanias of Orestis in retribution for besmirching the reputation of Attalus’ friend (possibly relation), also named Pausanias, an event that led to the latter Pausanias’s death. Philip II assassination by Pausanias of Orestis has been tied to this affair since Pausanias was upset that Phillip had not punished Attalus.

At the time of the accession of Alexander the Great to the Macedonian throne, Attalus was stationed with Parmenion & the Macedonian advance army in Asia Minor. In the wake of Phillip II’s death, it is alleged by hostile sources that Demosthenes of Athens wrote a letter to Attalus promising Athens’ support if the two made war on Alexander.

Attalus submitted Demosthenes’ letters to Alexander & pledged his support to the king. However, Alexander had Attalus killed, remembering the past insult of Attalus. Even without the resentment between the two men, Alexander probably felt Attalus was too ambitious to remain alive, & would have good reason for revenge after the deaths of Cleopatra Eurydice & her children.

638 – Deathday of Sophronius of Jerusalem, the Patriarch of Jerusalem venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox & Catholic Churches. He was a monk & theologian who was the chief protagonist for Orthodox teaching in the doctrinal controversy on the essential nature of Jesus & his volitional acts.

Sophronius was of Byzantine Greek, as well as Syrian Arab descent. A teacher of rhetoric, Sophronius became an ascetic in Egypt & then entered the monastery of St. Theodosius near Bethlehem. Traveling to monastic centres in Asia Minor, Egypt, & Rome, he accompanied the Byzantine chronicler St. John Moschus, who dedicated to him his celebrated tract on the religious life, Leimõn ho Leimõnon (Greek: “The Spiritual Meadow”) (and whose feast day in the Eastern Orthodox Church, 11 March is shared with Sophonius’)

He traveled to Alexandria, Egypt, & to Constantinople to persuade the respective patriarchs to renounce Monothelitism, a heterodox teaching that espoused a single, divine will in Christ to the exclusion of a human capacity for choice. Sophronius’ extensive writings on this question are all lost.

Although unsuccessful in this mission, Sophronius was elected patriarch of Jerusalem in 634. Soon after his enthronement he forwarded his noted synodical letter to Pope Honorius I & to the Eastern patriarchs, explaining the orthodox belief in the two natures, human & divine, of Christ, as opposed to Monothelitism.

In 637, after the conquest of Jerusalem by Muslim armies, the Muslim caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab came to Jerusalem & toured the city with Sophronius. During the tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the time for the Muslims’ prayer came, & despite Sophronius’s offer to Umar to pray inside the Church, Umar chose to pray outside. The caliph’s reason for declining to pray there was because in the future Muslims might say that Umar prayed here & use it as an excuse to build a mosque there. Therefore, Muslims are not allowed to build a mosque there. So appreciating the caliph’s intelligence Sophronius gave the keys of the church to him. Unable to refuse it the caliph gave it to a family of Muslims from Medina. The keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre still remain with the Muslim family.

1702 – The Daily Courant, England’s first national daily newspaper is published for the first time

1818 – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein; or The modern Prometheus, is published

1824 – The United States Department of War creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs

1864 – The Great Sheffield Flood kills 1238 people in England

1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce & killing more than 1400

1918 – The 1st case of Spanish flu occurs, the start of a devastating worldwide pandemic

1990 – Lithuania declares itself independent from the Soviet Union

2007 – Georgia claims Russian helicopters attacked the Kodori Valley in Abkhazia, an accusation that Russia categorically denies later

2011 – An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale

2012 – A U.S. soldier kills 16 civilians in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan near Kandahar

2016 – At least 221 people are killed by flooding & mudslides in São Paulo, Brazil

***

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Lady of the Wheel, of the Fates, of the Fist…
Beneath Her robe curls a caterpillar in an empty sky
Her flame is sharp – Her hands are quick
She burns flesh into ash & light
Yet Her mouth is wet & soothing
Her teeth are the rattling seeds of the sistrum, a brilliant moment in time
She molds my form in wax & tosses it into the flames
There I find the secret path...
~hag

***

As requested: I have posted my PowerPoint presentations from my recent lectures. Thanks for all your encouragement.

Come join us for more upcoming events:

Our Holy Week Study: “An Outline of Esoteric Science Chapter 5: Knowledge of Higher Worlds – Initiation” by Rudolf Steiner:

Palm Sunday April 9th 2017 – 2pm – 4pm

Holy Mon, Tues, Wed, Thrus, Good Fri – 7pm – 9pm

Holy Saturday 2pm – 4pm

El Greco

Easter Sunday April 16th 2017,  2pm – 4pm –

~The Mystery of Golgotha – Then and Now~

Details to follow

Xox

~ Hazel Archer Ginsberg

the Deathday of the “Angelic Doctor”

Celestial Event, Insight, Lecture, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars

7 March 2017 – Astro-Weather: English astronomer Sir John Frederick William Herschel was born on this date in 1792. In 1864, he published the General Catalogue of Nebulae & Clusters, which astronomers still use today

After sunset, look below the Moon for Procyon & above the Moon for fainter Pollux & Castor.

As seen from Earth, both Mercury & Venus have phases like our moon. That’s because they circle the sun inside Earth’s orbit. Planets that orbit between Earth & the sun are known as inner planets.

Inner planets can never be at “opposition,” which is when the planet & the sun are on opposite sides of Earth.

But they can be at “conjunction,” which is when a planet, the sun & Earth are all in a straight line. Conjunctions can happen in 2 ways: once when the planet is on the opposite side of the sun from Earth & again when it’s on the same side of the sun as Earth.

When a planet is on the opposite side of the sun from Earth, we say it is at “superior conjunction.” As the planet moves out from behind the sun & gets closer to Earth, we see less & less of the lit side. We see phases, similar to our moon’s phases.

Hilma af Klint

 Mercury is at superior conjunction today March 7. A few weeks later, the messenger of the gods emerges from behind the sun & we can once again observe it. By the end of March we’ll see a last-quarter Mercury. On April 20 Mercury reaches “inferior conjunction.”

Brilliant Venus is also racing toward its own inferior conjunction on March 25. Watch its crescent get thinner & thinner as the planet’s size appears larger & larger, because it is getting closer to Earth.

Finally, look for Jupiter to rise in the East. It will be visible all month long from late evening until dawn.

***

Albertus Magnus

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Nickname in school=The ‘dumb ox’ also known as the ‘Angelic Doctor’

1274 – Deathday of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Italian priest & philosopher – In Rudolf Steiner’s historic sketch of the life of thought in the Middle Ages, he shows in 3 short lectures how Albertus Magnus ( an earlier incarnation  of Ita Wegman) & Thomas Aquinas ( an earlier incarnation of Aristotle & Rudolf Steiner himself) & the Scholastics of the 12th century gave an impetus towards what in the twentieth century has come to be known as Spiritual Science, or Anthroposophy.

A system of thinking & a method of investigation, in order to be effective, must go forward with the requirements of the century, otherwise philosophy & religion lag behind & miss their object. The theories of Thomas Aquinas, which were intended to be progressive, have become the property of a mighty dogma & the method, instead of being an instrument for progress, becomes an impediment in the machine.

Rome, while glorifying Thomas Aquinas as a Church Father, has relegated his stupendous thought to a closed compartment only to be opened by those specially authorized. Rudolf Steiner puts him in the forefront of evolution, &, by Spiritual Science, endeavors to liberate him from the fetters of dogma.

***

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Where there is a road
A wise hag walks thinking,
Bent under the weight of her soul
Clinging like a child to her back,
She spits words into the wind where they cover themselves 
& wait like seeds…
She knows
The wheat will rise up singing…
~ Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

Venus retrograde 2017 lasts from March 4 to April 15 & spans 13º Aries back to 26º Pisces:

‘I said cautiously, “Venus is the power that we invoke in spring, in the garden, when things begin growing. And we call the evening star Venus.”

He thought it over. Perhaps having grown up in the country, among pagans like me, helped him understand my bewilderment. “So do we, he said. “But Venus also became more…With the help of the Greeks. They call her Aphrodite…There was a great poet who praised her in Latin. Delight of men and gods, he called her, dear nurturer. Under the sliding star signs she fills the ship-laden sea and the fruitful earth with her being; through her the generations are conceived and rise up to see the sun; from her the storm clouds flee; to her the earth, the skilful maker, offers flowers. The wide levels of the sea smile at her, and all the quiet sky shines and streams with light…”

It was the Venus I had prayed to, it was my prayer, though I had no such words. They filled my eyes with tears and my heart with inexpressible joy.” ~Ursula K. Le Guin, ‘Lavinia’

To & Fro

Lecture

Jenna Rominoff

Dear Friends –Since my bout with pneumonia this fall I have seen how illness can truly be a catalyst for change.  Having paid some heavy dues, it’s as if I have a new lease on life. I delve into my anthroposophical research & work with renewed vigor – The connection with my angel & the spiritual world enhanced, allowing a fresh flow of inspiration & synchronicity.

Burt Tipper

My circle is ever widening. I was honored to be invited recently to stay at the home of Margaret Shipman, the founder of The ‘Traveling Speakers Program’ for the Anthroposophical Society. This amazing program provides groups or small branches around the US with presenters who bring a variety of Anthroposophical topics tailored to fit the specific needs of each community.

Jenny Badger Sultan

Margret also founded GEMS (Geographically Engaged Members) a powerful initiative that connects folks all around the US in a common study that she hand selects & provides each month by mail. The GEMS work with the study every Saturday morning at a synchronized time, weaving a web of anthroposophical thought into the astral realm, strengthening our collective formative forces, co-creating a vortex of Michaelic energy that furthers the Christ-Impulse in the universe. I am often reminded of what Steiner said about the power of ‘collective endeavor’ – that if there were 12 anthroposophist’s truly working in Europe, the 1st world war could have been averted! I believe this synchronized work of GEMS is of great importance in our time.

I was also blessed by a meeting with Dottie Zold at the Elderberries Three-Fold Café, & the young folks of the Have Seeds house in Los Angles.

Sending a vortex of thoughtful striving out into the world, the atmosphere at the Café & the ‘Have Seeds House’ is ripe with destiny. The karmic connections wrought with love, forged in the heart of infinite possibilities, is palpable.

My husband Chuck Ginsberg & our daughter arrived after visiting colleges in Portland, stirred by the lush beauty of that wet wonderland & an inspiring evening with anthroposopher Brian Gray. Dottie Zold, a powerhouse goddess, moving & shaking the planet, welcomed us with loving arms as we enjoyed a delicious healthy meal at the Café. Fortified in body & spirit, we made our way to the ‘Have Seeds House’, where our souls were met with grace, embraced by the young folks – many who had just returned from Standing Rock, Caleb Buchbinder, Frank, Poppy, Freya, Katie, Kalen, Nick Potter, Destiny, Ellington, Dominique, to name a few. Daniel Evaeus showed us around & we sat in the sun talking about the possibility of creating a 3-Fold Café in Chicago.

Dottie, Frank & Daniel asked me to give some leading thoughts on ‘Speaking with the Stars’ at their Thursday meeting. After hearing stories from those who stood on the front lines to stop the pipeline, (#DefunDapl) I was honored to be included. My daughter was taken under the wing of the kind & generous Poppy & some of the other YIP folks, inspiring her to stay at the house & explore their karmic knot on her own.

To experience the cooperation of this shared community, working together to create a home, making meals, cleaning & planting & supporting each other, on their collective, yet truly free individual journey, was heartening – motivating unconditional hope. I sense their efforts moving like a lightning rod out into our world. I feel blessed & excited knowing our future is forming in peaceful striving, with embodied love & thoughtful purpose. (Since I’ve been there they have opened another venue: The 3-Fold Cultural Hub & Urban 1st Aid Center!)

Upon my return to Chicago, folks gathered at the Rudolf Steiner Branch to celebrate the 156th  Anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s Birthday on the New Moon/Solar Eclipse, with Astrologer Victoria Martin, who made up an amazing packet for each participant to see where their birthdays fit in Steiner’s horoscope! And I gave an overview of the phases in Rudolf Steiner’s life. What a great way to re-new our connection with our spiritual Mentor Herr Doctor Steiner.

 (a few lingering participants including Christopher Mann, founder of Michael Fields)

And now I am basking in the glow of a transformative gathering at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, Wisc. I was asked by Margret Shipman to give a discourse on “What is Anthroposophy” & present a weekend workshop on Rudolf Steiner’s book “The Spiritual Guidance of the Individual & of Humanity”, for the ‘Traveling Speaker Program’.

An insightful, deeply engaged group of 23 or so folks came together for this experiential exploration – the 1st anthroposophical offering at this amazing center, for many years, whose building reflects the aesthetic of the Goetheanum in Dornach. Allison Pratt-Szeliga, a crop & soil Researcher, who works with grafting organic seeds at the institute, organized the bulk of the event with the help of Andrea Clemens, workshop coordinator & Flower Farmer. The new executive director, Perry Brown, a life-long farmer new to Anthroposophy, attended the Friday discourse. Afterward we had a stimulating conversation about possible futures for the institute.

At the last session on Saturday we were graced by Christopher Mann the co-founder of the Michael Fields Institute, who was overjoyed with the program. For many years, Martina his dearly departed wife & co-worker, held 1st Class in the upper chamber, so Christopher was especially happy that the impulse for our anthroposophical offering came from the community, something he has been hoping to see at the institute for quite some time.

At the end of the session, we gathered in a circle after our artistic rendering of the Rose Cross Meditation, & Mr. Mann spoke about his parents William & Liselotte Mann, pioneer teachers of the first English speaking Waldorf school & translators of Steiner’s ‘Calendar of the Soul’, who lived & worked with Rudolf Steiner. To be in the presence of this man who grew up in a family with such a deep connection to Steiner, brought a great perspective & made the material even more timely.

Christopher & Martina Mann

Christopher Mann who suffers from Parkinson’s is still very active, not only with Michael Fields, but with creating Manshire Eco-Village, in East Troy, Wisconsin, as well as Yggdrasil Land Foundation. And is also involved making films with Frigyes Fogel: The documentary, The Alchemists, & The (R)evolution – Cultural Creatives. Mr. Mann invited me to come stay at his lovely home by the lake to watch these films. What a remarkable human being. Angie, a woman in the community who makes the bio-dynamic compost used on the farm, mentioned that Mr. Mann has made quite an amazing contribution to America, bringing many Anthroposophical initiatives here, including eurythmy troupes over the years.

BTW, Mr. Mann told us, the ‘Fields’ are dedicated to our Time Spirit Micha-el.

I am still digesting all the wonderful experiences gained from this powerful weekend, from the expansive beauty of the ‘Brown Barn’ – the heart-center of Michael Fields, & the land slowly stirring awake after the winter, the warmth & support of our team who helped coordinate the event, the insights shared with the many diverse participants, the compassion & concern for the earth & all life, including the Spiritual Beings who guide us, both progressive & imperfect, the fact that my beloved friend Lori Kulik & I almost hit a deer driving home (thanks guardian angel 😉 & of course the karmic connections made thru the biography work, the labyrinth walk & the Rose Cross…such a labor of love, so much purposeful thought – a true renewal.

When I figure out the technical issues, I have been asked to publish the lectures & the power point art that I made – so look for that in the lectures section of the ReverseRitual site…

Until soon – Blessings & Peace, from a very tired but thoroughly grateful ~hag= Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Mellinda Koser

 

Fastnacht

Celestial Event, Lecture, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars

28 February 2017 – Astro-Weather: Catch the thin crescent Moon below Venus after sunset. The Moon is only a few days old & as the Moon thickens it forms a triangle with bright Venus & fainter Mars

Tonight will also be a great time to get to know Lepus the Hare, one of the sky’s lesser-known constellations. Approximately a dozen medium-bright stars form Lepus, which sits directly below (that is, south of) Orion the Hunter. Lepus has two named stars, Arneb (Alpha Leporis) &  Nihal (Beta Leporis)

‘Astrology is astronomy brought down to earth and applied to the affairs of man.’ ~R.W. Emerson

***

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

“History is the essence of innumerable biographies.” ~ Thomas Carlyle, “

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) *see essay below

1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés

1621 – Deathday of Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

1827 – The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people & freight

1849 – Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, four months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor

1885 – The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone

1933 – Gleichschaltung: In Nazi terminology, was the process of Nazification by which Nazi Germany successively established a system of totalitarian control & coordination over all aspects of society, “from the economy and trade associations to the media, culture and education. The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire, issued by German President Paul von Hindenburg on the advice of Chancellor Adolf Hitler in direct response to the Reichstag fire of 27 February 1933. The decree nullified many of the key civil liberties of German citizens. With Nazis in powerful positions in the German government, the decree was used as the legal basis for the imprisonment of anyone considered to be opponents of the Nazis, & to suppress publications not considered “friendly” to the Nazi cause. The decree is considered by historians to be one of the key steps in the establishment of a one-party Nazi state in Germany

1942 – The heavy cruiser USS Houston is sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait with 693 crew members killed, along with HMAS Perth which lost 375 men

1953 – James Watson & Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA

1954 – The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public

1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck & plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver & 26 children die in what remains one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history

1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station & crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people

1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing 9 officers

1986 – Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm

1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 3,000 deaths

1997 – GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way

1998 – First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace

2004 – Over one million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand rally form a 310 mile long human chain to commemorate the ‘February 28 Incident’ in 1947: an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang-led Republic of China government, which killed thousands of civilians beginning on February 28, 1947. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 50,000 or more. The massacre marked the beginning of the White Terror period, in which tens of thousands more inhabitants vanished, died, or were imprisoned. This incident is one of the most important events in Taiwan’s modern history, & was a critical impetus for the Taiwan independence movement

2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since 1415

***

Judson Huss

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~The house fills with birds
As i enter the circle of sun
I vibrate the lyrics to their song
As the hawk pauses
Before the eggs in my nest
I call the sparrow
& become a sliver star hanging,
Swift water running,
A lowing cow,
The thought of myself,
In my mother’s forehead
~hag

***

*Mardi Gras, Carnival, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, Fastnacht

The date of Mardi Gras varies based on the moveable feast of Easter, the Full Moon & the Spring Equinox.

The history of a Mardi Gras celebration existed many years before Europeans came to the New World. Sometime in the 2nd Century, usually the ides of February the 15 according to the Julian calendar, Ancient Romans would observe what they called the Lupercalia, a circus-type festival which was, in many respects, quite similar to the present day Mardi Gras. This festival honored the Roman deity, Lupercus, a pastoral God associated with Faunus or the Satyr. Although Lupercus is derived from the Latin Lupus meaning “wolf”.

When Christianity arrived in Rome, the dignitaries of the early Church decided it would be more prudent to incorporate certain aspects of such rituals into the new faith rather than attempt to abolish them altogether. This added a Christian interpretation to the ancient custom & the Carnival became a time of abandon & merriment which proceeded the Lenten period (a symbolic Christian penitence of 40 days commencing on Ash Wednesday & ending at Easter).

During this time, there would be feasting which lasted several days & participants would indulge in voluntary madness by donning masks, clothing themselves in the likeness of specters & generally giving themselves up to Bacchus & Venus. All aspects of pleasure were considered to be allowable during the Carnival celebration & today’s modern festivities are thought by some to be more reminiscent of the Roman Saturnalia rather than Lupercalia, or to be linked to even earlier Pagan festivals.

From Rome, the celebration spread to other European countries. In medieval times, a similar-type festival to that of the present day Mardi Gras was given by monarchs & lords prior to Lent in order to ceremoniously conscript new knights into service & hold feasts in their honor. The gentry would also ride through the countryside rewarding peasants with cakes (thought by some to be the origin of the King Cake), coins (perhaps the origin of present day gifts of Mardi Gras doubloons) & other trinkets.

In Germany, there still remains a Carnival similar to that of the one held in New Orleans. Known as Fasching, the celebrations begin on Twelfth Night & continue until Shrove Tuesday. (In German-America, special “doughnuts” are sold for this holiday, called Fasnachts.)

To a lesser degree, this festival is still celebrated in France & Spain. A Carnival season was also celebrated in England until the Nineteenth Century, originating as a type of “renewal” festival that incorporated fertility motifs & ball games which frequently turned into riots between opposing villages, followed by feasts of pancakes & the imbibing of alcohol. The preparing & consumption of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday is a still a tradition in the United Kingdom, where pancake tossing & pancake races (during which a pancake must be tossed a certain number of times) are still popular. One of the most famous of such competitions, which takes place in Olney, Buckinghamshire, is said to date from 1445. It is a race for women only & for those who have lived in the Parish for at least three months. An apron & head-covering are requisite. The course is 415 yards & the pancake must be tossed at least three times during the race. The winner receives a kiss from the Ringer of the Pancake Bell & a prayer book from the local vicar. “Shrove” is derived from the Old English word “shrive,” which means to “confess all sins.”

It is generally accepted that Mardi Gras came to America in 1699 with the French explorer, Sieur d’Iberville. The festival had been celebrated as a major holiday in Paris since the Middle Ages. Iberville sailed into the Gulf of Mexico &, from there, launched an expedition along the Mississippi River. By March 3, 1699, Iberville had set up a camp on the West Bank of the River, about 60 miles South of the present day City of New Orleans in the State of Louisiana. Since that day was the very one on which Mardi Gras was being celebrated in France, Iberville named the site Point du Mardi Gras in honor of the festival.

According to some sources, however, the Mardi Gras of New Orleans began in 1827 when a group of students who had recently returned from school in Paris donned strange costumes & danced their way through the streets. In this version, it is said that the inhabitants of New Orleans were swiftly captured by the enthusiasm of the youths & promptly followed suit.

Other sources maintain that the Mardi Gras celebration originated with the arrival of early French settlers to the State of Louisiana. Nevertheless, it is known that from 1827 to 1833, the New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebrations became more elaborate, culminating in an annual Mardi Gras Ball. The Carnival was well-established by the middle of the Nineteenth Century when the Mystick Krewe of Comus presented its 1857 Torchlight Parade with a theme taken from “Paradise Lost” written by John Milton.

In French, “Mardi Gras” literally means “Fat Tuesday,” so named because it falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, the last day prior to Lent – a 40-day season of prayer & fasting observed by the Church which ends on Easter Sunday. The origin of “Fat Tuesday” is believed to have come from the ancient Pagan custom of parading a fat ox through the town streets. Such Pagan holidays were filled with excessive eating, drinking & general bawdiness prior to a period of fasting.

Since modern times Carnival Season is sandwiched between Christmas & Lent. Easter always falls on a Sunday, but it can be any Sunday from March 23 through April 25, its actual date being the Sunday which follows the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox. Mardi Gras is always 47 days prior to this allotted Sunday (the 40 days of Lent plus seven Sundays).

The beginning of the Carnival Season itself, however, is also fixed, being January 6, which is the Feast of the Epiphany, otherwise known as Little Christmas or Twelfth Night. Since the date of Mardi Gras varies, the length of the Carnival Season also varies from year-to-year. The origin of the word “Carnival” is from the Latin for “farewell to the flesh,” a time when one is expected to forego earthly pleasures prior to the restrictions of the Lenten Season, & is thought to be derived from the feasts of the Middle Ages known as carnis levamen or “solace of the flesh.”

In New Orleans in 1833, Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville, a wealthy plantation owner, solicited a large amount of money in order to help finance an organized Mardi Gras celebration. It was not until 1837, however, that the first Mardi Gras Parade was staged. Two years later, a description of the 1839 Parade noted that it consisted of a single float. Nonetheless, it was considered to be a great success & apparently, the crowd roared hilariously as this somewhat crude float moved through the streets of the city. Since that time, Mardi Gras in New Orleans has been an overwhelming success, continuing to grow with additional organizations participating each year.

The traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple (symbolic of royalty & justice), green (symbolic of fertility & faith) & gold (symbolic of grace & power). The accepted story behind the original selection of these colors originates from 1872 when the Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia visited New Orleans. It is said that the Grand Duke came to the city in pursuit of an actress named Lydia Thompson. During his stay, he was given the honor of selecting the official Mardi Gras colors by the Krewe of Rex.  These colors also become the colors of the House of Romanoff. (The vestments worn by Catholic bishops & priests on Ash Wednesday are purple & gold, so that may have influenced the choice?)

Today, Louisiana’s Mardi Gras is celebrated not only in New Orleans, but in most American cities on some level. Similar celebrations are also held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, arguably the world’s most elaborate Carnival location with its Samba Dromo parades, which annually attract a huge number of tourists from all corners of the globe. Regardless of where the festivals take place, however, all share a common party atmosphere inherently associated with the celebrations.

Mardi Gras is always followed by Ash Wednesday, it’s polar opposite in character. May your fasting be as glorious as your feasting

Xox~ Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

Anthroposophy speaks to every thinking human being, each individual with a feeling heart, all who would put good will into action. Every one of us, in our uniqueness, is destined to play a part in the transfiguration of the universe.

By committing to transforming ourselves we change society & are better able to put the riddles of existence into perspective. Anthroposophy is a Spiritual Science, & a path of initiation into the ‘New Mysteries’ appropriate to our modern era. We learn to be aware of our Higher Self in such a way that a feeling of responsibility fills us.

Let us experience this feeling pouring into our souls as the warm, glowing, spiritual life blood of a new culture. Let us recognize that in our time human beings need new moral, intellectual, & spiritual impulses. Let us feel how fresh concepts of duty & of love arise & take hold of our souls. The destiny of humanity requires our conviction. So let us put into practice this new spiritual revelation.

The insights given to us by Rudolf Steiner’s work, brings into focus the essential nature of the human being, & the evolution of consciousness in connection with spiritual guidance. Turbulent times are ahead of us. Much of the old is used up or worn out, & the new is wanting to be poured into humanity from the spiritual world.

Do you feel called to receive these inspirations – to take on the responsibility – to join with other kindred souls – to explore & walk together on the road to knowledge, which leads the spiritual part of the human being to the spirit of the universe?

Come join Hazel Archer Ginsberg – Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, and the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society. Founder of Reverse Ritual – Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year– Presenter, Poet, & Trans-denominational Minister.

 

What is Anthroposophy? & The Spiritual Guidance of the Individual and Humanity’

March 3-4, 2017
An Evening Discourse & Full Day Workshop

Friday Evening: What is Anthroposophy? A hands-on discourse.

What can the human being (anthropos) of today do to recognize our inherent wisdom (sophia) to access the source of spiritual knowledge, for our own inner development, and for the evolution of the earth and all of humanity?

What would it be like to support each other in community, as we strive to penetrate the mystery of our relationship with the spiritual world?

How does this ‘Spiritual Science’ built on the research of Rudolf Steiner, speak to the riddles of existence: our artistic needs, the truth of karma, the mystery of evil, life after death and so much more?

Saturday: An Experiential Three Part Workshop* ‘
‘The Spiritual Guidance of the Individual and Humanity: Some Results of Spiritual-Scientific Research into Human History and Development’ is a translation of Die geistige Führung des Menschen und der Menschheit: Geistes wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse ueber die Menschheits-Entwickelung published by Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach, Switzerland, 1974. This short book consists of three sections. Each section was originally a lecture (6, 7, and 8 June 1911) but was subsequently reworked by Steiner and cast into the form of an essay. Some of the topics treated in this book are: the nature of the brain, the development of speech, angelic beings, ancient language, Zarathustra, Buddha, and Christ. It is available without a fee online at Rudolf Steiner Archives.

Session #1 – 10 am – 12 noon:
• Introductions
• The divine wisdom working in the human being in the 1st three years of life.
• Through inner striving, we can contact again and consciously build on this wisdom which is connected to the Christ impulse.
• Activity- Biography work: Our 1st conscious memory – a preview of the “I”.

Noon – 1:30 pm – Lunch

Session #2 – 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm:
• The childlike condition of humanity in ancient times, directed by higher spiritual beings.
• A look into the evolution of these guiding spirits –progressive as well as regressive –
• Revealing the necessity of the ‘two kinds of evil’.
• The importance of Spiritual Science to avoid error.
• Activity – Labyrinth Walk

3:30 pm – 4 pm – Break

Session #3 – 4 pm – 6 pm:
• A survey of the Post-Atlantean age, our present epoch.
• The Christ connection with the progressive spiritual beings
• Modern science as the work of the regressive spiritual beings
• A peek into the future
• Activity – The Golden Legend & The Rose Cross Mediation: An artistic rendering

Come Explore this Modern Path of Initiation with: Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, and the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society. Founder of Reverse Ritual – Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year–Presenter, Poet, & Trans-denominational Minister.

*Workshops can be taken as a whole or individually, see registration options.
*Bring your own lunch on Saturday or choose the catered option.
Sign up now!  A minimum number of registrants are needed for this weekend workshop.

For more info click HERE

Location: Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, East Troy
Workshop Fee: $25 for each individual session or register for all 4 sessions for $80. Additional $15 fee for catered lunch (optional).
Price is $35 per session at door (day of class).

REGISTER ONLINE HERE