Category Archives: Quote

Adam & Eve’s Day

December 24, 2019Celestial Event, Chicago Event, Festival, History, Insight, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote~hag

24 December 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Look for the Christmas star within; & then look up & out to see Orion shining in the East, his three-star Belt is nearly vertical, pointing down to where Sirius, the brightest star of the night, will rise around 7 pm. When Sirius is low next to the horizon it often twinkles miraculously, flashing the vivid sacrifice of the color beings.

1st Holy Night: Christmas Eve, Adam & Eve’s Day

Constellation of Pisces, The 2 Fishes

The Sphere of the Human Being (ruling the feet)

Virtue: Magnanimity Becomes Love

Image result for pisces painting — Jill Hamilton

‘From the light, thru the darkness, into new light’ – this is the path of human evolution symbolized by the region of the 2 Fishes. One fish swims down into the physical, where we are graced with 2 feet to walk upright upon the earth, until we are ready to swim back up to spirit.

It’s thought-provoking to remember that each epoch is ruled by a prevailing constellation, guided by a particular Time Spirit. Right now we are in the age of Pisces, guided by Michael. For our contemplation of the Holy Nights, it is interesting to think back to the last time the forces from this region of the Zodiac were raying down their influence. Rudolf Steiner’s research tells us it was when the Sun separated from the earth. The Christ-Being left the Earth with the Sun. The light that was within, began to shine from outside us.

And this constellation will be active again when the Inner Spiritual Sun, won thru individual freedom, begins to rise out of the darkness in the human soul. This is possible because Christ made the descent & united Himself with earthly evolution thru the mystery of Golgotha, gradually awakening the higher Sun-Self in humanity, making us worthy to become the 10^th Hierarchy.

This has been the work of the Mystery schools since Lemurian times, referred to as the initiation of the Fishes. We see this reflected in many cultural legends: The great Manu learns of the impending flood from the Fishes. While in the Gilgamesh epic Enkidu is called ‘Son of the Fish’. The Guardian of the Grail receives the name the Fisher-King…etc…

John the Baptist had the task of preparing Jesus of Nazareth for the Fish-initiation which he performed at the Baptism in the Jordan. And of course the closest disciples of Christ-Jesus were fishermen (Luke 5:10). Later the ancient symbol of the Fishes came to be associated with those that could be called the Bearer of the Christ.

How striking it is to think that at the 1^st Christmas, the symbol of the Fishes pointed, not only back, to the epoch when Christ left the Earth together with the Sun; but also prophetically, to our time now, (since the 1930’s) where humanity has the possibility to experience the ‘Second Coming’ of Christ in the etheric; & then to the future time, when Christ will shine fully once again within the free & conscious human soul.

Image result for alpha and omega painting

So here on the 1^st Holy Night, in the constellation of Pisces, we find the Alpha & Omega of human evolution, expressing the very essence of Anthropos.

On this night what would it be like to hold a picture of our past selves, informing our present & future selves?

Blessings & Peace ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Christmas Eve = Adam & Eve’s Day – the start of the 13 Holy Nights which are especially fruitful for mystical deepening.

Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italian Americans)

Juleaften (Denmark)/Julaften (Norway)/Julafton (Sweden)

Nittel Nacht (certain Orthodox Jewish denominations)

Nochebuena (Spain and Spanish-speaking countries)

1818 – The first performance of “Silent Night” takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria

1851 – The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., burns.

1865 – Jonathan Shank & Barry Ownby form The Ku Klux Klan.

1905 –Birthday of Howard Hughes, American businessman, engineer, & pilot

1914 – Deathday of John Muir, Scottish-American geologist, botanist, & author, founded Sierra Club

1914 – the Wedding of Rudolf Steiner to Maria Von Shivers

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Image result for angels christmas painting — Ven Dex

Christmas Mood
I feel as from enchantment freed
The spirit-child within the womb of soul,
In clear serenity of heart
The holy Cosmic Word has now begotten
The heavenly Fruit of Hope,
Which grows rejoicing into worlds afar
Out of my being’s Godly ground.
~Rudolf Steiner

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The 12 days of Christmas or 13 Holy Nights fall between Adam & Eve’s day & 3 Kings Day, exemplifying 2 paths, one of a god towards humanhood & the other, of a human toward godhood.

The Paradise Play, the Shepherds’ Play & the 3 Kings’ Play are known as the Oberufer Christmas Plays, ancient tales 1st collected by Rudolf Steiner’s teacher Karl Julius Schroer, named after the Austrian village of Oberufer, an island in the Upper Danube. This river’s source begins in the Black Forest of Germany & flows through Bavaria & Austria. It was from this magical region that these powerfully symbolic plays came.

The first, called The Paradise Play, tells the story in the book of Genesis of the creation of the world, & of Adam & Eve’s expulsion from the garden of Eden after they succumbed to the temptation to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge too soon, the tree of Good & Evil. It is from this primordial tree that we get the modern tradition of the Christmas tree; in the olden days they called it the Paradise Tree. And Christmas Eve, used to be referred to as the Feast of Adam & Eve. Since the fall from paradise represents that point in human evolution, which precipitated the necessity for the incarnation of Christ.

Image result for oberufer shepherds play old

The Shepherds’ Play, tells the story of the proclamation of the Birth of Nathan Jesus to the shepherds in the field. This is the nativity story told in the Gospel According to Luke.

Image result for oberufer the Kings Play old days

The third of the Oberufer Plays is the Kings Play, which tells of the visit of the 3 wise men, the Magi, to the birthplace of the Zarathustra Jesus child, & of the murderous atrocities of Herod in his attempt to destroy the New born King. This is the nativity story told in the Gospel According to St Matthew, usually performed on the 5th or 6th of January, 12th night, the feast of Epiphany, or 3 Kings day.

The knowledge of these 2 Jesus Children given to us to consider by Rudolf Steiner as early as 1909, is also revealed in many examples of Renaissance art. This open secret is supported in many of the apocryphal gospels, in Gnostic texts & especially in the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in a cave by the Essene enclave near Nazareth, some 40 years after Steiner spoke about these mysteries.

The Kingdom of the New Jerusalem will be able to come into the world when “The Two Become One, & the Outer Becomes as the Inner’. This quote expresses the occult reality of the coming together of the 2 Jesus children to create the perfect human vessel for the Christ. And so it came to be that the prophesy was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.

& Now my friends, the rest is up to us.

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Holy Nights 2019-2020 – The New Mysteries of the ‘Christmas Conference’ Renewed! Dear Friends – Join us this year for an Extra Ordinary Holy Nights. We will gather at the Branch from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm CST to attend a new initiative with folks from around the world; ‘May Human Beings Hear It: An Online Holy Nights Gathering – Hosted by the Anthrophosophical Society in America with Organizers: Laura Scappaticci, Angela Foster, and Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.

Each gathering will begin with an opening verse and acknowledgment of the zodiac constellation corresponding to that night. Then a special offering will be shared by different friends representing many North American groups, branches, and regional councils. These unique contributions will range from meditative readings and thoughtful poems, to enlivening eurythmy and artistic activities, to insight into the cosmic script of the zodiac. This will be followed by work with the Foundation Stone Meditation and conclude with a closing verse.
December 24 12 noon CST
December 25 – 30 6:30 PM CST
December 31 “Hidden Night” – No Meeting
January 1 – 5 6:30 PM CST

The gatherings will be recorded for later viewing if you are not able to join us live. Register using the button above to access both the live presentations and recordings.

Here is the link with info. for this free Zoom Call gathering.

Here is the Link to Register

Then from 7:30pm – 8:30pm CST we will take up our own study of the ‘Laying of the Foundation Stone’ from The Christmas Conference 1923/1924. (There are copies of ‘The Red Book’ in the Library)

Most Nights are from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm CST except:
24 Dec. Zoom Call at NOON CST, afterwards we will decorate the tree with the signs & symbols
*26 Dec. The Rudolf Steiner Branch is Hosting this Nation-wide event. Meet in the Upper Room at 6 pm CST.
*28 Dec. Olaf Åsteson practice 3 pm – 5 pm CST – Performance at 7 pm CST.

*29 Dec. Mandaamin Institute’s 2019 Open House! 4-6pm Zoom call 6:30pm up there

1st Holy Night: Tuesday 24 December 2019 – Christmas Eve, Adam & Eve’s Day (no meeting at the branch) Zoom call at NOON CST – A Goethean Conversation

2nd Holy Night: Wednesday 25 December 2019 – Christmas Day. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. 1st hour hosted by ‘The Sophia Holding Group’. Our study: Rudolf Steiner’ Opening Lecture. pg. 43

*3rd Holy Night: Thursday 26 December 2019 – Boxing Day – Feast of St. Steven. 1st hour hosted by us the Rudolf Steiner Branch, Chicago: “The Vast & Holy Night” a liminal performance of spoken word & eurythmy honoring the dark from which the light is born. Our study: The Laying of the Foundation Stone of the General Anthroposophical Society through Rudolf Steiner. Pg. 68

4th Holy Night: Friday 27 December 2019 – Feast of St. John -1st hour hosted by Mary Stewart Adams. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting pg. 98

*5th Holy Night: Saturday 28 December 2019 – The Dream Song of Olaf Åsteson with Debbie Barford & Mary Tom 3pm – 5pm practice 7 pm – 9 pm performance. Come gather to work with the Legend of Olaf Åsteson in the afternoon to be part of the community ensemble 3pm – 5pm with a dinner break returning for the performance open to all from 7 pm – 9 pm. $10 Donation Encouraged. Contact Debra Barford for more info.

or Zoom Call: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm hosted by The Dallas Maitreya Branch. Lisa Dalton

6th Holy Night: Sunday 29 December 2019 – 1st hour hosted by The Rockford TN. Group.William Rogers

4 pm – 6 pm You are invited to the Mandaamin Institute’s 2019 Open House! This year we intend to report on the great progress we have made with breeding, testing, and getting our high quality, nutrient efficient corn out together with our farmer, university, and company colleagues.

However, we also need now to consider, does it make sense to do research and to breed crops for organic farmers if the farmers are going out of business?

The last few years have been very tough for farmers and there is a real danger that we will lose the smaller scale farmers who practice biodynamic and organic farming. It is increasingly clear that farmers cannot do it alone. Consumer awareness and action are critical for ensuring the best food possible and a healthy planet.

Therefore, this year we will highlight Mark and Petra Zinniker, who run the oldest biodynamic farm on the continent in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. They will share with us the amazing things they have been doing to produce the healthiest food possible, while at the same time, saving the planet through their farming methods.

We will share with you our problems, our plans, and our hopes. Please forward this invitation and the attached flier to anyone who is concerned about food and water quality, climate, and planet health.

Sunday, December 29, 2019

4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 7194 Madaus Street, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Drinks and snacks will be provided. Please RSVP by contacting Bente Goldstein at: (262) 642-9738 or benteg@centurytel.net

Then dear friends, from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm We will hold the Holy Nights ‘May Human Beings Hear It: An Online Holy Nights Gathering hosted by ASA friends around the country’. Here is the link with info. for this free Zoom Call gathering. Here is the Link to Register

PLEASE CONTACT HAZEL IF YOU WANT TO CAR POOL

for those who opt to stay in the City – Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 110

7th Holy Night: Monday 30 December 2019 – 1st hour hosted by The Eastern Regional Council. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 138

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– NYE–The 13th Hidden Night Tuesday 31 December 2019-2020
7:30 pm – 1 am – $20 + Potluck Food & Drink to Share
Live Music & Folk Dancing with Jutta & the Hi-Dukes ™ 8 -9:30pm
Biography Playshop
Spacial Dynamics & the Loving Kindness Meditation with Deborah Rogers
Cut Away & Call in – A Ritual of Renewal
Seeking the Holy Grail Within – with Hazel Archer Ginsberg
Lead (Wax) Casting Divination for the NY
More TBA…

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8th Holy Night: Wednesday 1 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by Tess Parker & The Youth. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 183

9th Holy Night: Thursday 2 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by The Western Regional Council. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 192

10th Holy Night: Friday 3 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by The Portland Branch. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 204

11th Holy Night: Saturday 4 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by Brian Gray. Our study: The Envy of the Gods – the Envy of Human Beings, Looking back to the burning of the Goetheanum, by Rudolf Steiner. Pg. 231

*12th Holy Night: Sunday 5 January 2020 – Epiphany, ‘Three Kings’ – 1st hour hosted by The Central Regional Council. Alberto Loya, Marianne Fieber, Lisa Dalton, Hazel Archer Ginsberg. Our Study: On the Right Entry into the Spiritual World – The responsibility Incumbent on us, by Rudolf Steiner. Pg. 260

for more info. contact Festivals Coordinator Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

O Radix Jesse

December 19, 2019History, Insight, Poetry, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Speaking with the Stars, Winter~hag

The Sun of mid-winter draws in its breath, at this time of deepest darkness.

Soon we will be entering into the Longest Night, entering into the Birth of Light.

Image result for dark space between the stars painting

Let us live into the darkness of the space between the stars & planets –
the dark of the sea -the dark of the womb – & the promise of the tomb.

Wrap this darkness gently about you like a comforter. Float gently now in its soft depths. Grow here, nourished by an invisible cord that connects you to the Source of all life – Floating gently in the dark -Softly rocking in the dark…

And though it is dark, we realize that what surrounds us is not empty, but, like the womb, full of life. Take a breath & sense the swirling, nurturing energy of the dark.

And now, as the energy increases, imagine how it will give birth to the smallest spark conceivable, the spark of new life. See that spark as it glows, watch that spark, watch as it grows. Glowing brighter & brighter, it fans into flame. And as you look at this flame, its light fills you with warmth, with love.

Image result for present with a bow abstract painting — Amy Dixon

And as you feel increased love & warmth within you, the intensity of the flame slowly diminishes & as it does, in its place, slowly becoming visible, is the outline of a present. This gift becomes more solid, until you can see its form clearly, wrapped in a glistening filament of light.

This gift has your name on it, inscribed in the glimmering material. Is your name written in a special color? Is the inscription special in any other way?

Examine your present more closely. What shape is it? How big is it? What color is the wrapping? Pick it up: is it light? heavy? What do you want it to be?

And now – unwrap your gift. How easy, or difficult is it to unwrap? Finish opening it – & receive your gift. What is it?

Look at it carefully. Experience it fully. Accept it. Accept your gift with joy. Feel your heart warm with the love with which this gift is given to you – Given to you every year at this time.

Image result for sending out light from the heart painting — Jenifer Borme

And now, from your heart, send out gratitude for this gift; send out thanks for this gift; send it out like light, like a holy beacon back to Our Great Mother, back to the Universe: both the dark & the light. Send out your thanks for this gift.

Image result for heart of the mother painting — Sk Picmia

Now, if you wish, find a place to keep this gift, a place to put this present, so that it is always on hand; so you can open it whenever you need to remember that the light is born from the darkness. An inspiration & reminder of these words by Rudolf Steiner:

My eager heart aspires
To be a torch to bear the Spirit’s light
Into the dark night of a wintry world
Blessing and blest.
Bright shoots of soul
Shall be sunk in the gardenbed of the world.
Shining from the sensual dark,
Inner meaning — the Word — resounds through all Reality.

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Image result for venus in capricorn painting

19 December 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Venus gleams in the southwestern sky after sunset. The brilliant goddess of Love stands out just a half hour after sunset, when it appears above the horizon, & remains on display until 6 pm. She is by far the brightest celestial object in the evening sky, residing in far western Capricornus, having crossed the border earlier today from Sagittarius.

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Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Looking at the past to see the present, co-creating the future:

“History, historical life, will only be seen in the right light when a true consciousness of the connection of the so-called living with the so-called dead can be developed” ~Rudolf Steiner – The Living and the Dead

Image result for abraham painting — Gilbert Walfert

According to Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual research, today is the Birthday of Abraham interestingly regarded as the father of the faithful by all 3 monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, & Islam

Birthday of Lot, nephew of Abraham

Also celebrated today: O Radix Jesse
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

Isaiah had prophesied: “A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Isaiah 11:1

“On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.” Isaiah 11:10

Jesse was the father of King David, & Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Also compare Isaiah 45:14, Isaiah 52:15 & Romans 15:12

150 – Deathday of Clement of Alexandria. His parents were educated pagans, having rejected paganism as a young man due to its perceived moral corruption, he travelled in Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine & Egypt. In his Protrepticus he displays an extensive knowledge of Greek mythology & mystery religions, which could only have arisen from the practice of his family’s religion. In Greece, he encountered the Ionian theologian, Athenagoras of Athens; while in the east, he was taught by the Assyrian, Tatian, & a Jew, Theophilus of Caesarea. In around 180, Clement reached Alexandria, where he met Pantaenus, who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement studied under Pantaenus, & was ordained to the priesthood by Pope Julian before 189.

As his three major works demonstrate, Clement was influenced by Hellenistic philosophy to a greater extent than any other Christian thinker of his time, & in particular by Plato & the Stoics. His secret works, which exist only in fragments, suggest that he was also familiar with pre-Christian Jewish esotericism & Gnosticism. In one of his works he argued that Greek philosophy had its origin among non-Greeks, claiming that both Plato & Pythagoras were taught by Egyptian scholars. Among his pupils were Origen & Alexander of Jerusalem.

Clement is regarded as a Church Father & is venerated as a saint in Coptic Christianity, Ethiopian Christianity & Anglicanism

1776 – Thomas Paine publishes a series of pamphlets in The Pennsylvania Journal entitled “The American Crisis“. The first was released during a time when the Revolution was still viewed as an unsteady prospect. The opening lines are as follows: “These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman”.

The pamphlet, read aloud to the Continental Army on December 23, 1776, three days before the Battle of Trenton, attempted to bolster morale as well as shame neutrals & loyalists toward the cause: “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph”.

Along with the patriotic nature of The American Crisis, it displayed Paine’s strong deist beliefs, inciting the laity with suggestions that the British are trying to assume powers that only God should have. Paine states that he believes God supports the American people, “that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could invent“.

Paine believes that Britain is essentially trying to enslave America. See The American Crisis – Common Sense pamphlet – The Age of Reason

1848 – Deathday of Emily Brontë, English novelist & poet

1907 – 239 coal miners die in the Darr Mine Disaster in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania

1932 – BBC World Service begins broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service

1941 –Adolf Hitler appoints himself as head of the Oberkommando des Heeres

Image result for 1974 – Nelson Rockefeller is sworn in as Vice President

1974 – Nelson Rockefeller is sworn in as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford under the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution

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POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I have come
To this dark world
Like a satellite streaking —
I am the open eye gleaming —
A laser, sculpting, reality
With precise rays of promise
Sparking eternity —
Come Beloved, bring forth your art
& let us co-create the heart…
~hag

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Holy Nights 2019-2020 – The New Mysteries of the ‘Christmas Conference’ Renewed! Dear Friends – Join us this year for an Extra Ordinary Holy Nights. We will gather at the Branch from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm CST to attend a new initiative with folks from around the world; ‘May Human Beings Hear It: An Online Holy Nights Gathering hosted by ASA friends around the country’. Laura Scappaticci, Angela Foster.

Here is the link with info. for this free Zoom Call gathering.

Here is the Link to Register

Most Nights are from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm CST except:
24 Dec. Zoom Call at NOON CST (no meeting at the branch)
*26 Dec. The Rudolf Steiner Branch is Hosting this Nation-wide event. Meet in the Upper Room at 6 pm CST.
*28 Dec. Olaf Åsteson practice 3 pm – 5 pm CST – Performance at 7 pm CST.

1st Holy Night: Tuesday 24 December 2019 – Christmas Eve, Adam & Eve’s Day (no meeting at the branch) Zoom call at NOON CST – A Goethean Conversation

2nd Holy Night: Wednesday 25 December 2019 – Christmas Day. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. 1st hour hosted by ‘The Sophia Holding Group’. Our study: Rudolf Steiner’ Opening Lecture. pg. 43

4th Holy Night: Friday 27 December 2019 – Feast of St. John -1st hour hosted by Mary Stewart Adams. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting pg. 98

or Zoom Call: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm hosted by The Dallas Maitreya Branch. Lisa Dalton

6th Holy Night: Sunday 29 December 2019 – 1st hour hosted by The Rockford TN. Group. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 110 William Rogers

7th Holy Night: Monday 30 December 2019 – 1st hour hosted by The Eastern Regional Council. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 138

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8th Holy Night: Wednesday 1 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by Tess Parker & The Youth. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 183

9th Holy Night: Thursday 2 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by The Western Regional Council. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 192

10th Holy Night: Friday 3 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by The Portland Branch. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 204

for more info. contact Festivals Coordinator Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

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The Christian Community in North America

Winter Youth Conference 2020

THE COURAGE TO LOVE THE WORLD THAT WE’RE IN

For young people ages 14-19 – January 17 – 20, 2020 MLK weekend in Washington DC

WHAT DO YOU LOVE? -WHAT IS IN NEED OF YOUR LOVE?

Rev. Carol Kelly, Rev. Paul Newton, Anna Silber, Samuel Parker, Ultra-Violet Archer, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

fee $300 (Financial assistance available)

contact Rev. Carol Kelly carolkelly.cc@gmail.com

full flyer: Christian community DC2020

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30 Jan. – 2 Feb. 2020 Prep-makers conference at Michael Fields Institute

Fellowship of Preparation Makers Gathering

BD 501 and 508 – Tools to bring the cosmic light into the earth.

January 30^th – February 2^nd, 2020

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, N8030 Townline Rd, East Troy, WI

The mission of the Fellowship of Preparation Makers is to ensure that good quality biodynamic preparations are available now and into the future throughout North America.

Schedule:

Thursday, January 30th

10—10:30 am Registration for Chromatogram Intensive

10:30am Chromatogram Intensive – All levels welcome. Presenter: Ryann Herring

12 —1pm Lunch on your own

1-3pm Chromatogram Intensive

3—5pm Registration and Social Time

5-6:30pm Supper

7-8:30pm Welcome from Perry Brown, and Candlemas Festival with Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Friday, January 31st

7:30-8:30am Registration, Breakfast and Social Time

8:30– 10 am History of Fellowship of Prep Makers, and Introductions.

10-10:30am Morning Break

10:30–12:30pm Why Biodynamics? Presenter: Mac Mead

12:30-1:45pm Lunch

2-3:30pm How the cosmic works in the earth? Presenter: Hugh Courtney

3:30-4pm Afternoon Break

4-6pm Different ways to make and use BD501 & BD508. Practical hands on session with Marjory House and Lloyd Nelson

6-7:30 pm Supper

7:30-9pm The Journey of a Prep Maker, A history circle, Facilitator: Brian Wickert

Saturday, February 1st

7:30-8:30 Registration, Breakfast and Social Time

8:30-10am History of Silica on Man’s Evolution (Lamuria to today) Presenter: Mac Mead

10-10:30am Morning break

10:30– 12pm Silica and the Human Presenter: Dr. Mark Kamsler

12-1:30pm Lunch

1:30-3pm Interpretation of Chromatograms Presenter: Ryann Herring

3-3:30pm Afternoon Break

3:30-5pm Kolisko Institute Presenter: Dr. Mark Kamsler

5-7pm Supper

7-8:30pm Quality Comparison of BD501 & 508 Show and tell how you make and use the preps. Facilitator: Wali Via

8:30 pm Evening Social/Brew City Drifters

Sunday, February 2nd

7:30-8:30 am Breakfast & Social Time

8:30-10am Round Table Discussion: Peppering for Pests and Weeds Panel: Mac Mead and Hugh Courtney

10-1-:30 Morning Break

10:30– Noon Fellowship presentations, evaluations and closing circle.

Noon Lunch

Registration and Lodging

Full Conference Fee $250

Single Day $125

Single Talk $25

Single Meal $15

Chromatogram Intensive $25

Homestays Available

Airport pickup from MKE available

Questions:
Allison Pratt-Szeliga
apszeliga@michaelfields.org
262-642-3303×107

Home stay and airport transportation arrangements will be handled by:
Petra Zinniker
petrazinniker@gmail.com
262-581-7574

We will work to provide home stays for everyone who requests one. Some homes will be free and others may have a cost. Please contact Petra with your requests. Home stays will be reserved on a first come first served basis.

Local accommodations are also listed below:
Quality Inn & Suites (1.8 miles away)
2921 O’Leary Ln, East Troy, WI 53120•(262) 684-2183

Alpine Valley Resort (1.6 miles away)
W2501 Co Rd D, Elkhorn, WI 53121•(262) 642-7374

BD 501 and 508 preps for quality comparison:
If you have them, please bring or send BD 501 and BD 508 preps for quality comparison and closing ceremony.
Preps can be mailed to Petra Zinniker, N 7399 Bowers Rd, Elkhorn, WI 53121

Presenters:

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Mac Mead

Hugh Courtney

Marjory House

Lloyd Nelson

Dr Kamsler

Ryan Herring

Wali Via

Sponsors: Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Demeter, Biodynamic Association

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The Central Regional Council and the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology present: View this email in your browser

Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology
— an Easter-Tide RetreatMaundy Thursday 9 April 2020 Noon thru Easter Sunday at 3 pm
Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL AAP:James A. Dyson, M.D., Roberta Nelson, Ph.D., and David Tresemer, Ph.D. with Susan Overhauser, Ph.D.CRC:Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa DaltonEurythmist: Mary RuudActivities:Art-ActsStar WisdomThe Karma ExercisesExperiential PAGEANT on Holy Saturday: ‘Know Thyself’Easter Sunrise SongtrailOptional service at the Christian CommunityCommunal meals and time for ConversationLectures:‘Living into Karma through the Senses’‘How to find the Self in a Sea of Karma’‘Unfolding the Enigma of the Saturn Path’‘The Gesture of Karma’‘Christ as Lord of Karma — how do I access this in terms of my personal psychology?’(Program subject to change) $125 Conference fee includes 1 meal a dayFor more information and to register, contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@peoplepc.com

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Festivals for the Dead. Then & Now. Renew, or Create Your Own Tradition.

with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year. Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Trans-denominational Minister, ‘Anthroposopher’, working as the Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, The Traveling Speakers Program, & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.

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Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society, 4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map)

Check out our Web site! (Anthroposophical Society in America)

The Elderberries 3-Fold Space & the Flex Space are available for rental on PEER SPACE for classes, events, meetings, retreats, art exhibits, family parties, etc..

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ON-GOING:

Community Study – Wednesdays at 9:30 am – 11 am at the Branch – Working with Rudolf Steiner’s Karmic Relationships Vol 4

‘Anthroposophy’, which means Wisdom of the Human Being is a ‘Spiritual Science’ built on the research of Rudolf Steiner. Our current conversation explores: the riddles of existence, the truth of karma, the mystery of evil, historic connections, life after death and more. We incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’, eurythmy, focused discussion and seasonal artistic explorations in our study.

For more info. contact Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Spiritual Manger

December 17, 2019Festival, History, Poetry, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote~hag

Image result for barren landscape painting — George Channing

Dear friends – When all seems dead & barren on the face of the Earth, below the surface, the inner life is strengthened…& if we can let go of the false hustle & bustle imposed on us from without, & sit in the stillness of the darkness, where the heart-beat can be heard, There we will find the inner strength to let go of our fear of the dark. To let our eyes adjust to the dark. And soon we will see quite clearly in the dark. And then we can begin the work of Re-Patterning & opening to the inspiration of our Immaculate Conception – our pure thought, which creates the new paradigm…

The Immaculate Conception Revisited – Catholic World Report

Energizing Hope for the Sun’s return & the Earth’s renewal we make a ‘spiritual manger’ – a sacred space – in the cold black frozen places, that seem devoid of life, but are really just a sterilized palate – a clean slate, fresh & ready for the newly conceived light to be born into & fill…

At Advent, All our souls are pregnant with the possibility of giving birth to the light within. Wisdom fills us with this possibility that we may birth the Being of Love. This pure light is a becoming, it becomes, a rainbow, in us: shining with the colors of hope, truth & goodness; radiant with the hues of integrity, beauty & virtue, which overflow as joyous praise. In growing this rainbow within, we become, enlightened, with Good Will, bringing the power of Peace to bear in the world.

Image result for may peace prevail on earth painting — Debbie Lin

~hag

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Image result for asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Mars & Jupiter painting — Harry Voot

17 December 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: This evening offers an exceptional chance to spot the asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Mars & Jupiter. Look south of Alpha Aquarii, the second-brightest star in the constellation Aquarius, at the southwestern corner of the Great Square of Pegasus.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

“My eager heart aspires
To be a torch, to bear the Spirit’s light
Into the dark night of a wintry world
Blessing and blest. ” ~Rudolf Steiner

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Feast day of Lazarus – The biblical narrative of the raising of Lazarus is found in chapter 11 of the Gospel of John. Lazarus is introduced as a follower of Jesus, who lives in the town of Bethany near Jerusalem, the brother of Mary & Martha. The sisters send word to Jesus that Lazarus, “he whom thou lovest,” is ill. Instead of immediately traveling to Bethany, Jesus intentionally remains where he is for two more days before beginning the journey.

When Jesus arrives in Bethany, he finds that Lazarus is dead & has already been in his tomb for four days. He meets first with Martha & then Mary in turn. Martha laments that Jesus did not arrive soon enough to heal her brother & Jesus replies with the well-known statement, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die“. Later the narrator here gives the famous simple phrase, “Jesus wept“.

In the presence of a crowd of mourners, Jesus comes to the tomb. Over the objections of Martha, Jesus has them roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb & says a prayer. He then calls Lazarus to come out (“Come forth”) & Lazarus does so, still wrapped in his grave-cloths. Jesus then calls for someone to remove the grave-cloths, & let him go.

The narrative ends with the statement that many of the witnesses to this event “believed in him.” Others are said to report the events to the religious authorities in Jerusalem.

The Gospel of John mentions Lazarus again in chapter 12. Six days before the Passover on which Jesus is crucified, Jesus returns to Bethany & Lazarus attends a supper that Martha, his sister, serves. Jesus & Lazarus together attract the attention of many & the chief priests consider having Lazarus put to death because so many people are believing in Jesus on account of this miracle.

The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, the longest coherent narrative in John aside from the Passion, is the culmination of John’s “signs”. It explains the crowds seeking Jesus on Palm Sunday, & leads directly to the decision of Caiaphas & the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus.

It is notable that at John 11:11, after being told by His disciples to fear those who would kill Him, & after the parable about living in darkness, Jesus references his own parable & states that Lazarus sleeps, & that He will go “wake him up”. The disciples thought Jesus meant Lazarus was actually sleeping in verse 12. Then, in verse 14, Jesus speaks plainly & tells them that “Lazarus has died”. This is to be clear that Lazarus has died in the flesh, & is not sleeping or unconscious.

Lazarus is spoken of by Rudolf Steiner as becoming John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, & formerly as Hiram Abiff the Master Builder of Solomon’s Temple & Christian Rosenkreutz.

Image result for Saturnalia painting — Antoine Francois Callet

497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome.

Image result for aztec stone calendar painting

1790 – The Aztec calendar stone is discovered at El Zócalo, Mexico City.

Image result for 1819 – Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia

1819 – Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia in Venezuela. Gran Colombia was the most prestigious country in Spanish America. John Quincy Adams, then Secretary of State & future president of the United States, claimed it to be one of the most powerful nations on the planet. This prestige, attracted to the nation unionist ideas of independence movements in Cuba, the Dominican Republic & Puerto Rico, which sought to form an associated state with the republic.

1862 –General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, & Kentucky.

1830 – Death Day of Simón Bolívar, 2nd President of Venezuela

1833 – Deathday of Kaspar Hauser, the rightful Prince of Baden, died after a murder attempt on 12.12.1833

Image result for Eleanor Charlotte Merry

1873 – Birthday of Eleanor Charlotte Merry, an English poet, artist, musician & anthroposophist with a strong Celtic impulse & interest in esoteric wisdom. She studied in Vienna & met Rudolf Steiner in 1922 after becoming interested in his teachings. She went on to organize Summer Schools where Steiner gave lectures, & was secretary for the World Conference on Spiritual Science in London in 1928

Eleanor Charlotte Kynaston grew up in a liberal educational environment, her father being the well known classical scholar & professor of Ancient Greek, Herbert Snow aka Kynaston. It was only at the age of 13 that she began to attend a regular school. This was also when she began to take a passionate interest in music. Two years later, her father became Deacon of Durham, so Eleanor grew up close to the beautiful cathedral. She was able to read the manuscripts that were kept in the monastic library, walking up & down amongst the Norman columns of the cathedral & experienced something of a real, concrete history, something completely different from what she read in her schoolbooks. It was the myths & legends that captivated her, & she learned by heart Tennyson’s King Arthur.

The stream of scholars & theologians that entered their house fed her spiritual longings.

As she grew up, she sought a career as singer, wanting to study music & art. At 19, she left home for a course of study in Vienna, which led not only to a fine command of the German language & development of her musical skills but also placed her in a kind of artistic-aesthetic inner crisis. Soon after her return to England, she married the well-known Oxford surgeon Merry, to whose professional commitments Eleanor Merry was to devote much of her energy besides the rearing of their son & daughter.

She learnt about Theosophy at the beginning of World War I when a copy of the “Secret Doctrine” of H.P. Blavatsky was sent her by persons unknown. As she read it, she felt as if guided by some unseen hand, & studied further works of Annie Besant & other Theosophists. After the war, she was made aware of Rudolf Steiner’s Knowledge of the Higher Worlds. In January 1922 she met Daniel Nicol Dunlop in London for the first time. He was reading a lecture of Rudolf Steiner’s to the anthroposophical group there. A few months later, her husband died of pneumonia, after which she had her first personal conversation with DN Dunlop. Dunlop was still fired up with gratitude over his meeting with Rudolf Steiner some few weeks previously.

She took part in the conference “Spiritual Values in Education” in Oxford that August, where she met Rudolf Steiner personally for the first time. She saw him first in a corridor & by his gait & the manner in which he looked at her, she had the impression: “He knows where he is going.”

She assisted D.N. Dunlop in the preparation of the subsequent Summer School in Penmaenmawr the following year, where a further conversation with Rudolf Steiner took place in which he recommended to her the new techniques in painting that had been developed under his guidance. She was soon exhibiting publicly in London& elsewhere. He also advised her to form as strong a bond as possible with Dunlop. This summer school, devoted to the theme “The Evolution of Consciousness” was felt by Steiner to be a milestone in the development of the anthroposophical movement.

Eleanor was present at the founding of the new General Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland around New Year 1923/24.

The theme of the ensuing Summer School at Torquay in 1924, “True and False Paths in Spiritual Investigation” (GA 243), stemmed from a conversation she had with Rudolf Steiner on this occasion.

In her further work in Britain after Rudolf Steiner’s death, she wholeheartedly supported D.N. Dunlop’s efforts to create an open, inclusive & at the same time spiritually founded continuation of the anthroposophical work. She acted as secretary of the anthroposophical World Conference in London of 1928 &wrote a play around the figure of King Arthur for the youth conference initiated by David Clement in Glastonbury in 1932. More immediately than anyone, she experienced the dramatic events affecting Daniel Dunlop between 1929, when he became General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain & the spring of 1935, when he was expelled from the General Anthroposophical Society & died a short while later. After his death, she maintained intimate friendships with her half-sister, Marna Pease, Walter Johannes Stein & particularly Eugen Kolisko, whom she helped to build up the School for Spiritual Science, wrote numerous articles for their magazine “The Modern Mystic“, & wrote down the biographical notes Kolisko dictated to her. In the 1940s she led a painting school together with Maria Schindler as well as working with her on the book Pure Colour (1946), leading to large public exhibitions.

Eleanor Charlotte Merry died on 16. June 1956 in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex.

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Holy Nights 2019-2020 – The New Mysteries of the ‘Christmas Conference’ Renewed! Dear Friends – Join us this year for an Extra Ordinary Holy Nights. We will gather at the Branch from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm CST to attend a new initiative with folks from around the world; ‘May Human Beings Hear It: An Online Holy Nights Gathering hosted by ASA friends around the country’. Laura Scappaticci, Angela Foster.

Here is the link with info. for this free Zoom Call gathering.

Here is the Link to Register

1st Holy Night: Tuesday 24 December 2019 – Christmas Eve, Adam & Eve’s Day (no meeting at the branch) Zoom call at NOON CST – A Goethean Conversation

2nd Holy Night: Wednesday 25 December 2019 – Christmas Day. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. 1st hour hosted by ‘The Sophia Holding Group’. Our study: Rudolf Steiner’ Opening Lecture. pg. 43

4th Holy Night: Friday 27 December 2019 – Feast of St. John -1st hour hosted by Mary Stewart Adams. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting pg. 98

or Zoom Call: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm hosted by The Dallas Maitreya Branch. Lisa Dalton

6th Holy Night: Sunday 29 December 2019 – 1st hour hosted by The Rockford TN. Group. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 110 William Rogers

7th Holy Night: Monday 30 December 2019 – 1st hour hosted by The Eastern Regional Council. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 138

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8th Holy Night: Wednesday 1 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by Tess Parker & The Youth. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 183

9th Holy Night: Thursday 2 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by The Western Regional Council. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 192

10th Holy Night: Friday 3 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by The Portland Branch. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 204

for more info. contact Festivals Coordinator Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

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The Christian Community in North America

Winter Youth Conference 2020

THE COURAGE TO LOVE THE WORLD THAT WE’RE IN

For young people ages 14-19 – January 17 – 20, 2020 MLK weekend in Washington DC

WHAT DO YOU LOVE? -WHAT IS IN NEED OF YOUR LOVE?

Rev. Carol Kelly, Rev. Paul Newton, Anna Silber, Samuel Parker, Ultra-Violet Archer, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

fee $300 (Financial assistance available)

contact Rev. Carol Kelly carolkelly.cc@gmail.com

full flyer: Christian community DC2020

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30 Jan. – 2 Feb. 2020 Prep-makers conference at Michael Fields Institute

Fellowship of Preparation Makers Gathering

BD 501 and 508 – Tools to bring the cosmic light into the earth.

January 30^th – February 2^nd, 2020

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, N8030 Townline Rd, East Troy, WI

The mission of the Fellowship of Preparation Makers is to ensure that good quality biodynamic preparations are available now and into the future throughout North America.

Schedule:

Thursday, January 30th

10—10:30 am Registration for Chromatogram Intensive

10:30am Chromatogram Intensive – All levels welcome. Presenter: Ryann Herring

12 —1pm Lunch on your own

1-3pm Chromatogram Intensive

3—5pm Registration and Social Time

5-6:30pm Supper

7-8:30pm Welcome from Perry Brown, and Candlemas Festival with Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Friday, January 31st

7:30-8:30am Registration, Breakfast and Social Time

8:30– 10 am History of Fellowship of Prep Makers, and Introductions.

10-10:30am Morning Break

10:30–12:30pm Why Biodynamics? Presenter: Mac Mead

12:30-1:45pm Lunch

2-3:30pm How the cosmic works in the earth? Presenter: Hugh Courtney

3:30-4pm Afternoon Break

4-6pm Different ways to make and use BD501 & BD508. Practical hands on session with Marjory House and Lloyd Nelson

6-7:30 pm Supper

7:30-9pm The Journey of a Prep Maker, A history circle, Facilitator: Brian Wickert

Saturday, February 1st

7:30-8:30 Registration, Breakfast and Social Time

8:30-10am History of Silica on Man’s Evolution (Lamuria to today) Presenter: Mac Mead

10-10:30am Morning break

10:30– 12pm Silica and the Human Presenter: Dr. Mark Kamsler

12-1:30pm Lunch

1:30-3pm Interpretation of Chromatograms Presenter: Ryann Herring

3-3:30pm Afternoon Break

3:30-5pm Kolisko Institute Presenter: Dr. Mark Kamsler

5-7pm Supper

7-8:30pm Quality Comparison of BD501 & 508 Show and tell how you make and use the preps. Facilitator: Wali Via

8:30 pm Evening Social/Brew City Drifters

Sunday, February 2nd

7:30-8:30 am Breakfast & Social Time

8:30-10am Round Table Discussion: Peppering for Pests and Weeds Panel: Mac Mead and Hugh Courtney

10-1-:30 Morning Break

10:30– Noon Fellowship presentations, evaluations and closing circle.

Noon Lunch

Registration and Lodging

Full Conference Fee $250

Single Day $125

Single Talk $25

Single Meal $15

Chromatogram Intensive $25

Homestays Available

Airport pickup from MKE available

Questions:
Allison Pratt-Szeliga
apszeliga@michaelfields.org
262-642-3303×107

Home stay and airport transportation arrangements will be handled by:
Petra Zinniker
petrazinniker@gmail.com
262-581-7574

Local accommodations are also listed below:
Quality Inn & Suites (1.8 miles away)
2921 O’Leary Ln, East Troy, WI 53120•(262) 684-2183

Alpine Valley Resort (1.6 miles away)
W2501 Co Rd D, Elkhorn, WI 53121•(262) 642-7374

Presenters:

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Mac Mead

Hugh Courtney

Marjory House

Lloyd Nelson

Dr Kamsler

Ryan Herring

Wali Via

Sponsors: Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Demeter, Biodynamic Association

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The Central Regional Council and the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology present: View this email in your browser

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Festivals for the Dead. Then & Now. Renew, or Create Your Own Tradition.

Giving

November 28, 2019History, Insight, Quote, Remembering~hag

Nashville, part 8 of The Journey (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 )

We arrived at the Parthenon just before they closed the gates for the night. The guard was acting as docent giving an impromptu talk, highlighting the various details of Athena Parthenos. Deb spoke with the maintenance man who admitted that it has taken him a while to get used to being with the Goddess. When he 1^st started working there it spooked him to be alone with the colossus, especially in the dark when he opened up for the day.

Fear not O mortal man, let the greatness of the Divine Feminine, empower you to wholeness, embrace her mighty power & become a true human being.

Image result for Sunflower Café TN at night — ~hag

Spiritually Fortified, we made our way to the Sunflower Café to meet Barbara Bittles & Cathy Green our Nashville hosts, holders of The Middle Tennessee Branch, for a Southern style veggie dinner.

Then we drove to Barbara’s stately home, which was rebuilt after a fire completely destroyed it. Luckily Barkley her faithful dog, (who has since gone back to the group soul), alerted her in the night & they were able to escape the flames.

I decided to set up for our workshop which was happening at 10 am the next morning, knowing Deb had to be at the airport at 7 am, so she could be home in time to go to the Biodynamic conference.

Right on time, folks began arriving, young & old, with their hearts & hands ladened with good will & food for the potluck. Many brought pictures of their beloved dead which we set up to create an altar on the mantle.

We began with eurythmy in the Chapel, a spiritually charged room dedicated to the Act of Consecration – the Christian Community Service, which a visiting priest gives quarterly.

The workshop was lively with much participation; folks sharing stories, insights, asking questions which took us deeper into the work; & thru the rendering of the planetary seals, gaining a sure foothold as we made our collective journey between the life of death & rebirth.

So many amazing coincidences & synchronicities arose between us. One remarkable gentleman, a true mountain man, farmer & founder of the local Waldorf School, was actually in Memphis when MLK was shot. As a fireman he was called in when the riots broke out.

The group was attuned to the concept that the past, present & future are interwoven, revealing our karmic destiny – reaching out from other incarnations, into future generations, thru us in every moment.

We lingered over lunch & enjoined each other’s company before Angel;a & I had to pack up & make our way to Knoxville/Maryville/Rockford TN.

Image result for Light Gatherers by Helen Chamberlain — ~Helen Itzal

Many Blessings dear friends, as we give Thanks

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Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Moon at dusk, Nov. 28-29, 2019

28 November 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Bella Luna pairs with Venus at dusk.

Does the Sun already seem to be setting about as early as it ever will? You’re right! We’re still three weeks away from the winter solstice — but the Sun sets its earliest around December 7th & right now it already sets within only about 1 minute of that time. A surprising result of this: The Sun actually sets a trace earlier on Thanksgiving than on Christmas — even though Christmas is around solstice time!This offset from the solstice date is balanced out by the opposite happening at sunrise: the Sun doesn’t come up its latest until January 4th. It’s because of the tilt of Earth’s axis & the eccentricity of Earth’s orbit.

Thanksgiving Day

The prayer below was shared with me during Thanksgiving week a few years ago. It is timeless & appropriate at any time of year, but particularly now.

Giving thanks is common to all spiritual & religious groups.

Native Americans had entire ceremonies just for the purpose of expressing thanks – sometimes lasting for days.

This Thanksgiving Prayer comes from the Seneca Nation & is at least 500 years old.

It is traditionally done around a fire, with spiritual food on the altar.

Seneca Thanksgiving Prayer

And now we are gathered together to remember the Great Mystery’s first instruction to us: to love one another always, we who move about on this earth.

And the Great Mystery said that when even just two people meet, they should first greet each other by saying: “Nyah Weh Skenno” which translates to “thank you for being” and then they may take up the matter with which they are concerned.

[Nyah Weh Skenno more literally means: “thank you for being alive in the here and now and not adding to the confusion of the world.”]

The Great Mystery gave us our lives and requires in return only that we be grateful and love one another. The purpose of this prayer is to pass on those instructions and give us the opportunity to express our gratitude.

So the first thing we will do is give thanks for our lives.

And the Great Mystery gave us the Earth on which to live and roam. We refer to her as “Our Mother, Who Supports Our Feet.”

And our mother gives us everything we need in order to live and be happy. She teaches us to be generous and nurturing, yet strong.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for Our Mother Who Supports Our Feet.

And the Great Mystery decided to have Plants growing on the earth. They are available in abundance as Medicines to heal us and Food to sustain us.

And we have Berries which come back every year when the winds turn warm again. In giving thanks for them, we give thanks for the warm winds that usher in the season of abundance.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for Plants and Berries.

And the Great Mystery gave us the life’s blood of our mother to sustain us. When the new day dawns, the first thing we use is Water and it’s the last thing we use at night. It comes from the springs, brooks, ponds, lakes and rivers. It is found not only on the earth, but even falls from the heavens in the form of blessed rain.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for Sacred Water.

And the Great Mystery decided to put Forests on the earth. The trees of the forest provide warmth, fuel and protection. We call them our Tall Standing Brothers and they live their lives drinking in the sun.

When they die and give themselves for the fire, they represent the Sun here on earth.

One tree was created to remind us of the Great Mystery. The Maples stand on the earth and drip sweet liquid when the cold wind blows. Our elders called this “wood juice” — it gives us energy and lightens our spirits during the long cold winters and is a great gift.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for Our Tall Standing Brothers, the Trees.

And the Animals are a great gift – they are our friends and relatives upon the earth. The four leggeds test us and amuse us; they’re our teachers and companions. And they provide food and clothing for the people.

And there are Birds with outstretched wings who dance upon the air and sing a beautiful song that ushers in the warm spring. And they also provide us with food.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for the Animal and Bird Nations.

And the Great Mystery gave the people another gift, to sustain them: the Three Sisters: Corn, Beans And Squash. The people are to take care of them, plant them in the earth, tend them as they grow, and harvest them. This will strengthen the hearts and sustain the bodies of the people.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for the Three Sisters: Corn, Beans and Squash.

The Wind strengthens the people as they move about on the earth. It strengthens our breath, clears the air as well as our minds and carries the voice of the ancient ones all over the earth so that, even in the desert, the smallest whisper reminds us we are never alone.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for the Wind.

And the Great Mystery fashioned a sky above us and put a helper in the sky who moves about across the earth, yet lives in the sky. This helper always comes from the east and travels to the west. His heart is so big and strong, and his love for his relations so great, that he lights the entire sky when he passes by. This light is our Elder Brother, The Sun.

The Sun takes that obligation seriously and with great regard, for he never misses a day of this journey. He brings us light, and warmth and allows growing things to flourish.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for our Elder Brother, the Sun.

But there is also a time when the earth is in shadow so the Great Mystery gave us another helper for this time: the Night Circle Of Light, our Grandmother, the Moon. Our grandmother is a measure for us up to this present time. She changes her form daily: she regulates the tides on our mother the earth and also in the bodies of women. She also taught us how to measure through the cycle of the seasons.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly.

We give thanks for the Night Circle of Light, Grandmother Moon.

And the Great Mystery also put the Stars in the sky while it is dark. They are indicators and we can find our way by them. Each one has a name, and there is one for every human on the earth, those living now and those who have passed on.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for the Star Nation.

The Four Winds, the directions, are our protectors. Wherever we go, wherever we stand, we are at the center of the four winds, and we want to speak good words to them so that they may bless us with their protection.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for the Four Winds.

And the Great Mystery saw that the people also needed guidance so he sent Clan Ancestors to teach understanding of the Great Mystery. Our clan ancestors teach us how to love one another and give guidance to our minds. They hold great knowledge and our future depends on how well we listen to them.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for our Clan Ancestors.

And the Great Mystery, told us this: “I shall continue to dwell above the sky, and that is where those on the earth will end their thanksgiving. I shall always be listening carefully to what the people are saying and shall always be watching carefully what they do. They will begin on the earth, giving thanks for all that they see. They will carry that gratitude upward, ending where I dwell.”

We want to live well to earn that right.

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly. We give thanks for the one who gives us our lives, the Great Mystery.

[At this time express gratitude for other aspects of your life]

Closing:

May our grief be lifted,
Our hearts be open,
Our stomach be full,
Our bones be braced,
And our will be calmed.

It is spoken, it is beautiful.

& so dear friends, I wish you a blessed Holy Day. Thank you for being alive in the here & now, & not adding to the confusion of the world.

Today & everyday

XOX

~hag

Healing the Ancestral Line

November 21, 2019Autumn, Celestial Event, History, Insight, Poetry, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Speaking with the Stars~hag

Greetings friends – The question for me is always, where do I start? For this 1st installment of the write-up for the ‘All Souls Southern Tour’, what came was to just be real, to be vulnerable, to start with the genesis of my own All Souls healing journey. And so it is:

Verse for Our Beloved Dead by Rudolf Steiner:

May my heart-love reach to soul-love.
May my love’s warmth shine to spirit light.
Thus, I draw near to you.
Thinking spiritual thoughts with you,
Feeling cosmic love in you,
Willing in spirit through you –
Weaving with you
One in experience.

I have always had an ‘Ancestor Shrine’. A kind of altar table layered with pictures, Mass cards, candles, crystals, bells, art offerings & the letters I written to the dead over the years. My Strega Nona taught me to place a fresh glass of water there every morning with a greeting. Starting with the Michaelmas season I often feel a pull to consciously tune in more. Sometimes I awake with the idea to bring a favorite food or an urge to sit there in meditation, or offer my research or reading; this ‘altar’ is after all, right next to my computer in my study where I do all my spiritual scientific work. Last year I began to know that I could recite the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ with my parents in mind. For many years it was difficult for me to engage with them, as the karmic knot was too tight, too painful. But my angel insisted, & so I push thru, & little by little the forgiveness & healing expands into all worlds.

As fate would have it a few years ago I was asked to come out to Nashville & Knoxville TN. to bring various anthroposophical programs, & I knew it was another opportunity for me to do some ancestral healing.

I have spoken about how my mother’s people came to the Knoxville/Milan/Skullbone TN area from Ireland. They raped & pillaged into the Chickasaw tribe, intermarrying, but then proceeding to become founders of the KKK in that area. Feeling the shame of the ‘sins of the father’s’, I had avoided the South all my life, going only once before when I was in a band, stopping in while on tour, for a family reunion after my mother had died.

I often imagine that my parents are still in the Kamaloca phase in their life between death & rebirth. Our dear Dr. Steiner shares with us that the human soul spends the beginning of this journey in what he refers to as the ‘Region of Burning Desires’ (in Hindu it is called Kamaloca, or in Christian verbiage-purgatory). On average we spend 1/3 of our lives in sleep, the little death, & so it is that we spend this same ratio purifying our passions, coming to terms with & reviewing our recent life on earth. This is a crucial time to reach across the threshold to help those on the other side in this phase closest to earth, especially since they are experiencing our time together. And so I offer them this Steiner Prayer:

I look to you in the spirit world
In which you are.
May my love mitigate your heat.
May my love mitigate you’re cold.
May it come through to you and help you
To find the way
From the spirit’s darkness
To the spirit’s light.

Tomorrow my girl turns 20. & I know the work that I do on healing the ancestral line will reverberate into the future for all my relations…

I am so grateful to my Southern friends, who have allowed me to meet this part of myself, thru the work that I share, to do some deep healing; welcoming me into their communities, which I see as my chosen family.

Coming this time for our ‘All Souls Southern Tour’, there was a big shift, which I will go into tomorrow.

Thanks for walking with me on the path…

~hag

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POD (Poem Of the Day)

~The clouds cut
A formless form
Into the heavy throne of some kind of queen
Only never my mother.
& yet a clue unfolds & holds
The encoded map
Star clusters speaking the scope
Of the stream, sunk
In the occlusion of tears & corals
Pried away from glistening birds
Weaving treasures into stinging prayers
& future symphonies.
~hag

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Image result for regulus waning moon Nov. 21 2019

21 November 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Look for Bella Luna waning in the east next to Regulus the next few mornings.

Image result for meteor shower known as the Alpha Monocerotids Nov. 21 2019

A very obscure meteor shower known as the Alpha Monocerotids is currently plowing streams of dusty particles that sputter off comet nuclei when they approach the Sun. The peak occurs TONIGHT starting around 10:50 pm CST. The shower’s radiant is in the obscure constellation of Monoceros, the Unicorn, not far from the bright star Procyon, the easternmost star in the Great Winter Circle. Procyon will be low in the eastern sky at 10 pm.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

164 BCE – Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restores the Temple in Jerusalem. This event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah.

1676 – The Danish astronomer Ole Rømer presents the first quantitative measurements of the speed of light.

1694 – Birthday of Voltaire, a French Enlightenment writer, historian, & philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church, as well as his advocacy of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile & prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, & historical & scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters & more than 2,000 books & pamphlets. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. He adopted the name Voltaire in 1718, following his incarceration at the Bastille. It is an anagram of AROVET LI, the Latinized spelling of his surname, Arouet, & the initial letters of le jeune (“the young”). According to a family tradition he was known as le petit volontaire (“determined little thing”) as a child, & he resurrected a variant of the name in his adult life. The name also reverses the syllables of Airvault, his family’s home town in the Poitou region. Voltaire perceived the French bourgeoisie to be too small and ineffective, the aristocracy to be parasitic and corrupt, the commoners as ignorant and superstitious, and the Church as a static and oppressive force useful only on occasion as a counterbalance to the rapacity of kings, although all too often, even more rapacious itself. Voltaire distrusted democracy, which he saw as propagating the idiocy of the masses. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, & the French institutions of his day.

1783 – In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier & François Laurent d’Arlandes, make the first untethered hot air balloon flight.

1789 – North Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution & is admitted as the 12th U.S. state.

1811 – Death day of Heinrich von Kleist, German poet & author, spoken about by Rudolf Steiner in THE INNER ASPECT OF THE MOON-EMBODIMENT OF THE EARTH. How can we fail to recognise that this man’s spirit in its entirety as he stands before us, is an actual living embodiment of that which dwells in the depths of the Soul, which we must trace back to something other than the life of earth if we wish to recognise it? Has not Heinrich Von Kleist described in the most significant manner what may live within a man (a description of which you will find at the very beginning of The Spiritual Guidance of Man and Mankind), as something transcending him and driving him, and which he will only understand later on if he does not snap the threads of his life before! Think of his ‘Penthesilea’; how much more there is in her than she can span with her earthly consciousness! We should not be able to describe her at all, did we not take for granted that her Soul was immeasurably further advanced than the narrow little soul (although it was a great one) which she could span with her earthly consciousness. Hence a situation must arise which artistically introduces the whole process of the Drama. Indeed, it was necessary to prevent the whole transaction — which Kleist introduces with Achilles — from being grasped with the higher consciousness; otherwise the whole tragedy could not be perceived. Hence Achilles is called ‘her’ Achilles. What lies in the higher consciousness must be plunged into the non-conscious. Again, what part does this subconsciousness play in Katchen Von Heilbronn, especially in the remarkable relation between her and Wetter Von Strahl, which plays no part in the higher consciousness, but in the deeper strata of the Soul where dwells the forces of which man knows nothing, which pass from one to another. When we have this before us we can trace the spiritual nature of the world’s forces of gravity and attraction. For instance, in the scene where Katchen stands before her admirers, do we not feel what lives in the subconsciousness, and how it is related to what is outside in the world which has been dryly called the forces of our planet’s attractions? Yet only 100 years ago a truly penetrating and striving mind was not able to find his way into that subconsciousness. But it must be done to-day. And the tragedy of a Prince of Homburg strikes us in a very different way now. I should like to know how an abstract thinker, one who accounts for everything by reason alone, could account for a figure such as the Prince of Homburg, who carried out all his great deeds in a kind of dream-state, even those leading finally to victory. Kleist indicates very clearly that he could not possibly gain the victory by means of his higher consciousness, for as far as that was concerned he was not a particularly great man, for he whines and whimpers over everything he has to do. Only when by a special effort of the will, he brings up what dwells in the depths of his Soul, does he play the man.

1877 – Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound.

Image result for 1905 – Albert Einstein's paper that leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc², is published in the journal Annalen der Physik.

1905 – Albert Einstein’s paper that leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc², is published in the journal Annalen der Physik.

Image result for Franz Joseph I of Austria

1916 – Deathday of Franz Joseph I of Austria, spoken about by Steiner in The History and Actuality of Imperialism

The Emperor of Austria, who now belongs to the deposed royalty, before he was chased out carried around along with his other titles a most unusual one: Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slovenia, Galizia, Lodomeria, Illyia and so on. Among all these titles was also “King of Jerusalem!” The Austrian Emperor also carried, until he was no longer emperor, the title “King of Jerusalem.” It came from the crusades. It would be impossible to give a better example of meaninglessness than this. And such meaninglessness plays a much greater role than you imagine. It is a question of whether we can arise to a recognition of the present-day platitudes. It is made difficult because those who live in platitudes are the verbal representatives of the old concepts that stagger around in their brains imitating thoughts. But one can only achieve real thinking again when the inner soul-life is filled with substance and that can only come from knowledge of the spiritual world, of spiritual life. Only by being relieved by the spirit can one become a complete person, after having been constipated with platitudes. What I described yesterday as a feeling of shame will result in the call for the spirit. And the propagation of the spirit will only be possible if the spiritual/cultural sector is allowed to develop independently.

Image result for 1927 – Columbine Mine massacre: Striking coal miners are attacked with machine guns by a detachment of state police dressed in civilian clothes.

1927 – Columbine Mine massacre: Striking coal miners are attacked with machine guns by a detachment of state police dressed in civilian clothes.

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13 December 2019 Rudiger Janisch:

The 3 fold human being , the Foundation Stone & the 3 fold social organism 7 pm – 9 pm &

14 December 2019- 9 am – noon

Rüdiger has been working in Curative Education and teaching in professional training programs in Germany and the United States for over 40 years. A long-time student of anthroposophy, he serves on the Collegium of the School for Spiritual Science in North America. His contributions to adult education methods were recognized in the context of an international research project sponsored by the European Union. He has been a member of the core faculty of a joint ‘Training for Trainers’ program supporting Curative Education and Social Therapy in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan. He has also taught as an adjunct faculty member of the M.S. Ed program in Waldorf Remedial Education at Antioch University N.H. Having taught many different aspects of anthroposophy and Curative Education, he currently is focused on action research and the development of artistic and experiential approaches to the spiritual scientific study of the human being.

Contact rjanisch@camphill.edu

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Cognitive Ritual

~Confessions of a Modern Rosicrucian

Category Archives: Quote

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13 December 2019 Rudiger Janisch:

The 3 fold human being , the Foundation Stone & the 3 fold social organism 7 pm – 9 pm &

14 December 2019- 9 am – noon

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30 Jan. – 2 Feb. 2020 Prep-makers conference at Michael Fields Institute

Fellowship of Preparation Makers Gathering

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30 Jan. – 2 Feb. 2020 Prep-makers conference at Michael Fields Institute

Fellowship of Preparation Makers Gathering

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13 December 2019 Rudiger Janisch:

The 3 fold human being , the Foundation Stone & the 3 fold social organism 7 pm – 9 pm &

14 December 2019- 9 am – noon

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