Category Archives: not sure what to say

Digesting the Journey

Jenny Hahn

‘‘ANTHROPOSOPHIA: OUR ALCHEMICAL SOUL JOURNEY – A UNION OF WISDOM & LOVE”.

The original idea for the Soul Journey 1st came thru as part of an Easter-Tide Retreat that the Central Regional Council co-created with the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP) based on the Psychology of Karma, since the CRC theme in 2020 was Karma & Reincarnation. The Journey was then called: Know Thyself: Sophia-Christos’ & was to be enacted on Holy Saturday 2020.

We were all set to bring in James A. Dyson, M.D. from Britain, along with folks from around the country: Roberta Nelson, Ph.D., & David Tresemer, Ph.D. with Susan Overhauser, Ph.D. & the CRC crew: Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton, Eurythmist: Mary Ruud & myself. Registration was in full swing when the lockdown was announced…And so the Easter weekend retreat had to be canceled.

The project lay in state until it became clear that it wanted to rise up with the Sophia – reworked to serve as the heart of the Sophia Rising Convergence.

This Soul Journey strongly engages the will – the most underdeveloped soul force for most people. We recognized going in that anything new can push people out of their comfort zones, & yet it was a clear calling from the spiritual world – a wake-up call – to help folks step up in this challenging time which calls for us to become more fully embodied in our free willing.

The Journey is meant to be a new way of engaging with Spiritual Science, a practical extension, going beyond simply hearing a lecture where we sit & receive the imparted wisdom of a presenter. That is the old conference mode, which of course is still embraced, & was very powerful indeed at the Convergence.

I realized that many folks didn’t really understand what Steiner means by the ‘New Mysteries’, this inspired me to give the Prelude before the Journey.

In the Journey as a New Mystery, we activate our will thru enthusiastic feeling, to create a living experiential striving as individuals within a sacred space of other striving souls, co-creating a Holy Grail – a thinking-heart vessel for Anthroposophia.

The Journey is meant to set the stage for our individual ongoing inner development; a modern initiation, to assist in an evolutionary birthing process, allowing the wisdom from within the free human being to emerge, to personally engage & empower the Anthroposophia within.

The Soul Journey went thru dozens of revisions, a true initiation for me in letting go, of refining, of creatively getting to the essence of soul & spirit, inventing new ways of using the Word. This really stretched me as an artist & as a human being, putting me to the test, asking me to be selfless in a very practical way, to reshape the vision so that it would truly serve the highest good. This was a hard lesson, but much needed for my personal growth. I grew up in an abusive family where I had to learn to stick up for myself. My mother was so selfless that she became a victim, dying young, & I vowed never to let that happen to me. But thru Anthroposophy I have come to know that being selfless doesn’t have to mean getting stept on, that in truth it is the ultimate embodiment of the Christ Impulse. And so I am truly grateful for the humbling resistance that karmicly came my way thru this process.

The New Mysteries when met with intention opens the way to a conscious quest, which I understand not everyone is ready, willing or able to take on – Yet it is a question at the core of Being Human – the quest living in the question of how to ‘Know Thy Self’.

Along with reverence, this is the 1st step of inner development, which is ongoing – preparing the seeking soul for an Alchemical Union of the Sophia-Christos within…

Before we can make this unification we must meet Trials of the Soul which reveal the obstacles on our path to wholeness. And so the Journey begins by passing thru 3 stages: 1st – The ‘Harrowing of Hell’, (It was Orthodox Holy Saturday after all) where we face the hindrances to our Thinking, Feeling & Willing…2nd – We stand before the Guardian of the Threshold to see ourselves for what we are…something most of us try to avoid…Then strengthened by the courage of Michael, we encounter ‘the tempter’ & ‘the deceiver’…Coming into balance, we enter the 3rd stage: ‘Paradiso’ – Where we redeem the New Isis-Sophia – we gather up the dismembered parts into a wholeness – to foster Anthroposophia within our soul, & to manifest SOPHIA RISING: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human, in the world…

To get there we are empowered to become our own Charon to ferry our souls across the river Achero to meet ourselves on the inside. Dante tells us: “Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.” He also lets on that: “The path to paradise begins in hell”.

And so on Orthodox Holy Saturday 2022 we made our descent; which led to our Resurrection…The various ArtActs prepared & paved the way; including getting grounded with The ‘Constitutional Eurythmy Exercise’ & the ‘Meditation for Protection’…etc.

The Journey then progressed in our striving to consciously cross the abyss. We encountered the Time Spirit Michael, Son of The Sophia, who holds for us the countenance of the Being of Love, & waits for us to redeem the Cosmic Intelligence through our earnest heart-thinking.

We go on to meet ‘the farmer’ in the spiritualizing of the Earth. The Christ as the Being of Love & the Sophia in her Cosmic, & human aspects are introduced – The joining of Warmth – to the Light of human Understanding…

Many questions are posed. We are continually asked to make our ‘Declaration of Intent’. We can contemplate: What gifts will we bring to the world? What intentions will we consecrate in the Temple of our Heart? What do we want to come forth from this conscious union of: Soul & Spirit – Wisdom & Love – Warmth & Light. The questing is always enhanced by the ArtActs of eurythmy, singing; & at the end with a recitation of ‘Destiny’ by Rudolf Steiner:

The wishes of the soul are springing
The deeds of the will are thriving

The fruits of life are ripening…
I feel my destiny – My destiny finds me
I feel my star – My star finds me
I feel my goals in life – My goals in life are finding me
Life grows more radiant about me
Life grows more challenging for me
Life grows more abundant within me.
My soul and the world are one great unity.

We conclude the Journey with the Easter Mood Calendar of the Soul Verse & the Halleluiah in Eurythmy.

If you want a copy of the ‘Script’ which has all the verses, songs, Steiner quotes & my research in a beautifully spiral bound edition with art work – Just email me. I can mail it to you for a donation of $20 or more – I have 15 left.

The initiation continues for me, every day & especially in night school now that the Journey has been inscribed into the ethers. I am wrestling with my own doubts & fears, & the sting of imagined scorn. Did the Journey truly serve? Or was it not able to be received? Did it come too soon, missing the mark – the definition of sin…?

What I strive for is to be a Christ imbued Human Being which will unveil the Anthroposophia with the courage of Michael to serve humanity.

Please share your experience – even if it is a criticism, Any & ALL feedback is important if we are to be Spiritual Scientific researchers in earnest.  The Journey did not end on Orthodox Holy Saturday, but must continue to unfold like the Mystery of Golgotha when the seed of a New Sun was planted into the ever evolving Earth & into the Temple of our Hearts…

More tomorrow

~hag

Wednesday May 4th 7 pm PDT on ZOOM for the Sacramento Faust Branch

From Necessity to Freedom – The Evolution of Human Consciousness

From the vaporous cleft of Mount Parnassus, and the birth place of Greek Philosophy, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the Holy Grail – From Prophesy to Warning, from Fate to Karma, From Destiny to Free Will.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

We appreciate your support of the ongoing work of The Faust Branch in making these offerings available. Admission for lectures: Faust Branch members $5, non-members $10. No one excluded for lack of funds. Admission fees may be made via PayPal

Join Zoom Meeting – Conversation 6:45 pm PDT, Presentation 7 pm PDT
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81856833235?pwd=Z29CQ1hVUWFEUjE1alkyb2RMSVIwZz09

Meeting ID: 818 5683 3235
Passcode: 576668

Behind the Scenes

Shelley Klammer

Greetings friends – You may have noticed that as of late I have been using this platform to share many quotes by the founder of Spiritual Science in our time Rudolf Steiner. I have 2 other writing deadlines & many pressing concerns dealing with troubling administrative duties, along with some chronic health issues that have been reactivated because of the stress. So I am grateful to have Dr. Steiner’s many teachings to speak for me during this time of trial…

~hag

BEHIND THE SCENES OF EXTERNAL HAPPENINGS by RUDOLF STEINER Zurich, 6 November, 1917

“…The only way to combat the influence of Ahrimanic Beings is to realise that against certain aims of Ahriman nothing avails except to see through him, to know that he is there. I have indicated this repeatedly in the Mystery Plays; think only of the end of the last Play. The Fifth Post-Atlantean epoch must evolve to the stage where many human beings address the Ahrimanic Powers and Beings as Faust addresses Mephistopheles: “In thy Nothingness I hope to find the All.” Men must be resolved to look into that realm where materialism sees the “Nothingness” and there see the spiritual world! Ahriman-Mephistopheles is then obliged to speak to such men as he speaks to Faust when sending him to the “Mothers”:

“I will not grudge my praise before thou goest, For well I see that thou the Devil knowest.”

The other day, I said, jokingly, in Dornach: “Mephistopheles would not have made such a remark to Woodrow Wilson! To Woodrow Wilson he would have said: ‘The little fellows never notice the Devil, even when he has them by the collar!’” Truly, it is of the greatest importance that men shall learn to see into the realities of the spiritual world. And, believe me, it is simply the fact, that when, on the one side, there is some special necessity, the opposing forces are also especially strong — and so, today, men put up strong resistance to these things, struggle against them.

I beg you here in Zurich, in your laudable and welcome efforts to bring Spiritual Science to certain still very hostile circles, to be under no illusions! Many disappointments — and at first, nothing but disappointments — await all efforts to direct things that must come to pass, into the right paths. This, of course, should never deter us. We must be so imbued with the impulse needed for the present age, that we do what has to be done without regard to results — whether they fall out one way or the other.

This attitude alone makes achievement possible — and then it is often reached by an entirely unexpected route. For the contents of Spiritual Science is a different matter from current forms of propaganda

And looking at the reasons why this impulse must be carried out into the world during the Fifth Post-Atlantean epoch, truly they are serious enough! Where necessity is greatest, remember, there the opposition is strongest. Men will have to learn to view all these things that come to pass here, on the physical plane, and in our time present a truly terrible aspect, in their connection with happenings behind the scenes. Only then do they become intelligible.

But the historians, the sociologists, the economists, the politicians of today, who derive their rules and laws exclusively from the physical plane well, as far as the actual necessities are concerned, they act like persons who begin some important task by stretching themselves on a chaise lounge and going to sleep, believing they can achieve it in the world of dream. The majority of those who belong to the several branches of science today, really do set to work like this; in their state of dream they let reality pass them by.

The realities underlying such deeply decisive events as we are witnessing nowadays, lie around modern men of science like the walls of a room into which they have been carried during sleep, have never seen and in which they go on sleeping. This is how materialistic science acquaints itself with the world. ~Rudolf Steiner

20 February 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: TRANSITS OF PLUTO’S RETURN IN AMERICA ~cosmicoccult.com – During this Pluto-Pluto transit on February 20, 2022 the planet of action and war, Mars, will also conjunct to America’s natal Pluto. Venus, the planet of finances, values, and justice will also be apart of this conjunction.

This is taking place under the corporate sign of Capricorn. With Mercury in opposition to Pluto, we begin to question more about the matters of truth in this country.

This transit will have all of us wanting change, seek justice, transform our country, and rethink our actions. It is rebuilding new structures and ways of living.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 

World Day of Social Justice is an international day recognizing the need to promote social justice, which includes efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion, gender equality, unemployment, human rights, and social protections.

1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile.

1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence.

1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.

1877 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party’s upcoming election campaign.

1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first known European woman to set foot in Antarctica.

1943 – American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.

Dear friends – How can we feed & sustain the future? This important initiative is organized by young woman, including my daughter Ultra-Violet Archer, who spent a year living together in Sweden learning about global realities and their own inner authentic path. One of the most meaningful parts of the year were the woman’s circles, which they created and hosted. Creating shared sacred space made them realize how much more there is to discover about the wisdom of womanhood. They were lucky enough to meet Disa, who teaches women to unlock the wisdom of their cycles and bodies.

Please help support their journey toward wholeness

Ultra-Violet Archer – Songwriter and Music Producer, exploring music as a tool for healing and storytelling. I am currently studying at Columbia College of Chicago, after spending a year with the International Youth Initiative Program in Sweden; and before that, two years at Oberlin College and Conservatory. Here https://linktr.ee/UltraVioletArcher you can find the links to my original releases and YouTube channel. I also sing and produce for the band Circle’s Edge. When I’m not making music, you can find me foraging for edible plants, reading fantasy novels, or hosting women’s circles! https://ultravioletarcher.bandcamp.com/track/when-my-wings-dry

The Anthroposophical Society in America presents Sophia Rising: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human – Santa Fe, New Mexico ~ April 21-24, 2022 Hotel Santa Fe Hacienda and Spa 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

***Early Bird Rate Until February 26 ~ Exclusively For Those Who Book With Hotel Santa Fe***


Join us in New Mexico, the ‘land of enchantment’, resonant with light ether and deep history, as we enliven Sophia. Join together in community as Sophia emerges and rises in her many facets and expressions- past, present, and future. 

You will be an active participant in this gathering that will engage storytelling and biography, art and color, eurythmy and movement, singing and speech, with offerings from speakers Carrie Schuchardt, Mary Stewart AdamsHazel Archer-GinsbergStephanie Georgieff, and more. 

Come and experience Sophia Rising as we honor the elements, the landscape, and each other. 


VENUE & TRAVEL 

Our gathering will take place at the lovely Native American-owned Hotel Santa Fe. We recommend you book your stay with the hotel to create a connected communal atmosphere for our gathering. The hotel has a full restaurant, pool, hot tub, and spa, as well as kivas and cozy sitting areas. Please call or email to make reservations with our special room rate for suites at $179/night. Each suite includes a refrigerator, microwave and sitting area. So much of what Santa Fe has to offer is within walking distance from the hotel. 

HOW TO BOOK: Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call reservations at  877-259-3409 

**Ask for ASA Gathering to book with our special rate of $179/night for a suite. **

Registrants will receive suggested activities from our local organizers to explore in Santa Fe before or after our gathering. Extending your stay? The special ASA hotel rate is available for 3 days prior to and 3 days after the ASA gathering. 

AIR TRAVEL: Fly to Albuquerque or Santa Fe (note that flights are more limited and subject to the weather as Santa Fe is a small airport.)

There is a shuttle from Albuquerque to Santa Fe or car rentals available. Uber or Lyft is available if you fly into Santa Fe.

HOTEL and VENUE ADDRESS:
1501 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: (877) 259-3409 


TICKETS
The ticket price includes access to all conference activities, snacks, coffee/tea and beverages, dessert reception Thursday, dinner Friday, lunch Saturday and brunch on Sunday.

No refunds after March 21, 2022

EARLY BIRD with ROOM BOOKING (until 2/26): $295*

STANDARD TICKET (After 2/26): $350

SUPPORTER TICKET: $425 

*Must book at Hotel Santa Fe to receive this special early bird rate! Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call 877-259-3409 to book. Please specify your reservation is for the ASA Gathering. 

EXHIBITORS: If you are interested in being an exhibitor please fill out this form. 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Limited assistance is available, please fill out this form. 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

Early Bird Only with Room Booking – After 2/26 more tickets will be released!


SCHEDULE  
(subject to minor changes) 

THURSDAY, April 21

7 pm               Gathering Together  – with a dessert reception 

7:30- 8:30 pm  ArtActs: Past – Present – Future Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech
 

FRIDAY, April 22

                        Explore Santa Fe on your own and continued arrivals 

1:00 – 2:30 pm   Welcome: Spirit of Place with organizers 

                          WEAVING EARTH Opening Ceremony with Angela Foster and friends

2:30pm-3:00pm  Break 

3:00-4:30 pm     Encountering the Celestial Goddess Anthroposophia with Mary Stewart Adams 4:30-4:45 pm     Break

4:45- 6:00 pm    WEAVING AIR ArtActs  Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech 

6:00-7:30 pm     Dinner Together*

8:00 pm             Fireside Chats – Story and Sharing Breakout circles lead by friends and organizers 

8:30 pm             Stargazing with Mary Stewart Adams 
 

 SATURDAY, April 23

                         Breakfast – On your own

8:30 – 9:30 am    WEAVING ETHER Eurythmy

9:30 – 10:00 am  Break  

10:00-11:15am   Presentation with Stephanie Georgieff 

11:30 – 12:30pm WEAVING STORIES Biography Work

12:30 – 2pm        Lunch Together*

2:00 – 3:30pm    Anthroposophia: Our Alchemical Wedding  with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg and Friends – At the heart of the gathering is a Grand Experiential Soul Journey to ‘Know    Thyself’’ – a movable feast, with various stations engaging us in group eurythmy, singing, speaking verses, color gestures in art, and a telling of the New Isis Myth with Hazel Archer- Ginsberg. This experience is built up and worked on during all the WEAVING sessions. 

3:30 – 4 pm        Break

4:00 – 5:00 pm   WEAVING COLOR Invoking Natura: Sensing the Cosmic  within the Earthly Pastels with Helen-Ann Ireland

5:00 – 5:30 pm   WEAVING STORIES Biography Conversation

5:30pm              Dinner – On your own

7:30-9:30pm      WEAVING COMUNITY Sophia Rising- Past, Present, and Future. Bring something to share! Poetry, Instruments, Story 
 

SUNDAY, April 24

8:00 – 9:00 am      WEAVING LIGHT Bathe in the Natural Warmth and Harmony of the Metal Gold with Helena Hurrell – A metal color light therapy experience inspired by the glass windows at the Goetheanum 

9:00-10:30 am      WEAVING FIRE with Carrie Schuchardt 

10:30 – 12:00pm  Brunch Together*

12:00-1:00 pm    WEAVING WATER Water Ritual with Joyce Reilly and Friends
                          WEAVING WHOLENESS Closing with Angela Foster and Friends 

Notes:

*Meals marked with an asterisk are included in the price of the ticket 

Coffee, tea, and snacks will also be provided through the conference 

A quiet room will be provided for contemplation 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

See you Santa Fe! 


PRESENTERS AND GUIDES (Not a full list-more to come!) 

Eyahnna DalBo (artist of the Sophia Rising painting) came to anthroposophy 30 years ago when her daughter attended a Waldorf school. Her studies have included an undergraduate degree in fine art and graduate work in psychology using the arts for healing.  In her private practice, she developed various energetic modalities. Her experience with subtle energy fields gave her the opportunity to teach and take part in designing a curriculum for a 2-year program focusing on energy healing. As a consultant, she initiated numerous therapeutic programs to assist in pioneering the field of art therapy. Through the gift of an apprenticeship with indigenous people she was able to bring their practices and ceremonies to what she offered deepening her ability to be of service.  As an artist, she continues to utilize the spoken word, movement, sound, and visual imagery to honor and create a field that fosters awareness, growth, and transformation.

Mary Stewart Adams is a Star Lore Historian, and host of the weekly public radio program and podcast “The Storyteller’s Night Sky”.  Through her research in spiritual science and her education in literary arts, Mary has developed a unique, humanities-based approach to understanding our relationship with the stars.  Her work is further augmented by an extensive knowledge of ancient mythologies and fairy tales, which she relates to the research and ideas of contemporary astronomy in order to understand the new star wisdom of astrosophy.

Carrie Schuchardt co-founded The House of Peace in 1990, a home that is a physical and spiritual refuge for victims of war in a community with adults with special needs. In the last 15 years over 400 refugees from approximately 30 countries have been received in the healing embrace of The House of Peace, giving supportive assistance in establishing themselves in the US. In addition to the daily work of The House Peace, Carrie participates in many activities for the conversion of consciousness and policies from war to peace. Carrie has begun a network of women who witness publicly, Women Weeping, where women dress in mourning carrying symbolic lifeless children in order to help people feel what is rarely expressed in the media: the grief of hundreds of thousands of mothers in war zones around the world who lose their children to the terrible violence of war.

Stephanie Georgieff After nearly thirty years as a practicing Naturopath and Acupuncturist, Stephanie Georgieff has chosen to transform her healing vocation into writing and lecturing on various aspects of Christian Spirituality and its relationship to emotional and physical health. She has lectured throughout Europe and North America on various subjects, but her passion is on the Middle Ages and the Divine Feminine. Georgieff hosts a podcast “The Black Madonna Speaks,” writes for numerous publications, and has her own Blog: The Heart of the Black Madonna. The Black Madonna, Mysterious Soul Companion is the first in a series of books examining how the Black Madonna as an art form offers healing insights to our collective past and present. These volumes also explore the invitation humanity has from the spiritual world to co-create a healthy and peaceful future.

Helena Hurrell is an art and metal color Light therapist trained in the UK/Germany and certified by the Medial Section at the Goetheanum 

Angela Foster has been an active student of anthroposophy since 2008. After growing up in Texas, Angela is now embracing life in Atlanta, Georgia as an artist, teacher, and mom of two daughters, shepherd to two mini sheep. As a conscious practitioner of “beginner’s mind”, Angela has completed programs in foundation studies in Anthroposophy numerous times and is currently enrolled in Foundation Studies in Goethean Science through the Nature Institute. She and her husband manage the Anthroposophical Resource Center (ARC) an initiative in Decatur, Georgia that offers space for community events and serves as a little house for Anthroposophia.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast.

Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

Helen-Ann Ireland has been involved in anthroposophical studies for over 30 years as a Waldorf teacher, member of the School for Spiritual Science, Class holder, and now as chair of the Anthroposophical Society of America. A special interest has been in the area of the Divine Feminine and the Being of Sophia.

Michele Mariscal has 30 years of experience in the health and wellness field. She is a skilled facilitator in soft skills, speaker, coach and author. She is an Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist as well as a Trainer and Coach with the Institute of HeartMath. She facilitates greater heart-based living for individuals and organizations Michele is also a five-time author with her most recent publication of Growing Through Grief – The Alchemy of Healing from Loss. 

Joyce Reilly Joyce studied psychology in college and was fascinated by the idea of a therapeutic community. She has worked in Camphill for many years, and is trained as a Waldorf and Therapeutic teacher.  She founded Gheel House, a therapeutic community near Kimberton Pennsylvania, still thriving after 37 years. Joyce’s interests expanded to international conflict work and refugee resettlement. She works with organizations such as the Janusz Korczak Association, Karuna Peacebuilders, Kiwimbi International, Good Grief, the Worldwide Storytelling and Puppetry Association, and especially with the New York Anthroposophical Branch, and also works part-time at the local public library. Joyce is also trained in Psychosynthesis therapy and Anthroposophical psychology – currently practicing as a life coach and counselor.

For questions or inquiries please email programs@anthroposophy.org or call the office at 734-662-9355 

what’s your angle?

Tree Angle Sketches – Jaar Portfolio

Fanaticism is the worst thing in the world, particularly in education, — a fanaticism which makes a man press on in one direction and push ahead regardless of anything but his one aim, reduced to precise slogans. But if one looks at the world, without prejudice one will concede: views and opinions are but views and opinions. If I have a tree here and photograph it, I have one view of it; the view from here has a definite form; but the view is different from here, and again different from over there; so that you might think it was not the same tree if you only had the pictures to go by. In the same way there are points of view in the world, there are outlooks. Each one only regards one aspect of things. If you know that things must be looked upon from the most manifold standpoints you avoid fanaticism and dwell in many-sidedness, in a universality“. ~Rudolf Steiner – GA 305 – Spiritual Ground of Education: Lecture IX: The Teachers of the Waldorf School – 25th August, 1922 

17 February 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Under Orion’s feet, and to the right of Sirius now, hides Lepus the Hare. Like Canis Major, this is a constellation with a connect-the-dots that really looks like what it’s supposed to be. He’s a crouching bunny, with his nose pointing lower right, his faint ears extending up toward Rigel (Orion’s brighter foot), and his body bunched to the left. His brightest two stars, Alpha and Beta Leporis, form the back and front of his neck. ~skyandtelescope.org

Angelus Silesius

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Image result for Giordano Bruno

1600 – Giordano Bruno, burnt at the stake. “Giordano Bruno, under the impact of the new Copernican conception of nature, could grasp the spirit in the world, from which it had been expelled in its old form, only as a world soul. When one immerses oneself in Bruno’s writings (especially in his profound book, Of the Cause, the Principle, and the One) one has the impression that he thought of things as being animated, although in different degrees. He has not in reality experienced the spirit within himself; therefore he imagines it in terms of the human soul, in which form alone it has confronted him. When he speaks of the spirit he understands it in this way. “The universal reason is the innermost, most real, and most characteristic faculty, and is a potential part of the world soul; it is something everywhere identical, which fills the All, illuminates the universe, and instructs nature in bringing forth its species as they should be.” It is true that in these sentences the spirit is not described as a “gaseous vertebrate,” but as a being like the human soul. “A thing however small and minute, has within itself a portion of spiritual substance which, if it finds the substratum to be suitable, strives to become a plant or an animal, and organizes itself into a body of some kind, which is generally called animated. For spirit is to be found in all things, and there is not the most minute body which does not contain such a portion of it that it animates itself.” What coincidence superimposed upon a particular turn, was formed into a judgment about the highest truths. And in his many wanderings about Europe, Giordano Bruno appeared at various universities as a teacher of this Great Art. He had the boldness to think of the stars as worlds that are completely analogous to our earth; he enlarged the vision of scientific thinking beyond the earth; he no longer thought of the heavenly bodies as corporeal spirits, but he still thought of them as spirits of the soul. One must not do an injustice to this man whom the Catholic church made to atone for his advanced ideas with death. It was an enormous achievement to enfold the whole heavens in the same conception of the world that up to that time had been applied only to the things of the earth, even though Bruno still thought of the sensory as of something belonging to the soul”. ~Rudolf Steiner, Eleven European Mystics, Giordano Bruno and Angelus Silesius.

1601 – Birthday of Frederick Eckstein an Austrian polymath, theosophist. He is ‘the stranger, the friend’ named in “The Discomfort with Culture” who taught Freud about yoga. Emil Molt states: ‘He was the benefactor of Bruckner and Hugo Wolf, indeed the right arm of Bruckner, taking care that affairs went smoothly. He was a world traveller, had mastered Ju-jitsu and taught himself all sorts of difficult tricks. The story went around that he had trained himself to jump off a fast moving train without getting hurt. He too, was a highly gifted mathematician and a learned man in many respects.’

Also the husband of fellow theosophist & writer Bertha Diener, Eckstein’s penchant for occultism first became evident as a member of a vegetarian group which discussed the doctrines of Pythagoras & the Neo-Platonists in Vienna at the end of the 1870s. His esoteric interests later extended to German & Spanish mysticism, the legends surrounding the Templars & the freemasons, Wagnerian mythology & oriental religions. In 1889, in the week after the tragedy at Mayerling, in which Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, & his mistress were found dead in mysterious circumstances, he & his friend, the composer Anton Bruckner (for whom he also served as private secretary) traveled to the monastery of Stift Heiligenkreuz to ask the abbot there for details of what happened.

Eckstein was born on February 17, 1861 in Perchtoldsdorf as one of ten children of Albert Eckstein & Amalie Wehle . The father was a chemist and inventor as well as the owner of a parchment factory . The Jewish family belonged to the upper middle class.

He had early contacts with life reform circles (vegetarianism ). Friedrich Eckstein was married to Bertha Helene Diener (1874-1948) since 1898 . They ran a salon in the St.-Genois-Schlößl in Baden near Vienna, in which Peter Altenberg, Arthur Schnitzler, Karl Kraus & Adolf Loos , ie “all of Vienna”, frequented. Schnitzler used the Ecksteinvilla in Baden & Percy Eckstein, born in 1899, as models for his drama Das weite Land. In 1904 he was left by Bertha, who after their divorce in 1909 under the pseudonym Sir Galahad made a name for herself as a journalist & writer.

At literary get-togethers (e.g. in the Café Imperial, second hall, left) Eckstein met Karl Kraus, Arthur Schnitzler, Felix Salten, Hugo Wolf, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Franz Werfel, Rainer Maria Rilke, Robert Musil, Adolf Loos, Leon Trotsky & Anton Bruckner, whose student he was initially & later private secretary.

He was initiated into theosophy by Franz Hartmann & in June 1886 received a deed of foundation for the Viennese lodge of theosophy, personally signed by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky . In 1887 he founded the first official lodge of the Theosophical Society in Austria with himself as president. He had a deep  friendship with Gustav Meyrink, the young Rudolf Steiner & Henry Steel Olcott.~anthrowiki

Rudolf Steiner writes about Eckstein: “Of the personalities who came up to me with such a demand with regard to spiritual knowledge, I will name one who moved within the Vienna circle of Frau Lang, whom I have identified, but who I also in other circles in which I frequented Vienna, met. It is Friedrich Eckstein, the excellent expert on that “ancient knowledge”. Friedrich Eckstein did not write much as long as I was with him. But what he wrote was full of spirit. But nobody suspects the intimate connoisseur of ancient spiritual knowledge from his remarks. It works in the background of his intellectual work. ~ Rudolf Steiner: My Course of Life, GA 28, pg. 284)

Eckstein’s sister Emma went down in psychoanalysis history as Irma. She had a catastrophic nose operation by Freud’s friend Wilhelm Fliess. Another sister of his, Therese Schlesinger, was a well-known politician & women’s rights activist.

“In Vienna, where literature, art, music, philosophy and business had their home in coffee houses, it was only natural that Mac Eck, wisdom in person, should also be enthroned at a café table. He sat in a corner of the Café Imperial from morning until midnight. He had a goatee and a Mongolian cutout. His age was not known even to his closest friends…Julius, the old head waiter, said he had found Mac Eck in the same corner of the café when he began his career as Piccolo. Even among the most famous Viennese celebrities there was no one who would not have liked to come to Mac Eck’s regulars’ table. Hugo Wolf, J. Strauss, E. Blavatsky and A. Besant, Ferdinand Bruckner, Sigmund Freud, Adler and Trotsky – they all consulted with him. If Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Werfel and Rilke were in doubt about a poem, so they made a pilgrimage to Mac Eck. Architects submitted their blueprints to him, mathematicians their equations, physicists their formulas, and composers their scores for assessment. Lawyers and psychoanalysts discussed their cases with him. Actors asked him about their roles and historians about their theories of history. Even the imperial court master of ceremonies appeared one day to consult Mac Eck on a contentious issue of Spanish court etiquette. Mac Eck was familiar with all areas. If someone wanted to know the main rivers and tributaries in Paraguay, information about Neuthomism, the first romantic poem or the earliest mention of the toothbrush, he turned to Mac Eck. The mocking Karl Kraus, who had set up his seat at the next table in the Imperial, was the only one who dared to make fun of Mac Eck’s omniscience. ‘I had a nightmare last night,’ he once said. ‘A volume of Brockhaus came down from the shelf to look up something in Mac Eck.’ Mac Eck, who was well versed in all intellectual matters, naturally also knew about all practical questions. He could tell art dealers which enthusiast would be interested in a particular painting from the early Renaissance; at first glance he saw the difference in the weave of Brno and English fabrics, he could tell booksellers the value of first editions and he knew who would finance what in Europe.” ~René Fülöp Miller, “The fool in tails”

Dear friends – How can we feed & sustain the future? This important initiative is organized by young woman, including my daughter Ultra-Violet Archer, who spent a year living together in Sweden learning about global realities and their own inner authentic path. One of the most meaningful parts of the year were the woman’s circles, which they created and hosted. Creating shared sacred space made them realize how much more there is to discover about the wisdom of womanhood. They were lucky enough to meet Disa, who teaches women to unlock the wisdom of their cycles and bodies.

Please help support their journey toward wholeness

Ultra-Violet Archer – Songwriter and Music Producer, exploring music as a tool for healing and storytelling. I am currently studying at Columbia College of Chicago, after spending a year with the International Youth Initiative Program in Sweden; and before that, two years at Oberlin College and Conservatory. Here https://linktr.ee/UltraVioletArcher you can find the links to my original releases and YouTube channel. I also sing and produce for the band Circle’s Edge. When I’m not making music, you can find me foraging for edible plants, reading fantasy novels, or hosting women’s circles! 

The Anthroposophical Society in America presents Sophia Rising: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human – Santa Fe, New Mexico ~ April 21-24, 2022 Hotel Santa Fe Hacienda and Spa 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

***Early Bird Rate Until February 26 ~ Exclusively For Those Who Book With Hotel Santa Fe***


Join us in New Mexico, the ‘land of enchantment’, resonant with light ether and deep history, as we enliven Sophia. Join together in community as Sophia emerges and rises in her many facets and expressions- past, present, and future. 

You will be an active participant in this gathering that will engage storytelling and biography, art and color, eurythmy and movement, singing and speech, with offerings from speakers Carrie Schuchardt, Mary Stewart AdamsHazel Archer-GinsbergStephanie Georgieff, and more. 

Come and experience Sophia Rising as we honor the elements, the landscape, and each other. 


VENUE & TRAVEL 

Our gathering will take place at the lovely Native American-owned Hotel Santa Fe. We recommend you book your stay with the hotel to create a connected communal atmosphere for our gathering. The hotel has a full restaurant, pool, hot tub, and spa, as well as kivas and cozy sitting areas. Please call or email to make reservations with our special room rate for suites at $179/night. Each suite includes a refrigerator, microwave and sitting area. So much of what Santa Fe has to offer is within walking distance from the hotel. 

HOW TO BOOK: Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call reservations at  877-259-3409 

**Ask for ASA Gathering to book with our special rate of $179/night for a suite. **

Registrants will receive suggested activities from our local organizers to explore in Santa Fe before or after our gathering. Extending your stay? The special ASA hotel rate is available for 3 days prior to and 3 days after the ASA gathering. 

AIR TRAVEL: Fly to Albuquerque or Santa Fe (note that flights are more limited and subject to the weather as Santa Fe is a small airport.)

There is a shuttle from Albuquerque to Santa Fe or car rentals available. Uber or Lyft is available if you fly into Santa Fe.

HOTEL and VENUE ADDRESS:
1501 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: (877) 259-3409 


TICKETS
The ticket price includes access to all conference activities, snacks, coffee/tea and beverages, dessert reception Thursday, dinner Friday, lunch Saturday and brunch on Sunday.

No refunds after March 21, 2022

EARLY BIRD with ROOM BOOKING (until 2/26): $295*

STANDARD TICKET (After 2/26): $350

SUPPORTER TICKET: $425 

*Must book at Hotel Santa Fe to receive this special early bird rate! Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call 877-259-3409 to book. Please specify your reservation is for the ASA Gathering. 

EXHIBITORS: If you are interested in being an exhibitor please fill out this form. 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Limited assistance is available, please fill out this form. 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

Early Bird Only with Room Booking – After 2/26 more tickets will be released!


SCHEDULE  
(subject to minor changes) 

THURSDAY, April 21

7 pm               Gathering Together  – with a dessert reception 

7:30- 8:30 pm  ArtActs: Past – Present – Future Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech
 

FRIDAY, April 22

                        Explore Santa Fe on your own and continued arrivals 

1:00 – 2:30 pm   Welcome: Spirit of Place with organizers 

                          WEAVING EARTH Opening Ceremony with Angela Foster and friends

2:30pm-3:00pm  Break 

3:00-4:30 pm     Encountering the Celestial Goddess Anthroposophia with Mary Stewart Adams 4:30-4:45 pm     Break

4:45- 6:00 pm    WEAVING AIR ArtActs  Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech 

6:00-7:30 pm     Dinner Together*

8:00 pm             Fireside Chats – Story and Sharing Breakout circles lead by friends and organizers 

8:30 pm             Stargazing with Mary Stewart Adams 
 

 SATURDAY, April 23

                         Breakfast – On your own

8:30 – 9:30 am    WEAVING ETHER Eurythmy

9:30 – 10:00 am  Break  

10:00-11:15am   Presentation with Stephanie Georgieff 

11:30 – 12:30pm WEAVING STORIES Biography Work

12:30 – 2pm        Lunch Together*

2:00 – 3:30pm    Anthroposophia: Our Alchemical Wedding  with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg and Friends – At the heart of the gathering is a Grand Experiential Soul Journey to ‘Know    Thyself’’ – a movable feast, with various stations engaging us in group eurythmy, singing, speaking verses, color gestures in art, and a telling of the New Isis Myth with Hazel Archer- Ginsberg. This experience is built up and worked on during all the WEAVING sessions. 

3:30 – 4 pm        Break

4:00 – 5:00 pm   WEAVING COLOR Invoking Natura: Sensing the Cosmic  within the Earthly Pastels with Helen-Ann Ireland

5:00 – 5:30 pm   WEAVING STORIES Biography Conversation

5:30pm              Dinner – On your own

7:30-9:30pm      WEAVING COMUNITY Sophia Rising- Past, Present, and Future. Bring something to share! Poetry, Instruments, Story 
 

SUNDAY, April 24

8:00 – 9:00 am      WEAVING LIGHT Bathe in the Natural Warmth and Harmony of the Metal Gold with Helena Hurrell – A metal color light therapy experience inspired by the glass windows at the Goetheanum 

9:00-10:30 am      WEAVING FIRE with Carrie Schuchardt 

10:30 – 12:00pm  Brunch Together*

12:00-1:00 pm    WEAVING WATER Water Ritual with Joyce Reilly and Friends
                          WEAVING WHOLENESS Closing with Angela Foster and Friends 

Notes:

*Meals marked with an asterisk are included in the price of the ticket 

Coffee, tea, and snacks will also be provided through the conference 

A quiet room will be provided for contemplation 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

See you Santa Fe! 


PRESENTERS AND GUIDES (Not a full list-more to come!) 

Eyahnna DalBo (artist of the Sophia Rising painting) came to anthroposophy 30 years ago when her daughter attended a Waldorf school. Her studies have included an undergraduate degree in fine art and graduate work in psychology using the arts for healing.  In her private practice, she developed various energetic modalities. Her experience with subtle energy fields gave her the opportunity to teach and take part in designing a curriculum for a 2-year program focusing on energy healing. As a consultant, she initiated numerous therapeutic programs to assist in pioneering the field of art therapy. Through the gift of an apprenticeship with indigenous people she was able to bring their practices and ceremonies to what she offered deepening her ability to be of service.  As an artist, she continues to utilize the spoken word, movement, sound, and visual imagery to honor and create a field that fosters awareness, growth, and transformation.

Mary Stewart Adams is a Star Lore Historian, and host of the weekly public radio program and podcast “The Storyteller’s Night Sky”.  Through her research in spiritual science and her education in literary arts, Mary has developed a unique, humanities-based approach to understanding our relationship with the stars.  Her work is further augmented by an extensive knowledge of ancient mythologies and fairy tales, which she relates to the research and ideas of contemporary astronomy in order to understand the new star wisdom of astrosophy.

Carrie Schuchardt co-founded The House of Peace in 1990, a home that is a physical and spiritual refuge for victims of war in a community with adults with special needs. In the last 15 years over 400 refugees from approximately 30 countries have been received in the healing embrace of The House of Peace, giving supportive assistance in establishing themselves in the US. In addition to the daily work of The House Peace, Carrie participates in many activities for the conversion of consciousness and policies from war to peace. Carrie has begun a network of women who witness publicly, Women Weeping, where women dress in mourning carrying symbolic lifeless children in order to help people feel what is rarely expressed in the media: the grief of hundreds of thousands of mothers in war zones around the world who lose their children to the terrible violence of war.

Stephanie Georgieff After nearly thirty years as a practicing Naturopath and Acupuncturist, Stephanie Georgieff has chosen to transform her healing vocation into writing and lecturing on various aspects of Christian Spirituality and its relationship to emotional and physical health. She has lectured throughout Europe and North America on various subjects, but her passion is on the Middle Ages and the Divine Feminine. Georgieff hosts a podcast “The Black Madonna Speaks,” writes for numerous publications, and has her own Blog: The Heart of the Black Madonna. The Black Madonna, Mysterious Soul Companion is the first in a series of books examining how the Black Madonna as an art form offers healing insights to our collective past and present. These volumes also explore the invitation humanity has from the spiritual world to co-create a healthy and peaceful future.

Helena Hurrell is an art and metal color Light therapist trained in the UK/Germany and certified by the Medial Section at the Goetheanum 

Angela Foster has been an active student of anthroposophy since 2008. After growing up in Texas, Angela is now embracing life in Atlanta, Georgia as an artist, teacher, and mom of two daughters, shepherd to two mini sheep. As a conscious practitioner of “beginner’s mind”, Angela has completed programs in foundation studies in Anthroposophy numerous times and is currently enrolled in Foundation Studies in Goethean Science through the Nature Institute. She and her husband manage the Anthroposophical Resource Center (ARC) an initiative in Decatur, Georgia that offers space for community events and serves as a little house for Anthroposophia.

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast.

Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings

Helen-Ann Ireland has been involved in anthroposophical studies for over 30 years as a Waldorf teacher, member of the School for Spiritual Science, Class holder, and now as chair of the Anthroposophical Society of America. A special interest has been in the area of the Divine Feminine and the Being of Sophia.

Michele Mariscal has 30 years of experience in the health and wellness field. She is a skilled facilitator in soft skills, speaker, coach and author. She is an Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist as well as a Trainer and Coach with the Institute of HeartMath. She facilitates greater heart-based living for individuals and organizations Michele is also a five-time author with her most recent publication of Growing Through Grief – The Alchemy of Healing from Loss. 

Joyce Reilly Joyce studied psychology in college and was fascinated by the idea of a therapeutic community. She has worked in Camphill for many years, and is trained as a Waldorf and Therapeutic teacher.  She founded Gheel House, a therapeutic community near Kimberton Pennsylvania, still thriving after 37 years. Joyce’s interests expanded to international conflict work and refugee resettlement. She works with organizations such as the Janusz Korczak Association, Karuna Peacebuilders, Kiwimbi International, Good Grief, the Worldwide Storytelling and Puppetry Association, and especially with the New York Anthroposophical Branch, and also works part-time at the local public library. Joyce is also trained in Psychosynthesis therapy and Anthroposophical psychology – currently practicing as a life coach and counselor.

For questions or inquiries please email programs@anthroposophy.org or call the office at 734-662-9355 

It’s in the Air

Well dear friends it appears that the Epic of Gilgamesh is living, not just in our Anthroposophical community at large, but is also resonating in the greater etheric realm of humanity. Check out this report that came out today 3 January 2022 on the radio show ‘Hear and Now’ ‘Alaska student finds inspiration in an ancient text’

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/01/03/rap-gilgamesh-epic-poem

Rebecca Yanovskaya

v33

Benten Asensir

Dear friends – I have been in a state of dis-ease as of late…Interesting that instead of reading ‘Fall of the Spirits of Darkness’ which I was routing for, our Wednesday Study Group has decided, (from Rosemary McMullen’s recommendation) to take up Steiner’s lectures on Pastoral Medicine (found these days under the title ‘Broken Vessels’) So yes, perhaps there’s hope for me yet, a chance for a rescue from those adversarial demons I am always wrestling with.

So now, today I have been thinking about how Illness always seems to appear at the intersection where the astral meets the physical. We are healthy when the etheric & physical fully express the spirit at work within us. If the spirit is interfering too much – or too little – we take on a dis-ease…

Underlying the ailment is the way our various levels of being interact, & these are most certainly affected by the many societal influences. Our current historic, karma-induced situation becomes our individual challenge. And it’s an open mystery why one person gets sick while another doesn’t, even though their living conditions are the same.

The relationship between individual illness & the destiny of humanity is addressed by Rudolf Steiner in his lecture to physicians of 18 April 1921. (Illness and Therapy: Spiritual-Scientific Aspects of Healing: Nine Lectures Given to Physicians and Medical Students in Dornach Between 11 and 18 April 1921) There he also describes a future situation, arising from materialism, where the cosmic forces will no longer automatically be available to the physical human form. A variety of epidemics & deformities appear as a consequence.

Yet, & here’s where the hope comes in, Rudolf Steiner points to the objective forces of imagination, inspiration & intuition as practiced in the 6 Basic Exercises, The 8-Fold Path, & eurythmy therapy for instance, which has a way of balancing out this deforming quality seeking to overtake our formative forces.

Steiner also calls attention to the freedom we each have when it comes to developing our individual well-being…

Carol Meel

RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler
ALL HALLOWTIDE III
World Nemesis? Or Resurrection…
v33
(the Ahrimanic deception)
And so I come to feel the world,
which left without my soul’s communion
would be just frosty, empty life
and powerless to resurrect in souls,
wherein it could arise anew in self-creation,
would in itself alone find only death.

This is one of the 4 transition verses in the Soul Calendar’s square quartet.
Each one is a challenge, facing us with a new step we must take as we transition
into a new season.


This is a quote from Eloise Krivosheia in anthroposophyla.org. (with inspiration from her sister in the spiritual world).
‘The creation of the world by the gods is complete.
Future world creation/transformation requires the conscious participation
of human beings. We want to undersdtand how human soul destiny is united
with the destiny of the world. Christ gave us the power to build ourselves
and in this we can save Earth from death. We can build what we have taken in
in the summer, but without our consciousness and our soul forces creating new
self substance (as in verse 32) Earth is bereft, unable to rebuild/transform itself.
In line 5 we intuit how Earth will feel life anew in human souls who creating self
anew are what will bring resurrection for Earth itself. Without such human work
on the self, death can only result.’