April Fool’s Day 2017 – Astro-Weather:
“…Just as something quite special enters the life of a family with the birth of a new earth-citizen, so something quite different enters the progress of the human race on earth through the appearance of a comet, which breaks through the ordinary process of cosmic existence. It is actually as though something new were born, when a comet appears.
“If we bear this in mind, we shall then encounter in the right way what we call ‘Signs from the Heavens.’ New births in the universe are not always to be greeted with the same joy as the birth of a young citizen into a family. All sorts are born into the universe; those that bring humanity forward as well as those that drive it back.”
“…If we wish to understand the nature of a Comet, wandering as it does in cosmic space regardless of the other laws of the Solar System, we must be clear as to the fact that the Comet carries the laws belonging to the old Moon-existence into our own. Those laws it has preserved, and with those it enters our existence…In the year 1906, during the Congress in Paris, I called attention to the fact that Spiritual investigation from its knowledge of the nature of Comets, was able to say: As the combinations of carbon and hydrogen play the same part on our earth as did the combinations of carbon and nitrogen (cyanogen) on the Old Moon, the cometary life must contain cyanogen compounds, — combinations of carbon and nitrogen. Our Spiritual Science, therefore, some time ago announced that the cometary nature must contain cyanogen in some form. During the last few weeks this fact has been mentioned in all the newspapers as an external fact discovered by spectro-analysis. This is only one case — hundreds of others could be quoted — in which Spiritual investigation builds bridges for the facts of external research. In this case spectro-analysis asserts what Spiritual Science stated years before.” ~from CORRESPONDENCES BETWEEN THE MICROCOSM AND THE MACROCOSM, by Rudolf Steiner, Berlin, 9 March, 1910.
Appearing now: Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, or “T-G-K”, behaving as expected, high in the northern evening sky all April. It appears fairly large, since it’s passing relatively close to Earth; mostly diffuse & low-surface-brightness but with a sharp nucleus.
Comet C/2017 E4 Lovejoy is the surprise. Discovered on March 10th 2017 at magnitude 12, it was only expected to reach 9th magnitude at its brightest in mid-April. It’s in Pegasus, in the east just before the beginning of dawn; go out 2 hours before sunrise . The Moon won’t interfere until about the morning of the 7th.
Also: The waxing crescent Moon hangs with Aldebaran, the Hyades & Pleiades in the early evening.
Mars & Mercury, together at dusk. By the end of the week Mercury has greatly faded. . .
The huge, bright Winter Hexagon is still in view after dusk, filling the sky to the southwest & west. It’s the biggest well-known asterism in the sky. Start with brilliant Sirius in the southwest, the Hexagon’s lower left corner. High above Sirius is Procyon. From there look even higher for Pollux & Castor, rightward from Castor to Menkalinan & bright Capella, lower left from there to Aldebaran (near the Moon tonight), lower left to Rigel at the bottom of Orion, & back to Sirius.
This evening Aldebaran is lower right of the Moon, & Betelgeuse is a bit farther to the Moon’s lower left Have you ever closely compared the colors of Betelgeuse & Aldebaran? Can you detect any difference in their color whatsoever? I can’t, really. Yet Aldebaran, is often called an “orange” giant, while Betelgeuse, is usually called a “red” supergiant.
***
Georgia O’Keeffe
April is Poetry Month so here’s my POD (Poem Of the Day)
~I re-member
The perfume of morning
Sharp as I carry the egg of light home
A simple flower unfurling
Slowly after a night of anguish
I sway under a fragmented sky thinking how
Star patterns & Moon-magic pulse within me…
& how
Unseen music follows…
~hag
***
Bea Garth
The Goddess & the April Fool: A guided Imagination
You are walking in a dense forest. The sky is overcast, and the woods are gloomy, although occasionally, a feeble ray of sunlight makes its way through the clouds and the trees. The branches of the trees are bare, although the tips are just beginning to bud. Old leaves from last year’s fall scurry about your feet as an occasional gust of wind blows them about. The ground is, for the most part bare, with occasional patches of snow in the shade. Hints of new green life make their way up through the snow and dead leaves.
As you walk, you notice a grove of beautiful white birches, the pale glint of their trunks and branches, a pleasant contrast in the otherwise dark woods. You walk towards the birch grove and then deep into it. When you are surrounded by the birches, you notice a large tree that looks as if it has been struck by lightning. It’s upper trunk has been split in two, the inner wood has been exposed to the air, dead leaves have blown their way into the nooks of the tree, in every way this tree looks as dead as it can be.
Suddenly you hear a whimsical whistle from behind the fallen lightning struck branches. Out pops “THE FOOL” in his colorful patch work coat, holding his knapsack up on a stick, a white rose in his hand, with a wolf cub snapping at his heels…
“OH DON’T MIND THE WOLF FAWNING ABOUT, HE KEEPS ME HONEST.
I SEE YOU WERE LAMENTING ABOUT THE TREE. DO YOU REALLY THINK IT’S DEAD (He laughs) REMEMBER, EVERY ENDING IS BUT A NEW BEGINNING. IT’S ALL ABOUT TRUST. BELIEF, IN THE ULTIMATE GOODNESS OF CREATION – THAT LIFE HAS A POINT. THAT DEATH IS TRANSFORMATION. THAT SUFFERING CAN BE PURPOSEFUL, WHEN WE BEGIN LIVING CONSCIOUSLY, IN THE HOPE OF A BRIGHT ETERNAL NOW.
OK, I KNOW, AT FIRST GLANCE THINGS SEEM DARK, AND YES, IF YOU LOOK AT THE EVIL OF GREED AND WAR IN THE WORLD, AT THE LOSS OF YOUNG LIVES, THE FAILURE OF PRINCIPLE, BELIEVING IN PEACE, HAVING HOPE & TRUSTING, CAN LOOK PRETTY (clears his throat) FOOLISH. BUT BELIEVE ANYWAY!!! THAT’S MY MOTTO. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO RISK, TO JUMP INTO THE ABYSS OF BELIEF, TO GO AGAINST EVERYTHING SOCIETY SAYS IS SENSELESS. IT MEANS TRUSTING THE HIGHER GOOD. THE INNER FORCES. WHICH ARE AT THE HEART OF GREAT EVOLUTIONARY ENDEAVORS.
RISK LOOKING LIKE A FOOL. LIVE IN THE MOMENT, OF HOPE FULFILLED.
BE PEACE & PEACE WILL PREVAIL.
HEY WHAT’S THAT OVER THERE…(laughs,) MADE YOU LOOK…
And with that “THE FOOL” is gone. Make sure your shoe laces aren’t tied together as you walk closer to the tree.
You are surprised to see a bright light outlining the figure of a woman. She is clad in brilliant greens and sunny yellows. She holds a large golden basket. Her gaze is steady, her eyes make you think of clear streams running in the middle of old forests, her skin reminds you of the first fair flower of spring, and her hair is long and unbound. At her feet sits a small brown rabbit nuzzling the hem of her skirt. She gestures, indicating that you should come forward. You walk towards her. She points at her covered basket, and lifts the cloth. Inside, you see an astounding array of pastel eggs, all colors, all patterns. You can think of nothing better than to pick one of these beautiful eggs, and have it for your very own. Your hand reaches out, and she shakes her head. You realize that while she wants you to have an egg, she wants you to pick it sight unseen. So, you close your eyes, reach out your hand, and reach into the basket. Eyes still closed, you draw your hand back, holding an egg. You open your eyes, and look upon your egg. What does it look like?
Think to yourself what the decoration on the egg means, and why Ostara, The Goddess of The Spring Resurrection wants you to have this particular gift for the coming season.
After you have looked at your egg, you raise your head to thank the Goddess, but she is gone. You look about for her in vain. You wonder if it has all been a dream. The reality of your heart tells you otherwise, and you know you have received the blessing of the Green Goddess.
As your attention moves from yourself to the forest, you realize that the trees now have tiny, but beautifully formed green leaves at the end of their branches. And you notice that the birch tree struck by lightning, the one that looked dead, now has green shoots rising from its split trunk. As you make your way out of the birch grove, it seems that the clouds have lightened, and even as you think this, the sun comes out. Small, barely formed flowers lightly scent the forest floor, birds are singing, and the rich smell of moist earth fills your nose.
Softly at first you hear that care-free whistling coming from what seems like everywhere. As you mount the crest, you see “THE FOOL” once again. He’s playing catch with the wolf, precariously close to the edge of the precipice. He calls out to you…
“A MONK WAS OUT WALKING IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ANCIENT JAPAN.
HE ENCOUNTERS A WILD TIGER. AND AS HE IS FLEEING, HE SLIPS OVER A CLIFF, BUT MANAGES TO GRAB HOLD OF A GNARLED ROOT AT THE EDGE. HE LOOKS DOWN, & SEES SHARDS OF BROKEN ROCKS FAR BELOW. HE LOOKS UP & SEES THE WILD CAT, SNARLING AT HIM IN HUNGER. AS HE LOOKS AROUND, HE ALSO SEES BESIDE HIM A BUSH WITH A SINGLE BRIGHT, SUCCULENT BERRY ON IT. HE LOOKS UP. HE LOOKS DOWN.
HE SMILES, & PLUCKS THE BERRY, & POPS IT INTO HIS MOUTH…
HOW SWEET IT TASTES!”
(He begins to whistle, letting it swell & then fade out)
This is the way of the wise fool. He knows that a life lived in trust is sweet. Take this Zen teaching into your heart, into your mind, into your body.
As you make your way out of the forest, you wonder how you could have found this green growing place gloomy, it seems so alive, and pleasant to walk through, full of hope and positive forces, which you can call on anytime, to influence your choices, as you take the leap, into the joys of Spring.
~Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
***
EASTER-TIDE EVENTS for 2017:
(PLEASE NOTE: THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE HAS CHANGED FROM THE PRINTED CALENDAR)
Holy Week Gatherings:
This year we dedicate our study to those who have crossed the threshold. We will be reading to the dead from Chapter 5 of ‘An Outline of Esoteric Science’, entitled ‘Initiation’. We will incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’ verse for Easter, Group eurythmy, & focused discussion.
Study: 9 April 2017, Palm Sunday 2 pm – 3 pm
*SPECIAL EVENT: 3 pm – 6 pm – Work Party at the branch with Elisabeth Swisher & the youth from CWS – All are Welcome
Study: 13 April 2017, Maundy Thursday 7 pm – 8 pm
Study: 14 April 2017, Good Friday 7 pm – 8 pm
15 April 2017, Holy Saturday – Our Easter-Tide Festival: ‘The Mystery of Golgotha – Then & Now’ – 2 pm – 4 pm
The Midwest Eurythmy Group will perform The Easter Verse from the Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner
What was the Mystery of Golgotha?
What is the Mystery now?
What will it be for the future?
~Art Projections & Discourse with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Group work: Based on Baruch Urieli’s
‘Learning to Experience the Etheric World,
Empathy, the After-Image and a New Social Ethic’
$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged
Study: 16 April 2017, Easter Sunday – 2 pm – 4 pm We continue our study & the reading to the dead from Chapter 5 of An Outline of Esoteric Science, entitled ‘Initiation.’ We will incorporate ‘The Calendar of the Soul’ verse for Easter, Group eurythmy, & focused discussion.
Reggie Beotha
Veritas Vita
Maude Dapple
