Greetings friends on this 1st Sunday of Advent – I slept-in this morning, allowing myself to stay in that hypnogogic space with 1 foot in the spiritual world & 1 foot out – conscious that I was making a vow to my angel to enter deeply into this Advent season. I felt the presence of Rev. Richard Dancey, who years ago was Joseph to my Mary in the Oberufer Plays. I remember researching that tradition & discovering how the whole village would enter into a kind of sacrificial fasting in preparation for holding the essence of those divine archetypes. I have decided in lieu of my recent misstep that led to my foot turning into a big black & blue balloon, that I need to stop & take stock – to let go of all the vices that I have let creep into my habit life.  

Interesting to note that during the 4 weeks of Advent the Sun is passing through the stars of Scorpio. The term “advent” – is Latin for ‘that which is coming’. So this is the time of preparation, of waiting in the dark, for the return of the light, at Winter Solstice, & it is deeply connected with the challenge of the Scorpion. – Can we overcome the consequences of error & evil that has separated us from our true divine nature? Advent can be seen as the time of transforming the fallen parts of our souls, so we can truly meet the Christmas birth.

In the northern hemisphere the darkness & death of nature mirror the descent of humanity from the light into the darkness of matter at the Fall. This time of Advent, reflects our journey away from the Divine Sun into the lower realm as represented by Scorpio. This descent began during the epoch of evolution known as ‘Ancient Moon’ – in the course of the rebellion called the ‘War in Heaven’ with the later infusion of Luciferic tendencies upon the human astral body. 

“But now an event occurred that gave evolution a new turn. Beings who had a certain leading connection with that part of the Moon cosmos…became “rebellious”. This Moon rebellion changed the character of the human beings. They now had a soul body, as we said. They were thereby able to have inner sensations, emotions, etc., but now introduced into their inner nature was the impulse to develop a dim sense of independence, of segregation and of divorce from the higher spiritual world. These impulses prepared them to later become egoists. Those beings who initiated this development were later on perceived as the Serpent who brought about the Fall of humanity and the loss of paradise, according to the Book of Genesis. We find that Moon rebellion recorded in the script of the constellation of Scorpion.” (Willi Sucher, Isis Sophia II,  Part Two, The Evolution of Ancient Moon)

Rudolf Steiner also describes this rebellion in Occult Science: An Outline & from another perspective in, The Spiritual Hierarchies and their Reflection in the Physical World: “Beings from the sphere of the Mights (Dynamis), to put it tritely, were detached; they were placed in the course of evolution so as to bring about obstacles instead of acting as progressive influences. We have come to know this as the War in Heaven….[later in Lemurian times]..The beings who stayed behind, whom we call Luciferic beings approached the human astral body –they were unable to reach the “I” – and injected into the astral body the results of the War in Heaven…humans now had been given the possibility of error and evil, but at the same time also received the capacity to rise above error and evil through their own strength…Thus we can see that only because the Dynamis were given adverse orders did humans receive the possibility of reaching their goal by means of their own powers, something that even the Seraphim cannot attain through their own endeavors. That is the crucial fact…Humans have to fulfill a completely new mission in the world, the mission we have just characterized, and  descended into the earthly world in order to accomplish it.  Christ came into the world as man’s free helper; not as a God working from above, but as the first-born among many.”

Advent is that time of the year to come to terms with the consequences of the error & evil that is in our own astral nature, reflected in our society so strongly today, as well as doing the work to develop the strength to overcome these tendencies in our self & in the world, so that we might prepare the way for the birth of Christ in us at Christmas-tide. This is our activity now for every human being during Advent.  It is in this confrontation & transformation of evil in our lives, in our time, that we can begin to renovate the stars of Scorpion, to offer back to the divine what has fallen away, out of freedom.

Advent is a true festival of our current time in world evolution.  This is a karmic call to humanity to awaken to this path of spiritual development with its focus on the confrontation with evil in our time.

The transformation of the Scorpion, not this time into the eagle, but into the dove, this must be our work –  Opening to the Christ flame, the true I Am, born anew in the chalice of the heart at Christmas.

This ‘missing of the mark’ that led to my injury on Thanksgiving day has forced me to take a break from many outer activities. I am working hard to connect inwardly to the love, conscience & intelligence of my higher self, listening deeply to what is coming up in my thoughts & feelings.  I offer them up as questions, as hopes, for transformation, for healing, for redemption of my lower self. It’s hard to sit still, to wait, to be observant, to be malleable & open to change. I have already received many not so pleasant insights into parts of myself that need purification, terrifying, or shameful glimpses into my double. Sometimes coming from very unexpected sources, blunt synchronicities, uncanny dreams & visions.

The Christian Community homily for this week speaks of this turbulent time: 1st Advent – Luke 21:25-36

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And men will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory.

 And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and lift up [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.

 And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [behold] the fig-tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this, you know yourselves that summer is near. So also when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of Man’s being shall not pass away until all has happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be smothered by an excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly like a snare…for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man”.

We celebrate Advent to awaken our connection with the cosmic purpose in the Universe. Can we use this time to become more aware of the way in which we are disconnected from our source?  Can we strive to awaken our purpose, as we work to remember our Divine origin?

I think of the Mother God gestating the emergent body of Jesus within her. Every breath she takes, every beat of her heart, every thought in her mind, devoted to forming the perfect human being capable of holding the divine.

I think of the approaching soul of Jesus, the pure, innocent Nathan soul, described in Luke’s Gospel, preparing to enter into this immaculate body – This soul which has never incarnated into a human being before.

I can’t help comparing that original purity & dignity of humanity with the way people treat each other now-a-days – so much derision, disrespect & hatred, all the discrimination, how can these lies appear to so many as truth, a delusion that they are willing to enslave others for?

Then I try to think about how this is part of some great plan to wake us up, to divide the wheat from the chaff, so that we can reclaim our place in the universe as conscious, Christened human beings.

With Prayers for Peace & Healing-
I Am  ~hag

RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler

First Advent Sunday today. Perhaps last week’s mystery verse
of the re-enlivening of old treasure could have been called Advent Prelude.
Now… can it find itself anew in the soul’s creative impulse?
ADVENT I
Can True Being Inspire Me?
v35
Can I true being know
that it may find itself anew
within my soul’s creative urge?
I feel a power trusting me
to make my Self with modesty
a member of the Cosmic Self.

This verse and its mirror are the only question verses.

LAMMASTIDE II
Can I Imagine Spiritual Need?
v18
Can I make wide my soul
that she unite with seed
of Cosmic Word conceived?
I feel my foresight asking me
to find the strangth my soul will need
to form her spirit garment worthily.

Holiday Market at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 
4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago
18 December 2021 – from 11 am – 4 pm

Handcrafted gifts, décor & toys
Featuring Live Music, Puppetry & Candle Dipping!!!

If you would like to be a vendor contact Elizabeth Kelly 
eilisaineariadne@gmail.com

Dear friends – Please Join Us as move toward the Winter Festival Season:

Thursday 23 December 2021 – The Eve of the Eve –
11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET / 7 pm UTC

A Christmas Festival with Heart-Opening Movement by Lucien Dante Lazar
& a talk by our Christian Community Priest Rev. Jeana Lee

‘Divine Love and the Holy Child Within’

This will be a hybrid in-person & Zoom event
Featuring our 2 camera technology with Mary Spalding

Doors open at 12:30 pm (Zoom Room open 12:45 pm for Social time)
Snacks to Share Encouraged

Suggested donation $15.00
cash payment at the door or via the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal donation site –
*Please make a note on the first line – type in: “Christmas Fest”!
The Festival will be recorded

Time: Dec 23, 2021 01:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7052931041?pwd=Vk1XcDJqT0lKeHYzWXZJNlRYNlRvZz09
Meeting ID: 705 293 1041
Passcode: Christmas

For more info. Contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg 

The Epic of Gilgamesh
Storytelling during the Holy Nights 2021-2022
Hosted by the Anthroposophical Society in America 

”The purpose of a story is to be an ax that breaks up the ice within us.”
~ Franz Kafka

Click to Register! 

All around the world the season of midwinter is the traditional time for community bonding through storytelling. In laying the groundwork for the 100-year anniversary of the Christmas Conference, we bring the ancient Sumerian saga “The Epic of Gilgamesh” to life. Rudolf Steiner explored this story in Occult History during the Holy Nights of 1910; and again with the lectures “World History in the Light of Anthroposophy” given during those fateful Holy Nights in 1923 for the re-founding of the Society. 

The Epic of Gilgamesh is perhaps the oldest written tale on Earth. The Sumerian version dates from around 3000 B.C. Later it was compiled from 12 clay tablets written in Akkadian cuneiform. 

It is the “Hero’s Journey” of human evolution, a story of friendship, and a quest for the meaning of life – revealing Steiner’s core mission of bringing karma and reincarnation to the west. 

Myths, fairytales, historical epics, and sagas open us up to powerful archetypes behind the human condition, revealing clues to ourselves – from the past, the present, and the future. What will we uncover about ourselves and each other during this year’s Holy Nights adventure in storytelling?

Tune in for any or all of the episodes of this dramatic reading, re-worked by Hazel Archer from various translations, and featuring friends from around the world.

What: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Story Telling during the Holy Nights hosted by the ASA, Hazel Archer, and friends.

Time: 22 minutes daily at 9 am PT / 10 am MT / 11 am CT / 12 pm ET / 5 pm UTC

Dates:  December 24, 2021- January 5, 2022 for 13 consecutive days  
Can’t join us live? No problem. Each gathering will be recorded and posted on our Holy Nights page (link will be emailed upon registration).

How: Register Here!  Then check your email for confirmation with the Zoom registration link. 

Cost: This event is free with suggested donations of $25, $50, $100
Your donations help us create events like this one!
Register Here! 
www.anthroposophy.org/holynights

Eurythmy for the Holy Nights with Jan Ranck
‘Tuning to the Stars’:
Sacred Geometry, the Planets and the Zodiac

LIVE IN-PERSON 26-30 Dec. 2021
at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago 4 pm – 5 pm
And at 7pm on 31 Dec. as part of our Annual NYE Gathering (details below)

$100 for all 6 sessions, or $22 for each individual session.

Make your payment using the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal
or QuickPay with Zelle to chase@rschicago.org
(Please indicate in the notes that it is for the “Holy Nights Eurythmy”)

Cash at the door, or send a check to:
Rudolf Steiner Branch
4249 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618-2953
USA

For more info. Contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg 

* Jan Ranck – Born in the USA, Jan Ranck studied music and comparative arts at Indiana University in Bloomington. She accompanied the London Stage Group on their 1976 USA tour and went on to study eurythmy at the Eurythmeum in Dornach with Lea van der Pals, where she subsequently taught. In 1984 she joined the faculty of The London School of Eurythmy. She left there to complete her eurythmy therapy training in Stuttgart in 1989, moving afterward to Israel, where she founded and directed the Jerusalem Eurythmy Ensemble (1990) and the Jerusalem Academy of Eurythmy (1992) and was an instructor in the Jerusalem Waldorf Teacher Bachelor Program in David Yellin Academic College from 1999. Jan has held Master Classes at various venues worldwide, including the Goetheanum and the MA Program in Eurythmy held at Emerson College and Spring Valley. She is the representative for Israel in the International Eurythmy Therapy Forum.

Friday 31 December 2021
Doors open at 6:30 pm 

Join us for our Annual NYE Conscious Community Gathering –
The Theme for 2022 is Cabaret – a Cultural Sharing!

All are invited to take the stage with an offering.

Circles Edge & other Waldorf alum will also perform

Please bring Festival Food & Drink to share

$20 Cash at the door or Make your payment using the Rudolf Steiner Branch PayPal or QuickPay with Zelle to chase@rschicago.org
(Please indicate in the notes that it is for the “NYE”)

All proceeds go to support the Rudolf Steiner Branch – the young People hosting & The Band (Can’t make it? Send a $ gift PayPal)

7 – 8 pm – Eurythmy with Jan Ranck (separate fee $22 see above)

8 pm – Potluck Social

8:30 pm – Circles Edge & Friends warm the stage & host the open mic

10:10 pm – Thought-Seed Circle

10:30 pm – Clean-up…;)

For more info. Contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg 

Tuesday 4 January 2022 – (Zoom Details TBA) 
11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET / 7 pm UTC

a talk with Christian Community Priest & Lenker for North America
Rev. Craig Wiggins: ‘From Bethlehem to Golgotha: Birthing the Christ within at Epiphany’