an illustration by Hermann Linde & Rudolf Steiner for Goethe’s ‘The Mysteries’
I ran across this teaching by Dr. Steiner the other day from his Esoteric Lessons I, GA 266, # 11, München, 11-6-1906, & thought to share it here.
A=past U=present M=future
“Occult training leads the human being to freedom. The initiate becomes the master of various beings who continually go in and out of their four bodies, by becoming their companion. These beings are: phantoms in the physical body, ghosts in the etheric body, demons in the astral body, and spirits in the ego.
Agrippa
To learn to rule them one must form a firm framework in the etheric body, just as there’s a skeleton in the physical body. This framework for the etheric body is a pentagram with thinking in the head point, feeling in the arms and willing in the legs.
One must also form a framework for the astral body, namely a hexagram with the head and heart points, two ears and two arms.
To arrive at this one must apply the following four principles:
Learn to be Silent and you’ll get Power; Give up Power and you’ll get Will; Give up Will and you’ll get Feeling; Give up Feeling and you’ll get Knowledge.
These are four stages to which the human being can ascend.
Every suppression gives a certain power.
Sarah Simonetti
If one knows the spirits and beings who continuously rule and enslave them, they no longer need to be their slave.
The first thing that a pupil must learn and do is pay attention to themselves.”
~Rudolf Steiner
Then I imagine, the further stages bring us to Wisdom & Love…
Estelle Winder
And so it is that today – again – I must start at the beginning – & learn to be silent.
see you there
~hag
8 October 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Mercury (Occult Venus) reached ‘Greatest Western Elongation’ this morning.
Draconid meteor shower chart for 2022. Image via Guy Ottewell
The Draconid meteor shower, also sometimes known as the Giacobinids, grace the skies in the month of October they peak on the night between Oct 8–9
The Draconids owe their name to the constellation Draco the Dragon, and are created when the Earth passes through the dust debris left by comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The comet takes about 6.6 years to make a single revolution around the Sun.
Although the Draconids have been responsible for some of the most spectacular meteor showers in recorded history, tonight being the EVE of The Full Hunters Moon, we will not see much.
~We are beastly Forms made beautiful in the growing moonlight Beheld by the Goddess – Healed by Her many eyes – Held up By the air streaming from Her full lips – Together We are twilight & dawn – I am the left eye – She is the right… Beneath the old man’s eyebrows we make a fine sight… ~hag
Looking to watch a Spiritual Scientific Presentation on Video? click here
Perhaps you are more inclined to Listen to the ‘I Think Speech’ podcast? click here
At Live Power Farm in Covelo CA. the nights are chilly, with swirling mists covering the valley in a thick dewy blanket of Atlantean-like vapors. We came together on the 1st day of the BDANC Michaelmas Conference at dawn, for the traditional ceremony of ‘Honoring the Cow’. When I first heard this term I thought O we’ll be singing & perhaps put a flower crown or some such on the cow. But this ceremony is more practical, essential, & down to earth – It’s about life & death. The Autumn-Tide is harvest time after all, when the plant & animal kingdoms yield to the reaping – returning the individual to the group soul in the cycle of birth & death as we enter the dark of the year. And how often are we actually present to the sacrifice, able to add our human attention & intention to the process?
Monty, the butcher, a slim rugged mountain man showed up in his truck, & we followed him to the barn. Charles & Gloria had chosen 3 cows & put them in a pen separate from the herd. Monty, with white beard & red suspenders, his small rifle held reverently on his shoulder, took some time to commune with these beings to see which one was called to be honored for this year’s ceremony.
The brown cow stood looking directly at Monty as Gloria read the powerful prayer that Nancy Poer wrote years ago specifically for this ritual, to honor the sacrifice of these cosmic & earthly beings that do so much to spiritualize the earth, & provide sustenance for the human being.
Everyone stood around embracing each other in quiet reverence. Monty raised the rife & shot the brown cow once in the skull – it crumpled to the ground without a sound in one swift movement. The shot was surprisingly not very loud at all, but for this city girl it was a shock; I gasped, & then began to hum & tone, as they brought the sacrifice out of the pen into the straw where we were standing.
Monty began the work of skinning the animal with such precision & artistry, as the community bore witness & held the sacred space. Every part of the animal is used. Harold & Luke laid out the innards which became the sheaths for the various biodynamic preparations that we then engaged in making all that day.
After breakfast & the official Welcoming by Cynthia & Harald Hoven, I facilitated a calling in of the Elementals. Altars were set up in each of the 4 directions, adorned with substances representing Earth, Air, Fire, Water & in the Center Spirit. We went from the center point as individuals, out to the periphery to form the eternal circle, with the imagination that when you square the circle it becomes the symbol for Earth. We sang & moved around the circle passing each altar until we felt called to stop at one, to commune there with our fellows who also chose to stand in that particular quarter to explore the Elemental Beings of each realm: The Gnomes & Trolls of the Earth Element in the North, The Sylphs of Air in the East, The Salamanders of Fire in the South, the Undines of Water in the West, & in the Center the Human Being as the 5 pointed Star of Spirit. Then each group reported their experience, sharing with the larger circle. We ended with another song feeling enlivened & bonded with the Elemental Beings of the land, & the Spirit of Place.
We worked for the main part of the day making the Biodynamic preparations which Harald Hoven distributes to many farms in the region: Chamomile blossoms moistened with nettle tea are stuffed into the cow’s intestines – this helps the metabolism of calcium in the soil; Dandelion Flowers put into the sheath of the cow’s peritoneum – which has an important role for silicic acid; Oak Bark was ground from trees on the land & after the cow’s skull was cleaned it was filled with this substance to combat plant diseases; & Horn Manure stuffed into the cow horns to stimulate soil life & root growth.
As the day progressed it became quite hot, almost 100 degrees. After another Circle with introductions & lunch, we finished the prep making, & gathered in the newly constructed community building for a round table discussion led by Gloria Decater & Chuck Ginsberg on ‘The evolution of Biodynamic legacy farms – old farms that need new farmers’ – A difficult issue calling to open opportunities for the future.
The next event was a workshop bringing the questions raised in the discussion into a living perspective reminding us that we have helpers on the other-side waiting for us to recognize them by rising in our thinking to meet them. The workshop was called: ‘Bridging Heaven & Earth’ – Working in consciousness community beyond the threshold for the future evolution of the Earth. Thru singing, & storytelling I brought the picture that, in the realities which Rudolf Steiner shows us in his many teachings on communicating with the ‘so-called dead’, working with the spiritual hierarchies, & coming to know the Christ as the meaning of the Earth, we learn what our beloved dead & the unborn can teach us about what it means to be human in a spiritual sense here on Earth. I taught a song that Ultra-Violet wrote, & shared a story that I crafted especially for Gloria & Stephen Decater, inspired by a healing tale from Susan Down that I call: ‘The Farmer’s Hat’. You can listen to it on my podcast ‘I Think Speech’, along with parts 1 & 2 of the ‘Festival of Life Tour’.
It finally stated cooling down a bit as we set up outside for a very interesting ‘Discussion about Sequential Spraying for Drought Remediation’ with Michael Aldinger & Alexandra Kravetz. The original intention of this technique is ‘to use the BD preps to harmonize overly wet or dry atmospheric conditions, to help create Balance, by spraying each preparation individually. Stir and spray BD 500 & BC (Horn manure and Barrel Compost) together the first evening, followed by BD 501 & 508 (Horn Silica and Equisetum) the following morning. (Note: this can and should be adapted as needed for individual and regional needs!) By following the above schedule, all nine BD preparations are sprayed in a short period, ideally coinciding with beneficial energies from the heavens to achieve maximum benefits. This is ideally done while the moon is in front of the constellation you wish to work with. Three water trines in a row are happening this November. The very best dates to encourage moisture are: Monday November 14 Moon in Cancer, Sun trine Neptune (especially beneficial) Tuesday November 15 Venus trine Jupiter, Moon opposition Saturn (especially beneficial) Wednesday November 16 Mercury trine Jupiter (especially beneficial) December 1-3 Moon in Pisces’. (See works by Hugh J. Courtney, Hugh Lovel, Lloyd Nelson & others for more background)
What I love about this is that Alexandra is setting up a spreadsheet so that all the participating farmers can add their input to co-create a document showing the Spiritual Scientific results. Kudos friends! It is very exciting to see this kind of research being done, especially since drought conditions can be devastating.
We ended the evening with a Jody’s delicious dinner of Pork & Lamb roast sourced from the Live Power Farm; much lively community conversation, & a bonfire with music & socializing under that magnificent night sky. Willow & Lew Summer brought song sheets for the sing-along – there were ukuleles, guitars & drums. Jupiter was the 1st to make his appearance in the East; & since it was the eve of the New Moon the constellations were unveiled in all their glory. What a gift to a perfect day of work & fellowship.
Stay tuned for the last installment of our ‘Festival of Life Tour’
~hag
3 October 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: First Quarter Moon occurs at 7:14 P.M. CDT today. Bella Luna is now in Sagittarius, floating amid the stars of its famous Teapot asterism.
Above Sagittarius is Aquila, which contains the famous luminary Altair, part of the Summer Triangle with its fellow stars Deneb in Cygnus and Vega in Lyra. You’ll notice this large asterism stays relatively low in the sky these days, now that fall has arrived.
508 BC – Deathday of Lucretia an ancient Roman woman whose fate played a vital role in the transition of Roman government from the Roman Kingdom to the Roman Republic. She committed suicide after being raped by an Etruscan king’s son was the immediate cause of the anti-monarchist rebellion that overthrew the monarchy. As a result of its sheer impact, the rape itself became a major theme in European art & literature
Deathay of Jarius. The record of the daughter of Jairus is a combination of miracles of Jesus in the Gospels (Mark 5:21–43, Matthew 9:18–26, Luke 8:40–56) The story immediately follows the exorcism at Gerasa. Jairus, a patron or ruler of a Galilee synagogue, had asked Jesus to heal his 12-year-old daughter. As they were traveling to Jairus’ house, a sick woman in the crowd touched Jesus’ cloak & was healed of her sickness. Jesus turned round to the woman & says: “Take heart, daughter,” your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” Moments later, a messenger arrived with the news that Jairus’ daughter had died, & he was advised not to trouble Jesus any further. However, Jesus responded: Be not afraid, only believe. (Mark 5:36) Jesus continued to the house, where he informed all those present that the girl was not dead but asleep. He then went upstairs & restored the little girl to life. In Mark’s account, the Aramaic phrase “Talitha Koum” (transliterated into Greek as ταλιθα κουμ meaning, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”) is attributed to Jesus
Deathday of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, a Syrian Christian theologian & philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, the author of the set of works commonly referred to as the Corpus Areopagiticum or Corpus Dionysiacum, portraying himself as the Athenian convert of Paul of Tarsus mentioned in Acts 17:34 (Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus) This attribution to the earliest decades of Christianity resulted in the work being given great authority in subsequent theological writing in both East & West. His works are mystical & show strong Neoplatonic influence. For example he uses Plotinus’ well-known analogy of a sculptor cutting away that which does not enhance the desired image.
In a letter addressed to Polycarp, pseudo-Dionysius asks “What have you to say about the solar eclipse which occurred when the Savior was put on the Cross? At the time the two of us were in Heliopolis and we both witnessed the extraordinary phenomenon of the moon hiding the sun at the time that was out of season for their coming together…. We saw the moon begin to hide the sun from the east, travel across to the other side of the sun, and return on its path so that the hiding and the restoration of the light did not take place in the same direction but rather in diametrically opposite directions.…” This is illustrated in an astronomical fresco in the main gallery of the Escorial Library, near Madrid, Spain, which shows Dionysius the Areopagite observing an eclipse at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.
Luke, 23-45 (It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. 45The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle) We can notice a quadrant & an astrolabe in the hands of the amazed men!
287 AD – Deathday of Saint Candidus. The Golden Legend states that he was a commander of the Theban Legion, which was composed of Christians from Upper Egypt. He opposed Maximian, who had ordered them to harass the local Christians in his name, stating that “we are your soldiers, but we are also servants of the true God. We cannot renounce Him who is our Creator and Master, and also yours even though you reject Him.” Candidus, along with St. Maurice, the other staff officers & 6,600 soldiers, were martyred at the Swiss town of Saint Maurice-en-Valais
1226 – Deathday of Francis of Assisi, Italian friar & saint. Based on a study of the life of Francis of Assisi, Rudolf Steiner shows how the development of morality is based on the belief in the Divine at the bottom of every human soul, on the boundless love that springs from this belief, and on the hope for each human soul that it can find its way back to the Divine. Anthroposophical Ethics…St. Francis, Lecture III
1250 – Deathday of Gilbertus Anglicus. His major work, the Compendium Medicinae, written in Latin, running to seven books, is an attempt to provide a comprehensive encyclopedia of medical & surgical knowledge as it existed in his day. He quotes extensively from Roger of Palma, & acknowledges that his work is indebted to Greek physicians including Galen, Hippocrates & Theophilus Protospatharius, & Arab physicians such as Averroes & Avicenna.
1884 – Birthday of, Paul Foster Case, an American occultist, founder of Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), original member of Alpha et Omega, an organization that inherited the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Paul Foster Case played the organ in the Congregational Church, where his father was a deacon. In childhood, he started working to have lucid dreams. Rudyard Kipling, spurred his interest in their correspondence, confirming that such a phenomenon is possible, & can be developed.
Case became a member of the Order of Alpha et Omega, but he was distrustful of Enochian Magic. He explored certain practical ceremonial magic, with his sometime partner Moina Mathers.
Case was fascinated by the “New Thought” movement, he met William Walker Atkinson, & co-authored the modern literary mystification “The Kybalion”, as one of the anonymous “three wise men”.
from my library
Case studied various yoga’s & the karma of past lives, & was said to have worked with “the healer Dr. Fludd” who claimed that the Count Saint-Germain had sent him to be his teacher.
1995 – O. J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson & Ronald Goldman
2008 – The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act is signed by President George W. Bush – commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis authorizing the United States Secretary of the Treasury to spend up to $700 billion to purchase distressed assets, especially mortgage-backed securities, & supply cash directly to banks
A. Cedur
~my words are forged in star-fire that i may speak the language of earth a sacrifice on the altar of angels… ~hag
As the approaching Michaelmas Equinox Pulls the Afternoon Sun into a Blinding Shaft – The Drawn Sword of Michael – Pierces Thru On the Oblique Angle of the Sun Casting a long Shadow That Stretches to the Western Horizon Where I am going to meet it A greeting In Silent Admonition Thru Strident Free Discernment Revealing the Revelation In the Spirit-Light of Thought Made manifest in fertile soil ~hag
Yep, CG & I are making our way to the West Coast to visit Gloria Decater & friends at Live Power Farm, a 50-acre, solar electric & horse-powered, diversified, certified biodynamic farm, expanding our local Family Farm Initiative to honor & celebrate those who work to spiritualize the Earth in the mountains & valleys of Cali.
And by creating sanctuaries like Nancy Poer’s White Feather Ranch – Nancy who is an Internationally Recognized Waldorf Educator, Author, Artist & Activist is currently fighting to prevent a bill that would punish doctors who suggest natural alternative remedies. Her sacred land has been a refuge for many.
If you are in the area come join our Festival of Life Tour. (send us strength, we’ll need it)
When Rudolf Steiner founded the‘New Mysteries’ thru Anthroposophia at the Christmas Conference of 1923-24, he laid the foundation on earth for a new “cultus”, which had been part of the Michael School in the Super-sensible world during the 18th & 19th Centuries. He referred to this practical aspect of the New Mysteries as: the “Cognitive Ritual”, the “Ritual of Knowledge”, the “Spiritual Communion of Humanity”, the “Cosmic Communion”, the “World Ritual”, the “Reverse Ritual”, or “the “Cosmic Ritual”. How is it different from the Sacramental Communion? And why is it important for us today?
Sophie Takata
You are invited:Saturday/Sunday 24-25 September 2022 The BDANC Fall Michaelmas Gathering hosted Gloria Decater at Live Power Community Farm, Covelo
Saturday: *Honoring the Cow *Honoring the Elementals – with Hazel Archer Ginsberg *Hands on prep making with Harald Hoven *The Evolution of Biodynamic Legacy Farms – Old farms that need new farmers – Round table discussion with Gloria Decater and Chuck Ginsberg
*Bridging Heaven and Earth through Singing, Storytelling and Biography Work with Hazel Archer Ginsberg
The Michaelmas 2022 Bridging Project at Live Power Farm
We will work in conscious community to connect beyond the threshold for the future evolution of the Earth. Spiritual Science brings us many teachings on communicating with the ‘so-called dead’, working with the spiritual hierarchies, & coming to know the Christ as the meaning of the Earth. We can learn what our beloved dead & the unborn can teach us about what it means to be human in a spiritual sense here on Earth.
*Discussion about Sequential Spraying for Drought Remediation with Michael Aldinger *Catered dinner
Sunday: *Eurythmy – with Cynthia Hoven *Anthroposophical Salon – with Hazel Archer Ginsberg and Nancy Poer
For details, accommodations, meal reservations and schedule see www.bdanc.org
Live Power Community Farm is a seasoned, long-time biodynamic farm whose farming family have passed through many seasons of soul, soil and spirit. Gloria Decater, whose husband Stephen crossed the threshold last year, is currently in the process of exploring how the future incarnation of this living farm individuality needs to evolve. Although the CSA aspect of the farm is on hold right now, Gloria has been continuing to host educational activities for children and adults.
PURCHASING PREPARATIONS: Preps must be ordered at least three days in advance – by Sept 21st – to be picked up at the meeting. These BD preparations are hand made by groups of BDANC practitioners on various BD farms around NORCAL. Supervision and distribution by Harald Hoven.
Horn Manure (500) $5 members/$7 non-members
Horn Silica (501) $3 members/$4 non-members
Compost Prep Set (502-507) $18 members/$21 non-members
Contact Harald Hoven – Phone: (916) 837-8776 Email: hhoven@att.net
Some of the Chicago folks from ‘Building the Temple of the Heart’ 2021
Greetings friends – This is a dynamic moment in time…let’s strengthen and enkindle connections within our community and beyond. Last year’s annual conference theme was ‘Building the Temple of the Heart’ – now we can imagine entering this temple to connect with other striving souls around the World.
Join us in-person for a Community Gathering to celebrate Michaelmas as we stream the tour of the model of the first Goetheanum live from Dornach, Switzerland, followed by leading thoughts from Rev. Daniel Hafner, with Velsum Voicesas the capstone, & a potluck meal to end the afternoon.
at the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. 60613 on 29 September 2022 the Feast Day of Saint Michael and All the Heavenly Hosts Doors open at 11:30 am Noon CT – Live stream 1:15 pm CT – Velsum: singing: ‘Enkindling Connections-& The Heart Rose’ 1:30 pm – 3 pm Potluck – Please Bring Food & Drink to Share
Dear friends – The Michaelmas Season is looming. The oblique angle of the Sun cuts across the shadows like a sword. The days grow shorter & the harvest has begun
Biodynamic agriculture has a keen focus on tuning into the natural rhythms of the Earth, & the cosmos. The alteration between night & day can be seen as the Earth breathing in & out, so it is with each turn on the wheel of year – there is a seasonal cycle in tune with the Earth’s journey around the Sun. Once a year in the Autumn the planet takes a deep breath in, as everything comes to harvest & slowly goes into a Winter dormancy.
So it’s time to gather on the land for the Fall Prep Day at the Zinniker Farm. October 1st, 2022. Suggested donation: $20 per person in support of the Stewardship of Zinniker Farm We’ll start at 1:30pm. Dress for comfort with layers. Please bring a dish to pass for the evening potluck & bonfire.
As always in the fall we will be filling horns for the BD 500 Horn Manure Preparation: It is a powerful means for structuring the soil It stimulates soil microbial activity of the soil and the production of humus It regulates the pH balance of the soil It stimulates seed germination and root development, in particular vertical growth, increasing depth of root systems It improves the development of leguminous plants (Fabaceae) and nodule formation It helps dissolve minerals even in deep layers (alios) and can helps counteract excessive salt levels.
We won’t need to make any of the compost preparations, so we will spend the remaining time with application of the preparations. We will learn how to add the preparations to the compost pile and stir and spray Horn Manure.
Zinniker Farm N7399 Bowers Rd Elkhorn, WI 53121 262-642-5775
19 September 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”
“What is to be the starting force & impulse for events in social & ethical life must come out of the spiritual world.” Rudolf Steiner, New Spiritual Impulses in History” Dornach 16 December, 1917
The Feast of San Gennaro, an Italian-American festival. Originally a one-day religious commemoration, the festival was first celebrated in the United States in September 1926, when immigrants from Naples congregated along Mulberry Street in the Little Italy section of Manhattan in New York City. The immigrant families on Mulberry Street who started the feast, a group of cafe owners, erected a small chapel in the street to house the image of their patron Saint. They invited all to partake of their wares, asking the devoted to pin an offering to the ribbon streamers that are hung from the statue’s apron. This money was then distributed to the needy poor of the neighborhood. Over time, the festival expanded into an 11-day street fair organized & run by people outside the neighborhood. It is now an annual celebration of food & drink, & a major tourist attraction. Centered on Mulberry Street, which is closed to traffic for the occasion, the festival generally features sausages, zeppole, street vendors, games, parades and other such attractions.
The Feast of Our Lady of La Salette
1846 – Two French shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat & Maximin Giraud, experience a Marian apparition on a mountaintop near La Salette, France, now known as Our Lady of La Salette. They returned from the mountain where they had been minding cows & reported seeing “a beautiful lady” on Mount Sous-Les Baisses, weeping bitterly. They described her as sitting with her elbows resting on her knees & her face buried in her hands. She was clothed in a white robe studded with pearls; & a gold colored apron; white shoes & roses about her feet & high head-dress. She wore a crucifix suspended by a necklace from her neck.
According to their account, she continued to weep even as she spoke to them, first in French, then in their own dialect. After giving a secret to each child, the apparition walked into a hill & vanished. The following day the children’s account of the apparition was put into writing & signed by the visionaries & those who had heard the story.
According to the children’s account, the Virgin invited people to respect the repose of the seventh day, & the name of God. She sorrowfully threatened punishment, in particular a scarcity of potatoes, which would rot. The context of these punishments places the warning just prior to the winter of 1846–1847, which was in Europe, & especially in Ireland & in France, a period of famine in the months which followed the apparition. This was one of the factors of the apparition’s popular appeal
1893 – Women’s suffrage: In New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 is consented to by the governor giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote
1812 – Deathday of Mayer Amschel Rothschild, founder of the banking dynasty
1946 – The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich, calling for a “United States of Europe”
1952 – The US bars Charlie Chaplin from re-entering the country after a trip to England
1957 – First American underground nuclear bomb test (part of Operation Plumbbob)
~Time stands still Then rolls backward I wake to my soul Entering my body The curtain of serpents parts A veil In the worlds illusion I seem to remember to forget & then the dream Awakens me ~hag
Happy Birthday to the Christian Community, founded on this day 100 year ago TODAY in 1922!
Here is an account by Rudolf Steiner: “At the end of September and beginning of October 1921, there assembled at the Goetheanum a number of German theological students who bore in their hearts the impulse for a religious renewal in the Christian sense. The work that was begun then found its fulfilment in September 1922.
The hours spent with these students, in the small hall of the south wing – the very spot where later the fire was first discovered (The Goetheanum was destroyed by arson on the New Year’s Night 1922 – 1923.) – were for me an experience that I cannot but reckon as one of the solemn festivals of my life. There, in company with a group of men and women fired with a noble enthusiasm it was possible to enter on the path that carries the knowledge of the spirit into religious experience.” ~Rudolf Steiner on the founding of The Christian Community. From “Growing Point – The Story of the Foundation of The Christian Community” by Alfred Heidenreich~
The celebration of the first Act of Consecration of Man (the Christian Community Mass) constituted the birth of The Christian Community on 16 September 1922 in Dornach, Switzerland, guided into being through the immeasurable & selfless help of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, whose science of the spirit – Anthroposophy, has become a central source of renewal in the most varied fields of life. Waldorf Education, Eurythmy, Bio-dynamic Agriculture, The Camphill Movement for the care of people with special needs, Anthroposophical Medicine, etc. all bear witness to this.
Dr. Steiner’s assistance came in response to earnest questions from a group of German Lutheran theologians, including the eminent Berlin minister Dr. Friedrich Rittelmeyer, seeking appropriate Christian forms & content for the religious life of our time.
The Christian Community is not the ‘anthroposophists’ church’, although it is the only Christian church whose priests recognize the wisdom of Anthroposophy as a decisive aid for the broadening & renewal of the religious life in our time.
The Christian Community is an international movement with approximately 350 congregations in 27 countries. Each congregation is financially independent & is carried by voluntary contributions & donations from members and friends. Supporting the work of the congregations on an international level is The Foundation of the Christian Community made up of priests & lay-people. The priesthood has at its center a group called the Circle of Seven who stand responsible for all the priestly work world-wide. At the center of this Circle of Seven stands the Erzoberlenker, currently Rev. João Torunsky.
After taking root mainly in Europe until WWII, The Christian Community then spread to the other continents. The first North American congregation was founded in New York City in 1948. Since that time, it has expanded to 14 communities throughout North America served by one or more full time priests. ~thechristiancommunity.org
Here in Chicago we are blessed to have the Lenker for North America, Craig Wiggins; along with Rev. Jeana Lee
Some newly ordained Priests
From Rudolf Stiener to the Priests: “My dear friends, take this into your souls: the Act of Consecration is to become alive. Through this you will earn the right to place yourselves in the earth’s becoming and through the Act of Consecration be present within the earth’s becoming. Then may you express the following truth: If this Act of Consecration is not performed then the earth will waste away and remain without nourishment. It would be just as if no plants would grow. Plants grow in the physical world; the Act of Consecration of Man must grow in the spiritual realm. If it was not enacted there on this higher level it would be the same as if on the lower level of the physical earth no plants would grow. A human-being only has the right to say this when he or she succeeds in continuously enlivening the Act of Consecration so that this self-expressed word ‘human-being’ has been achieved in the correct manner and being and weaving, within the earthly existence, through achieving the three steps of inner soul development…” ~COURSE FOR PRIESTS OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, GA 345, Lecture III 13 July 1923, Stuttgart
When Rudolf Steiner founded the‘New Mysteries’ thru Anthroposophia at the Christmas Conference of 1923-24, he laid the foundation on earth for a new “cultus”, which had been part of the Michael School in the Super-sensible world during the 18th & 19th Centuries. He referred to this practical aspect of the New Mysteries as: the “Cognitive Ritual”, the “Ritual of Knowledge”, the “Spiritual Communion of Humanity”, the “Cosmic Communion”, the “World Ritual”, the “Reverse Ritual”, or “the “Cosmic Ritual”. How is it different from the Sacramental Communion? And why is it important for us today?
Sophie Takata
You are invited:Saturday/Sunday 24-25 September 2022 The BDANC Fall Michaelmas Gathering hosted Gloria Decater at Live Power Community Farm, Covelo
Saturday: *Honoring the Cow *Honoring the Elementals – with Hazel Archer Ginsberg *Hands on prep making with Harald Hoven *The Evolution of Biodynamic Legacy Farms – Old farms that need new farmers – Round table discussion with Gloria Decater and Chuck Ginsberg
*Bridging Heaven and Earth through Singing, Storytelling and Biography Work with Hazel Archer Ginsberg
The Michaelmas 2022 Bridging Project at Live Power Farm
We will work in conscious community to connect beyond the threshold for the future evolution of the Earth. Spiritual Science brings us many teachings on communicating with the ‘so-called dead’, working with the spiritual hierarchies, & coming to know the Christ as the meaning of the Earth. We can learn what our beloved dead & the unborn can teach us about what it means to be human in a spiritual sense here on Earth.
*Discussion about Sequential Spraying for Drought Remediation with Michael Aldinger *Catered dinner
Sunday: *Eurythmy – with Cynthia Hoven *Anthroposophical Salon – with Hazel Archer Ginsberg and Nancy Poer
For details, accommodations, meal reservations and schedule see www.bdanc.org
Live Power Community Farm is a seasoned, long-time biodynamic farm whose farming family have passed through many seasons of soul, soil and spirit. Gloria Decater, whose husband Stephen crossed the threshold last year, is currently in the process of exploring how the future incarnation of this living farm individuality needs to evolve. Although the CSA aspect of the farm is on hold right now, Gloria has been continuing to host educational activities for children and adults.
PURCHASING PREPARATIONS: Preps must be ordered at least three days in advance – by Sept 21st – to be picked up at the meeting. These BD preparations are hand made by groups of BDANC practitioners on various BD farms around NORCAL. Supervision and distribution by Harald Hoven.
Horn Manure (500) $5 members/$7 non-members
Horn Silica (501) $3 members/$4 non-members
Compost Prep Set (502-507) $18 members/$21 non-members
Contact Harald Hoven – Phone: (916) 837-8776 Email: hhoven@att.net
“From Gondishapur to Covid-19 and the 4th Industrial Revolution” with Richard Ramsbotham
Sun, Sep 25 at 3:00pm EST
How are our modern day approaches to pandemics, technology advancements and governments influenced by thinking impulses originating in The Academy of Gondishapur?
Richard Ramsbotham was born in Northumberland in 1962. After attending Cambridge University and Emerson College he taught literature at Warsaw University (1989-1993) and then trained at the Artemis School of Speech and Drama. Since then he has worked as a teacher, lecturer, writer and theatre director. He is the author of ‘Who Wrote Bacon? Shakespeare, Bacon and James 1’; ‘An Exact Mystery – the Poetic Life of Vernon Watkins’; several plays and many articles on cultural, historical and current themes (e.g. 9/11 and Covid-19). He has also translated and directed Rudolf Steiner’s 4 Mystery Dramas. He is the co-founder of Fourfold Living Arts, an initiative bringing together the performing arts with the exploration of important cultural and current themes.
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Shining a Light into the Darkness
Path of Knowledge inner development is itself a process of shining light into the darkness.
As social challenges are intensifying, we are called upon more urgently to develop new capacities in understanding the human being, nature and medicine in wholeness. This series will focus on historical thinking influences which still darkly affect the soul of every modern human being.
Because we see everywhere today that the “light shines into the darkness and the darkness comprehends it not”, what is our response to the recognition of darkness which lives within the thinking of each of us?
This series is open to all who study anthroposophy.
Proceeds will benefit anthroposophic organizations worldwide.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2022 / 3PM EST “From Gondishapur to Covid-19 and the 4th Industrial Revolution” Richard Ramsbotham
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022 / 3PM EST “The Lives of Francis Bacon and the Anvil of Scientific Materialism” Richard Ramsbotham
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 / 3PM EST “Jesuitism, Bolshevism, and Americanism” Rev. Patrick Kennedy
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2022 / 1PM EST “Kaspar Hauser: Understanding his Task as Related to the World Today. How Does our Time Reflect the Events of the 19th Century and Transform Them?” Richard Steel
SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2023 / 3PM EST “Living Picture Imaginations: Healing from the Effects of Propaganda” Dennis Klocek
SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2023 / 3PM EST “Overcoming Materialistic Thinking: Anthroposophic Pharmacy as a Modern Rosicrucian – Alchemical Path” Albert Schmidli
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2023 / 3PM EST “What is Christianized Thinking in Medicine? Illness and Healing as Threshold Experiences“ Michaela Gloeckler, MD
SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2023 / 3PM EST “After Auschwitz. Reflections on the Future of Medicine and Society” Peter Selg, MD
SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2023 / 3PM EST “Meeting Christ in the Etheric in Response to the Challenges of Our Times” James Dyson, MD
Dear Friends, During my convalescence I have renewed my work with the Foundation Stone Meditation, especially endeavoring to hear what the Elemental beings have to say. They wait for our exchange, for it must be mutual & initiated first by us before the withering. We are to bring them the resurrection forces that come thru our thinking; then they are released from the grip of the death forces that the adversarial beings would have them enslaved to.
Open-eyed Impressions become an Ode to the Golden Wand of Summer’s end:
Sulphur Yellow Autumn Aster Quivering with Bees Baked Golden & holding the oblique Rays of the Sun fall… Bright Spike held in the Healing Cornucopia of the Virgin to bring balance to the scales – a subtle ripple up the spine to the holographic cluster of tiny SunStars Crowning the tree… Aaron’s Rod – A lightning rod with roots a DNA tier Heralding Michaelmas…
Open-eared Action messages:
Gather up some goldenrod, both stem & plume During the solar hour, high noon… Hang it & let it dry before scarlet leaves begin to fly. Place the dried Sunrod in jar or vase, on or by your door, to protect your sacred space. Keep them until Autumns end Burn them in the Mabon bonfire for good Balance & a healing trend…
Feast of the Cross – According legend the True Cross was discovered in 326 by Saint Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, during a pilgrimage she made to Jerusalem. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was then built at the site of the discovery, by order of Helena & Constantine. The church was dedicated nine years later, on this same date, with a portion of the cross placed inside it.
Other legends explain that in 614, that portion of the cross was carried away from the church by the Persians, & remained missing until it was recaptured by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 628. Initially taken to Constantinople, the cross was returned to the church in 629.
1321 – Deathday of Durante degli Alighieri – known as Dante
1486 – Birthday of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German Occultist, theologian, astrologer, & alchemist
1723 – Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena lays down the first stone of Fort Manoel in Malta. de Vilhena, a Portuguese nobleman was the 66th Prince of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Unlike many other Grand Masters, he was benevolent & popular with the Maltese people
1741 – George Frideric Handel completes his oratorio Messiah
1752 – The British Empire adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (the previous day was September 2)
1901 – U.S. President William McKinley dies after an assassination attempt on September 6, & is succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt
1914 – Helmuth Johannes Ludwig von Moltke chief of the German General Staff at the outbreak of World War I – is declared ‘ill’ as an excuse to dismiss him – pinning him with the war guilt instead of the Emperor. When he died shortly after from a broken heart, Rudolf Steiner worked with his wife Elisa to receieve after death communications for 2 years after he crossed the Threshold.
1940 –The Ip massacre: The Hungarian Army, supported by local Hungarians, kill 158 Romanian civilians in Ip, Sălaj, a village in Northern Transylvania, an act of ethnic cleansing
1943 – World War II: The Wehrmacht starts targeting several Greek villages death toll over 500 people
1960 – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded
1960 – Congo Crisis: With CIA help, Mobutu Sese Seko seizes power in a military coup, suspending parliament & the constitution
1969 – The US Selective Serviceselects September 14 as the First Draft Lottery date
Sophie Takata
You are invited:Saturday/Sunday 24-25 September 2022 The BDANC Fall Michaelmas Gathering hosted Gloria Decater at Live Power Community Farm, Covelo
Saturday: *Honoring the Cow *Honoring the Elementals – with Hazel Archer Ginsberg *Hands on prep making with Harald Hoven *The Evolution of Biodynamic Legacy Farms – Old farms that need new farmers – Round table discussion with Gloria Decater and Chuck Ginsberg
*Bridging Heaven and Earth through Singing, Storytelling and Biography Work with Hazel Archer Ginsberg
The Michaelmas 2022 Bridging Project at Live Power Farm
We will work in conscious community to connect beyond the threshold for the future evolution of the Earth. Spiritual Science brings us many teachings on communicating with the ‘so-called dead’, working with the spiritual hierarchies, & coming to know the Christ as the meaning of the Earth. We can learn what our beloved dead & the unborn can teach us about what it means to be human in a spiritual sense here on Earth.
*Discussion about Sequential Spraying for Drought Remediation with Michael Aldinger *Catered dinner
Sunday: *Eurythmy – with Cynthia Hoven *Anthroposophical Salon – with Hazel Archer Ginsberg and Nancy Poer
For details, accommodations, meal reservations and schedule see www.bdanc.org
Live Power Community Farm is a seasoned, long-time biodynamic farm whose farming family have passed through many seasons of soul, soil and spirit. Gloria Decater, whose husband Stephen crossed the threshold last year, is currently in the process of exploring how the future incarnation of this living farm individuality needs to evolve. Although the CSA aspect of the farm is on hold right now, Gloria has been continuing to host educational activities for children and adults.
PURCHASING PREPARATIONS: Preps must be ordered at least three days in advance – by Sept 21st – to be picked up at the meeting. These BD preparations are hand made by groups of BDANC practitioners on various BD farms around NORCAL. Supervision and distribution by Harald Hoven.
Horn Manure (500) $5 members/$7 non-members
Horn Silica (501) $3 members/$4 non-members
Compost Prep Set (502-507) $18 members/$21 non-members
Contact Harald Hoven – Phone: (916) 837-8776 Email: hhoven@att.net
“From Gondishapur to Covid-19 and the 4th Industrial Revolution” with Richard Ramsbotham
Sun, Sep 25 at 3:00pm EST
How are our modern day approaches to pandemics, technology advancements and governments influenced by thinking impulses originating in The Academy of Gondishapur?
Richard Ramsbotham was born in Northumberland in 1962. After attending Cambridge University and Emerson College he taught literature at Warsaw University (1989-1993) and then trained at the Artemis School of Speech and Drama. Since then he has worked as a teacher, lecturer, writer and theatre director. He is the author of ‘Who Wrote Bacon? Shakespeare, Bacon and James 1’; ‘An Exact Mystery – the Poetic Life of Vernon Watkins’; several plays and many articles on cultural, historical and current themes (e.g. 9/11 and Covid-19). He has also translated and directed Rudolf Steiner’s 4 Mystery Dramas. He is the co-founder of Fourfold Living Arts, an initiative bringing together the performing arts with the exploration of important cultural and current themes.
_______
Shining a Light into the Darkness
Path of Knowledge inner development is itself a process of shining light into the darkness.
As social challenges are intensifying, we are called upon more urgently to develop new capacities in understanding the human being, nature and medicine in wholeness. This series will focus on historical thinking influences which still darkly affect the soul of every modern human being.
Because we see everywhere today that the “light shines into the darkness and the darkness comprehends it not”, what is our response to the recognition of darkness which lives within the thinking of each of us?
This series is open to all who study anthroposophy.
Proceeds will benefit anthroposophic organizations worldwide.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2022 / 3PM EST “From Gondishapur to Covid-19 and the 4th Industrial Revolution” Richard Ramsbotham
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022 / 3PM EST “The Lives of Francis Bacon and the Anvil of Scientific Materialism” Richard Ramsbotham
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 / 3PM EST “Jesuitism, Bolshevism, and Americanism” Rev. Patrick Kennedy
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2022 / 1PM EST “Kaspar Hauser: Understanding his Task as Related to the World Today. How Does our Time Reflect the Events of the 19th Century and Transform Them?” Richard Steel
SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2023 / 3PM EST “Living Picture Imaginations: Healing from the Effects of Propaganda” Dennis Klocek
SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2023 / 3PM EST “Overcoming Materialistic Thinking: Anthroposophic Pharmacy as a Modern Rosicrucian – Alchemical Path” Albert Schmidli
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2023 / 3PM EST “What is Christianized Thinking in Medicine? Illness and Healing as Threshold Experiences“ Michaela Gloeckler, MD
SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2023 / 3PM EST “After Auschwitz. Reflections on the Future of Medicine and Society” Peter Selg, MD
SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2023 / 3PM EST “Meeting Christ in the Etheric in Response to the Challenges of Our Times” James Dyson, MD