In honor of Ita Wegman’s Birthday: THE ADMISSION RITUAL FOR LEADERSHIP IN THE MICHAEL SCHOOL ~ Peter Selg
When Ita Wegman wrote to Albert Steffen on August 21, 1925, five months after Rudolf Steiner’s death, about her relationship with the First Class of the School for Spiritual Science, she mentions a Rose Cross given to her by Rudolf Steiner: ‘Before his illness the Doctor gave me a Cross with small rubies set in roses, which he used to wear on a red ribbon around his neck. He put it on me with his own hands after we had performed a ritual act‘. Rudolf Steiner’s Rose Cross can be found as part of Ita Wegman’s estate. A few years later, on April 25, 1930, Ita Wegman spoke about the circumstances of the handing over of the cross, the preceding ‘ritual act’, and their connection with the First Class during the Executive Council meeting with the general secretaries and delegates of the General Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum: ‘I also received his cross directly. He took it from his neck and put it on me with his own hands, saying: ‘From this moment we will be there together for the Michael School’.
This meant that Rudolf Steiner, after performing the ritual act, and through the ritual of handing over the cross, admitted Ita Wegman to the Michael School as co – leader with joint responsibility. There is sufficient reason to believe that Rudolf Steiner performed the ritual act and the passing on of the cross at the beginning of September 1924 (after his return from England) in his studio.
In all the Class Lessons Steiner held from September 6 onward, he emphasized Ita Wegman’s special co-responsibility for the mantras of the ritual lessons and for the esoteric school.
People who were admitted to the First Class in September 1924 were ritually introduced by Steiner and Wegman together: ‘Admissions took place in the studio. I had to stand next to the Doctor; members were shown into the studio by Dr. Wachsmuth. Dr. Steiner would ask applicants a few questions, and if they were to be admitted, Dr. Steiner would speak the following words: ‘If you are willing to remain faithful to the Michael School, take my hand. Take also Frau Dr. Wegman’s hand, who will lead the Michael School together with me‘. (Ita Wegman )
Among the class members who were admitted in September 1924 was Wolfgang Moldenhauer, who described the admission procedure in exactly the same way in a letter to Kurt Franz David: ‘On November 5, 1924, I was admitted to the First Class by R. St. After the handshake and troth, he asked me to take the hand of Frau Dr. Wegman who sat next to him as co – leader of the class’.
In notes she took of an internal lecture, Ita Wegman wrote a brief summary about the changes in the affairs of the First Class in the late Sumner of 1924: ‘To me, he {Rudolf Steiner} said that the people should know now that the class was the Michael School in spiritual world. Of that school he was the leader and I was his assistant. It was my task to guard the mantras. Any member who wanted to pass a mantra on to another member had to consult me or him. This was an esoteric act, the beginning of a newly – to – be – introduced esotericism. At the same time it was arranged that during the admission procedure, applicants would hear the words: ‘This is the Michael School, which is led by me and Frau Wegman’.
Since from that time the first ritual elements (the ‘signs and seal of Michael‘) were introduced into the lessons.
The unpublished minutes of an Executive Council meeting of November 29, 1930, reveal that a document about the performed ritual act was in Ita Wegman’s possession. During the crisis of the Executive Council and the Society, Ita Wegman was forced again to confirm to her colleagues that Rudolf Steiner had indeed conferred joint responsibility for the class (nobody apart from Elizabeth Vreede believed her).
The ‘papers’ recording the ritual act, or aspects of that act, form part of a comprehensive collection of mantras and esoteric exercises in Rudolf Steiner’s handwriting, which she had received from him. The collection was preserved in full by the priest Emanuel Zeylmans van Emmichoven, and was published in 2009. It includes a text in Rudolf Steiner’s and Ita Wegman’s handwriting, covering several sheets. The text focuses on the Rose Cross and its transfer, culminating in the actual handing over: and contains ritual elements of a ritual antiphony between two people. Emmanuel van Emmichoven wrote: “Because Ita Wegman wrote down Rudolf Steiner’s oral instructions, it is possible for us to place the text, right into its individual images and personal statements before our souls‘. The text includes an evening and a morning meditation for Ita Wegman, both culminating in the meeting with a ‘priest figure’ and the handing over of a Rose Cross. The mantric verses are associated with the esoteric training of the First Class, and end with a blessing on the meditating person who receives the Rose Cross from the priest figure — the ‘spirit guide’.
The evening meditation exercise for Ita Wegman begins with the review of the experiences of the day. (‘imagine an experience of the day in reverse order’ ) This is followed by exact instructions given by Rudolf Steiner, taken down in her handwriting: a breathing exercise that is to be repeated seven times; an IAO exercise: and then the Rose Cross imagination. The imagination was linked to a mantra referring to the spiritual human form, and was to be meditated in relation to that form (focusing on heart and limb organization)
“Primal Powers hold me
Spirits of fire free me
Spirits of light illumine me
So that I reach toward spirit life
So that I feel beings of soul
So that I traverse uncertainties
So that I stand above the abyss.”
In meditating accordingly, the Rose Cross imagination will convey strength and support to the human being from the third hierarchy (in the region of the heart), so that inner certainly can be gained for meeting the tasks and dangers of humanity with confidence.
The process of strengthening, affirmation, and empowerment (or encouragement) was to be followed by further deepened concentration — full inner immersion into the Christ Mystery with the mantra:
“In me let Christ live
And change my breath
And warm the course of my blood
And shine into my soul being.”
Rudolf Steiner’s transcript of the evening meditation ends with the instructions: ‘Maintain inner poise’. In the margin of the page Steiner had added a square bracket: ‘White robe. Red belt and pendant. Red headband. I: Ave frater {Hale thee, brother}. He: rosae et aureae {of the rosy and golden}. I: crucis {cross}. He: Benedictus deus qui dedit nobis signum {Blessed be God who gave us the sign}’.
What Steiner had written down and passed on to Ita Wegman was obviously a summary, which served as a reminder. He would have specified the inner process to her verbally in much more detail. According to Wegman’s notes, the ‘Rose Cross’ had to be retrieved from the heart of the meditating person, where it had previously been ‘placed‘ after the Christ meditation. The Rose Cross had to be created, or reproduced, mantrically and internalized during the exercise. After the Rose Cross had been ‘retrieved” from the heart, it had to be carried imaginatively up a mountain, ‘step by step’. On the mountain peak an encounter should take place in the imagination with a figure {‘person‘} in priestly ritual vestment (with white robe, red stole, red band around the neck, and red belt: the colours of Christian Rosenkreutz, white and red, in the “Chymical Wedding’).
Ita Wegman wrote about that meeting: “One has to hand the Rose Cross over to that person with the words: Ave frater and sense the others response: Rosae and aureae. With devotion one answers: Crucis. The other speaks: Benedictus deus qui dedit nobis signum’. After the imaginative experience of such a meeting; that is, the joint, antiphonal speaking of the words: ‘Hail thee, Brother of the Rosy and Golden Cross’: The blessing of God through the priestly figure; and the handing over to that figure of the Rose Cross that has been carried up, the meditating person turns back. Then the imagination that one leaves the other again. After that, allow a sense of calm to enter into the soul. Empty the mind“. The Rose Cross remains on the mountain.
As a reminder for the morning meditation Rudolf Steiner wrote simply:
Imagination on the mountain. Being received. Holding up the Rose Cross.
‘May my head condense the spirit of worlds
Extracting for me the living light of thoughts
May my throat parch the breath of soul
Infusing it with spirit word meaning
Live in my heart, you, my spirit guide
There to unite me with you
That I move live weave in spirit soul life.
Ita Wegman added more details to her notes: Imagine in the morning: That one has climbed up the mountain again; that one meets the same person in the same robe; that the figure gives back the Rose Cross given to him {her} on the previous evening. Imagination to be meditated, kneeling down:
- May my head condense the spirit of worlds
Extracting for me the living light of thoughts - May my throat parch the breath of soul
Infusing it with spirit word meaning. - Live in my heart, you, my spirit guide
There to unite with me with you
That I move live weave in spirit soul life! - Feel the head — the thinking — like a stone
- The throat like a parched plant
- Concentration on the heart while meditating the above.
Now meditate that the person gives back the Rose Cross and places the right hand on top of the left; then both hands on the forehead, speaking the words:
‘Benedictus deus qui dedit nobis signum’
Empty the mind again.
The meditation of the pupil climbing the mountain again, which is carried out while kneeling, culminates in the spiritual union with the priestly figure in the heart, the human organ of destiny. (‘Live in my heart, you, my spirit guide, there to unite me with you‘) After that, as Ita Wegman’s notes suggest, the ‘spirit guide‘ returns the Rose Cross to the pupil, with a blessing and layman of hands on the pupils forehead.
‘And I…received this cross directly. He took it from his neck and put on me with his own hands, saying: ‘From this moment we will be there together for the Michael School’. With those words, Ita Wegman described how Rudolf Steiner handed over the cross to her directly after performing the ritual act.
The same motif of assistance and union appeared at the end of another mantric verse that Rudolf Steiner had already given to Ita Wegman in September 1923, a year before the ritual of the First Class, asking her to meditate it every evening:
“Ever shining supreme light;
To you I entrust my soul.
May the light of my soul weave
With the weaving light of worlds.
As light I feel,
Light in the smallest point;
Light that widens boundlessly.
Pure transparent light am I.
I seize hold of the spirit world
At the end of my soul of light,
I hold the spirit world
With my arms of light;
I sense your presence,
You want to carry me
To worlds of light and spirit.”
~’Rudolf Steiner and Christian Rosenkreutz’
1876 – Birthday of Ita Wegman, founder of Anthroposophical medicine & close collaborator of Rudolf Steiner. She also developed a special form of massage therapy, called rhythmical massage, & other therapeutic treatments.
Ita Wegman, as she was known throughout her life, was born as Maria Ita Wegman in Indonesia, the first child of a Dutch colonial family. Around the turn of the century, she returned to Europe (she had visited before) & studied therapeutic gymnastics & massage. In 1902, when she was 26, she met Rudolf Steiner for the first time. Five years later she began medical school at the University of Zurich, where women were not discriminated to study medicine. She was granted a diploma as a medical doctor in 1911 with a specialization in women’s medicine & joined an existing medical practice.
In 1917, having opened an independent practice, she developed a cancer treatment using an extract of mistletoe following indications from Steiner. This first remedy, which she called Iscar, was later developed into Iscador & has become an approved cancer treatment in Germany & a number of other countries.
By 1919 she had a joint practice together with two other doctors, also women. In 1920 she purchased land in Arlesheim, where she opened her own clinic, the Klinisch-Therapeutisches Institut, the first center for anthroposophical medicine. In 1922 she founded a therapeutic home for mentally handicapped children, Haus Sonnenhof, also in Arlesheim, & co-founded a pharmaceutical laboratory, Weleda, that has since grown into a significant producer of medicines & health-care products.
In the following year, Rudolf Steiner asked Wegman to join the Executive Council of the newly reformed Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. She also directed the Medical Section of the research center at the Goetheanum. Together, Wegman & Steiner wrote what was to be Steiner’s last book, Extending Practical Medicine, which gave a theoretical basis to the new medicine they were developing. The book was partly written while Wegman cared for Steiner, who was already terminally ill. Wegman founded a new medical journal, Natura, the following year.
In 1936, the clinic opened a second home in Ascona, Switzerland. Shortly thereafter, difficulties between Wegman & the rest of the Executive Council flared up, & Wegman was asked to leave the Council; in addition, she & a number of supporters had their membership in the Anthroposophical Society itself withdrawn. The medical work flourished, however, & Wegman travelled extensively in support of the rapidly growing movement to extend medicine’s limits; she was especially active in the Netherlands & England during this time. Wegman died in Arlesheim in 1943, at the age of 67.
Ita Wegman is a close collaborator of Rudolf Steiner thruout many incarnations including: Alexander the Great to Steiner’s Aristotle; Gilgamesh & Ebani… On the Work of the Archangel Michael by Ita Wegman
1732 – Birthday of George Washington, American general & politician, 1st President of the United States
1788 – Birthday of Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher & author
1943 – Deathday of 1943 – Hans & Sophie Scholl, German activists. Sophie a German student along with her brother Hans were anti-Nazi political activists, active within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany. They were convicted of high treason after distributing anti-war leaflets at the University of Munich (LMU).
In the early summer of 1942, Scholl, his sister Sophie, Willi Graf, Kurt Huber, Christoph Probst, & Alexander Schmorell, co-authored 6 anti-Nazi Third Reich political resistance leaflets. Calling themselves the White Rose, they instructed Germans to practice nonviolent resistance against the Nazis. The group had been horrified by the behavior of some German soldiers on the Eastern Front, where they had witnessed cruelty towards Jews in Poland & Russia.
Hans & Sophie Scholl & Christopher Probst were beheaded by Johann Reichhart in Munich’s Stadelheim Prison. The execution was supervised by Dr. Walter Roemer, the enforcement chief of the Munich district court. Scholl’s last words were “Es lebe die Freiheit!” (“Long live freedom!”). Shortly thereafter, most of the other students involved were arrested & executed as well.
Dear friends – How can we feed & sustain the future? This important initiative is organized by young woman, including my daughter Ultra-Violet Archer, who spent a year living together in Sweden learning about global realities and their own inner authentic path. One of the most meaningful parts of the year were the woman’s circles, which they created and hosted. Creating shared sacred space made them realize how much more there is to discover about the wisdom of womanhood. They were lucky enough to meet Disa, who teaches women to unlock the wisdom of their cycles and bodies.
Please help support their journey toward wholeness
Ultra-Violet Archer – Songwriter and Music Producer, exploring music as a tool for healing and storytelling. I am currently studying at Columbia College of Chicago, after spending a year with the International Youth Initiative Program in Sweden; and before that, two years at Oberlin College and Conservatory. Here https://linktr.ee/UltraVioletArcher you can find the links to my original releases and YouTube channel. I also sing and produce for the band Circle’s Edge. When I’m not making music, you can find me foraging for edible plants, reading fantasy novels, or hosting women’s circles! https://ultravioletarcher.bandcamp.com/track/when-my-wings-dry
The Anthroposophical Society in America presents Sophia Rising: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human – Santa Fe, New Mexico ~ April 21-24, 2022 Hotel Santa Fe Hacienda and Spa
***Early Bird Rate Until February 26 ~ Exclusively For Those Who Book With Hotel Santa Fe***
Join us in New Mexico, the ‘land of enchantment’, resonant with light ether and deep history, as we enliven Sophia. Join together in community as Sophia emerges and rises in her many facets and expressions- past, present, and future.
You will be an active participant in this gathering that will engage storytelling and biography, art and color, eurythmy and movement, singing and speech, with offerings from speakers Carrie Schuchardt, Mary Stewart Adams, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Stephanie Georgieff, and more.
Come and experience Sophia Rising as we honor the elements, the landscape, and each other.
VENUE & TRAVEL
Our gathering will take place at the lovely Native American-owned Hotel Santa Fe. We recommend you book your stay with the hotel to create a connected communal atmosphere for our gathering. The hotel has a full restaurant, pool, hot tub, and spa, as well as kivas and cozy sitting areas. Please call or email to make reservations with our special room rate for suites at $179/night. Each suite includes a refrigerator, microwave and sitting area. So much of what Santa Fe has to offer is within walking distance from the hotel.
HOW TO BOOK: Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call reservations at 877-259-3409
**Ask for ASA Gathering to book with our special rate of $179/night for a suite. **
Registrants will receive suggested activities from our local organizers to explore in Santa Fe before or after our gathering. Extending your stay? The special ASA hotel rate is available for 3 days prior to and 3 days after the ASA gathering.
AIR TRAVEL: Fly to Albuquerque or Santa Fe (note that flights are more limited and subject to the weather as Santa Fe is a small airport.)
There is a shuttle from Albuquerque to Santa Fe or car rentals available. Uber or Lyft is available if you fly into Santa Fe.
HOTEL and VENUE ADDRESS:
1501 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: (877) 259-3409
TICKETS
The ticket price includes access to all conference activities, snacks, coffee/tea and beverages, dessert reception Thursday, dinner Friday, lunch Saturday and brunch on Sunday.
No refunds after March 21, 2022
EARLY BIRD with ROOM BOOKING (until 2/26): $295*
STANDARD TICKET (After 2/26): $350
SUPPORTER TICKET: $425
*Must book at Hotel Santa Fe to receive this special early bird rate! Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call 877-259-3409 to book. Please specify your reservation is for the ASA Gathering.
EXHIBITORS: If you are interested in being an exhibitor please fill out this form.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Limited assistance is available, please fill out this form.
Early Bird Only with Room Booking – After 2/26 more tickets will be released!
SCHEDULE
(subject to minor changes)
THURSDAY, April 21
7 pm Gathering Together – with a dessert reception
7:30- 8:30 pm ArtActs: Past – Present – Future Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech
FRIDAY, April 22
Explore Santa Fe on your own and continued arrivals
1:00 – 2:30 pm Welcome: Spirit of Place with organizers
WEAVING EARTH Opening Ceremony with Angela Foster and friends
2:30pm-3:00pm Break
3:00-4:30 pm Encountering the Celestial Goddess Anthroposophia with Mary Stewart Adams 4:30-4:45 pm Break
4:45- 6:00 pm WEAVING AIR ArtActs Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech
6:00-7:30 pm Dinner Together*
8:00 pm Fireside Chats – Story and Sharing. Breakout circles lead by friends and organizers
8:30 pm Stargazing with Mary Stewart Adams
SATURDAY, April 23
Breakfast – On your own
8:30 – 9:30 am WEAVING ETHER Eurythmy
9:30 – 10:00 am Break
10:00-11:15am Presentation with Stephanie Georgieff
11:30 – 12:30pm WEAVING STORIES Biography Work
12:30 – 2pm Lunch Together*
2:00 – 3:30pm Anthroposophia: Our Alchemical Wedding with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg and Friends – At the heart of the gathering is a Grand Experiential Soul Journey to ‘Know Thyself’’ – a movable feast, with various stations engaging us in group eurythmy, singing, speaking verses, color gestures in art, and a telling of the New Isis Myth with Hazel Archer- Ginsberg. This experience is built up and worked on during all the WEAVING sessions.
3:30 – 4 pm Break
4:00 – 5:00 pm WEAVING COLOR Invoking Natura: Sensing the Cosmic within the Earthly Pastels with Helen-Ann Ireland
5:00 – 5:30 pm WEAVING STORIES Biography Conversation
5:30pm Dinner – On your own
7:30-9:30pm WEAVING COMUNITY Sophia Rising- Past, Present, and Future. Bring something to share! Poetry, Instruments, Story
SUNDAY, April 24
8:00 – 9:00 am WEAVING LIGHT Bathe in the Natural Warmth and Harmony of the Metal Gold with Helena Hurrell – A metal color light therapy experience inspired by the glass windows at the Goetheanum
9:00-10:30 am WEAVING FIRE with Carrie Schuchardt
10:30 – 12:00pm Brunch Together*
12:00-1:00 pm WEAVING WATER Water Ritual with Joyce Reilly and Friends
WEAVING WHOLENESS Closing with Angela Foster and Friends
Notes:
*Meals marked with an asterisk are included in the price of the ticket
Coffee, tea, and snacks will also be provided through the conference
A quiet room will be provided for contemplation
See you Santa Fe!
PRESENTERS AND GUIDES (Not a full list-more to come!)
Eyahnna DalBo (artist of the Sophia Rising painting) came to anthroposophy 30 years ago when her daughter attended a Waldorf school. Her studies have included an undergraduate degree in fine art and graduate work in psychology using the arts for healing. In her private practice, she developed various energetic modalities. Her experience with subtle energy fields gave her the opportunity to teach and take part in designing a curriculum for a 2-year program focusing on energy healing. As a consultant, she initiated numerous therapeutic programs to assist in pioneering the field of art therapy. Through the gift of an apprenticeship with indigenous people she was able to bring their practices and ceremonies to what she offered deepening her ability to be of service. As an artist, she continues to utilize the spoken word, movement, sound, and visual imagery to honor and create a field that fosters awareness, growth, and transformation.
Mary Stewart Adams is a Star Lore Historian, and host of the weekly public radio program and podcast “The Storyteller’s Night Sky”. Through her research in spiritual science and her education in literary arts, Mary has developed a unique, humanities-based approach to understanding our relationship with the stars. Her work is further augmented by an extensive knowledge of ancient mythologies and fairy tales, which she relates to the research and ideas of contemporary astronomy in order to understand the new star wisdom of astrosophy.
Carrie Schuchardt co-founded The House of Peace in 1990, a home that is a physical and spiritual refuge for victims of war in a community with adults with special needs. In the last 15 years over 400 refugees from approximately 30 countries have been received in the healing embrace of The House of Peace, giving supportive assistance in establishing themselves in the US. In addition to the daily work of The House Peace, Carrie participates in many activities for the conversion of consciousness and policies from war to peace. Carrie has begun a network of women who witness publicly, Women Weeping, where women dress in mourning carrying symbolic lifeless children in order to help people feel what is rarely expressed in the media: the grief of hundreds of thousands of mothers in war zones around the world who lose their children to the terrible violence of war.
Stephanie Georgieff After nearly thirty years as a practicing Naturopath and Acupuncturist, Stephanie Georgieff has chosen to transform her healing vocation into writing and lecturing on various aspects of Christian Spirituality and its relationship to emotional and physical health. She has lectured throughout Europe and North America on various subjects, but her passion is on the Middle Ages and the Divine Feminine. Georgieff hosts a podcast “The Black Madonna Speaks,” writes for numerous publications, and has her own Blog: The Heart of the Black Madonna. The Black Madonna, Mysterious Soul Companion is the first in a series of books examining how the Black Madonna as an art form offers healing insights to our collective past and present. These volumes also explore the invitation humanity has from the spiritual world to co-create a healthy and peaceful future.
Helena Hurrell is an art and metal color Light therapist trained in the UK/Germany and certified by the Medial Section at the Goetheanum
Angela Foster has been an active student of anthroposophy since 2008. After growing up in Texas, Angela is now embracing life in Atlanta, Georgia as an artist, teacher, and mom of two daughters, shepherd to two mini sheep. As a conscious practitioner of “beginner’s mind”, Angela has completed programs in foundation studies in Anthroposophy numerous times and is currently enrolled in Foundation Studies in Goethean Science through the Nature Institute. She and her husband manage the Anthroposophical Resource Center (ARC) an initiative in Decatur, Georgia that offers space for community events and serves as a little house for Anthroposophia.
Joyce Reilly Joyce studied psychology in college and was fascinated by the idea of a therapeutic community. She has worked in Camphill for many years, and is trained as a Waldorf and Therapeutic teacher. She founded Gheel House, a therapeutic community near Kimberton Pennsylvania, still thriving after 37 years. Joyce’s interests expanded to international conflict work and refugee resettlement. She works with organizations such as the Janusz Korczak Association, Karuna Peacebuilders, Kiwimbi International, Good Grief, the Worldwide Storytelling and Puppetry Association, and especially with the New York Anthroposophical Branch, and also works part-time at the local public library. Joyce is also trained in Psychosynthesis therapy and Anthroposophical psychology – currently practicing as a life coach and counselor.
For questions or inquiries please email programs@anthroposophy.org or call the office at 734-662-9355
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