Category Archives: Speaking with the Stars

A bright secret veiled in black cloth

18 December 2016 – Astro-Weather:

First-quarter Moon is exact at 9:14 am CST. Be on the lookout tonight as the Moon shines more or less under the eastern (left) side of the Great Square of Pegasus. Watch la Bella Luna moving along with the flying horse as the hours go by

The variable star Algol in Perseus reaches minimum brightness at 9:48 pm CST. If you start watching it during the mid-evening hours, you can see it grow more than triple in brightness over the course of about five hours. This eclipsing binary star runs through a cycle from minimum to maximum & back every 2.87 days. Algol appears nearly overhead in mid-evening & dips lower in the northwest after midnight

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The 4th Sunday of Advent
“…The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind.
The light of love, the light of thought, to give and to be kind.”

International Migrants Day

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

History is the essence of innumerable biographies.” ~Thomas Carlyle, “On History” (1830)

1271 – Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” officially marking the start of the Yuan dynasty of Mongolia & China

1803 – Deathday of Johann Gottfried Herder, German philosopher, theologian, & poet – associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, & Weimar Classicism. He was a  major influence on Goethe.

1829 – Deathday of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, biologist, & academic – an early proponent of the idea that evolution occurred & proceeded in accordance with natural laws. He gave the term biology a broader meaning by coining the term for special sciences, chemistry, meteorology, geology, & botany-zoology

1863 – Birthday of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

1865 – US Secretary of State William Seward proclaims the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery throughout the USA

1878 – Birthday of Joseph Stalin, 4th Premier of the Soviet Union

Paul Klee Nocturnal Festivity

1879 – Birthday of Paul Klee, Swiss-German painter & educator

1958 – Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched

1966 – Saturn’s moon Epimetheus is discovered by astronomer Richard Walker

1972 – Vietnam War: President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will engage North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, a series of Christmas bombings, after peace talks collapsed with North Vietnam on the 13th

1973 – Soviet Soyuz Programme: Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev & Pyotr Klimuk, is launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union

1990 – International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers & Members of Their Families is adopted.

1999 – NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments

2006 – United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections

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POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I’ve known that tempting feast of death when
While darkness filled the mind, the heart cried out –
Let us listen & hear…
I know when the eye of truth is plucked
From the head, only the blood
Of rage remains –
Can we make the change
To heal the Comforter?
Come & call forth with me
A bright secret veiled in black cloth –
A heart-light beyond heaven
Which is the light within
Re-kindled through sacrifice
~hag

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Franz Simm

Hung with the white veils of winter, the Sun daily wanes. Soon the scorpion will hand the reigns over to the Centaur of Sagittarius   –  a catalyst for the transformation into the longest night of the Winter Solstice. In this time of the dark before the dawn, the image of the centaur stands before us like the forces of gravity seeking to pull the human being down. It speaks to the danger inherent in this final chapter of Advent, reflecting Herod’s fearful animal instinct to preserve himself by the killing the innocents. This evil act precedes the birth of the light.

Yet ancient myths tell of the hidden wisdom of the centaur. They speak of the struggle of the hero to overcome the bondage of the animalistic drive. It is the eternal drama that plays out in the depths of the human soul.   

Inspired by this struggle Goethe has his character Faust carried thru the night on the back of Chiron the centaur, past the turbulent waters of the Peneios, to seek out the secluded sanctuary of wise Manto, who is to show Faust the way to Helena, the lost archetypal image of the divine feminine. Faust praises Chiron as a doctor & tutor.

The riddle of this strange contradiction of the centaur – the wildness & wisdom living so close together, is rooted in the tragedy of human incarnation. On the way to becoming human we had to be bound to the forces of our animal nature which have attached us for so long to the lower materiality, until we can find our way to liberation. The truth hidden behind the consumerism of Christmas, the mystery of the incarnation of Christ holds the key to this healing of the human being.  The sting of death must strive to become the tip of the archers arrow that points toward the evolved human being.

“O, thou slumber’s turning,
O, thou sorrow’s ending!” ~Christian Morgenstern

Peace ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Dark fear Dispelling

13 December 2016 – Astro-Weather: Full supermoon -exact 6:05 pm CST. This December Full Long Nights Moon, slightly larger & brighter than the average full Moon, shines between Orion, Taurus, & Gemini. Look for orange Aldebaran to her upper right & orange Betelgeuse to her lower right. As evening grows late, the triangle they make climbs higher, twists around, & slightly changes shape.

The Geminid meteor shower should be at its strongest late tonight — but that extra-bright full Moon is in the same part of the sky as the shower’s radiant! Still, Geminid fireballs are not uncommon. You may see a dozen or more meteors per hour by 10 to midnight even thru the moonlight, as the radiant climbs high in the east. Watch in a direction that keeps the glary Moon itself out of your vision.

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Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

 ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Santa Lucia Day

662- Feast day of Saint Odilia, patron saint of good eyesight, & of Alsace.

By tradition she was born blind. Her father did not want her because she was a girl & handicapped, so her mother had her brought to Palma where she was raised by peasants there. A tenth-century legend relates that when she was twelve, Odile was taken into a nearby monastery. While there, the itinerant bishop Saint Erhard of Regensburg was led, by an angel, to Palma where he baptized her Odile (Sol Dei), whereupon she miraculously recovered her sight. Her younger brother Hughes had her brought home again, which enraged her father so much that he accidentally killed his son. Odile miraculously revived him, & left home again.

She fled across the Rhine to a cave near Freiburg Germany. It is said the cliff face opened up in order to rescue her from her plight. In the cave, she hid from her father. When he tried to follow her, he was injured by falling rocks & gave up.

When her father fell ill, Odile returned to nurse him. He finally gave up resisting his headstrong daughter & founded the Augustine monastic community of Mont Ste. Odile in the Hochwald, Bas-Rhin, where Odile became abbess.

Some years later Odile was shown the site of Niedermünster at the foot of the mountain by St. John the Baptist in a vision. There she founded a second monastery, including a hospital. The local well is still said to cure eye diseases.

St. Odile died about 720 at the convent of Niedermünster. At the insistent prayers of her sisters she was returned to life, but after describing the beauties of the afterlife to them, she took communion by herself & died again.

1204 – Deathday of Maimonides, a medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific & influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. In his time, he was also a preeminent astronomer and physician. Born in Cordova, (present-day Spain) on Passover Eve he worked as a rabbi, physician, & philosopher in Morocco & Egypt.

During his lifetime, most Jews greeted Maimonides’ writings on Jewish law & ethics with acclaim & gratitude, even as far away as Iraq & Yemen, his copious work comprises a cornerstone of Jewish scholarship. He is sometimes known as “ha Nesher ha Gadol” (the great eagle) in recognition of his outstanding status as a bona fide exponent of the Oral Torah.

Aside from being revered by Jewish historians, Maimonides also figures very prominently in the history of Islamic & Arab sciences. Influenced by Al-Farabi, Avicenna, & his contemporary Averroes .He in his turn influenced other prominent Arab & Muslim philosophers and scientists. He became a prominent philosopher & polymath in both the Jewish & Islamic worlds.

Maimonides exerted an important influence on the Scholastic philosophers, especially on Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas & Duns Scotus. He was a Jewish Scholastic. Educated by reading the works of Arab Muslim philosophers , he acquired an intimate acquaintance not only with Arab Muslim philosophy, but with the doctrines of Aristotle. Maimonides strove to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy & science with the teachings of the Torah.

1294 – Saint Celestine V resigns the papacy after only five months to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit. He was elected pope in the Catholic Church’s last non-conclave papal election, ending a two-year impasse. Among the only edicts of his to remain in force was the confirmation of the right of the pope to abdicate; nearly all of his other official acts were annulled by his successor, Boniface VIII. On 13 December 1294, a week after issuing the decree, Celestine resigned, stating his desire to return to his humble, pre-papal life. He was subsequently imprisoned by Boniface in the castle of Fumone in the Campagna region, in order to prevent his potential installation as antipope. He died in prison at the age of 81. Celestine was canonized by Pope Clement V. No subsequent pope has taken the name Celestine

Madonna of the Clouds

1466 – Deathday of Donatello, Italian painter & sculptor

1476 – Birthday of St. Lucy Brocadelli, mystic & stigmatic. Lucy was born in 1476 on the feast day of St. Lucia, the eldest of eleven children in the town of Narni (then called Narnia) in the region of Umbria. When she was only five years old, she had a vision of the Virgin Mary. Two years later, she had another vision, this time of the Virgin Mary accompanied by Saint Dominic. Dominic is said to have given her his scapular at this time. When she was twelve years old, Lucy made a private vow of chastity, & she determined to become a Dominican nun.

Circumstances, however, changed to make doing so impossible as her father died the following year, leaving her in the care of an uncle. This uncle, following the wish of her father while he was still alive, decided that the best course of action he could take would be to get Lucy married as quickly as possible.

He made several attempts to do so. One of these included holding a large family party. He had invited the man he had chosen to become Lucy’s husband to the party, with the intention of having the couple publicly betrothed. He however had not informed Lucy of his intentions. The suitor made an attempt to put a ring on Lucy’s finger, only to be slapped repeatedly by her for his efforts.

A later attempt involved Count Pietro di Alessio of Milan, an acquaintance of the family. Lucy was actually quite fond of him, but felt that her earlier vow of perpetual virginity made the marriage impossible. The strain Lucy felt as a result of the conflicting feelings made her seriously ill. During this time, the Virgin Mary & Saint Dominic again appeared to her, this time accompanied by St. Catherine of Siena. They reportedly advised Lucy to contract a legal marriage to Pietro, but to explain that her vow of virginity would have to be respected & not violated. Pietro agreed to the terms, & the marriage was formalized.

Lucy performed austere penances, which included regularly wearing a hair shirt under her garments & spending most of the night in prayer as well as helping the poor. The servants told her husband that Lucy was often visited in the evenings by Saint Catherine, Saint Agnes, & Saint Agnes of Montepulciano, who helped her make bread for the poor.

However, when one of the servants came up to him one day & told him that Lucy was privately entertaining a handsome young man she appeared to be quite familiar with. He took up his sword & went to see who this person was. When he arrived, he found Lucy contemplating a large crucifix. The servant told him that the man he had seen Lucy with looked like the figure on the crucifix.

Later Lucy left one night for a local Franciscan friary, only to find it closed. She returned home the following morning, stating that she had been led back by two saints. That was enough for Pietro. He had her locked away for the bulk of one Lenten season. She was visited only by servants who brought her food. When Easter arrived, however, she managed to escape from Pietro back to her mother’s house &, on 8 May 1494, became a Dominican tertiary. Pietro expressed his disapproval of this in a rather dramatic form—by burning down the monastery of the prior who had given her the habit of the Order.

In 1495 Lucy went to Rome & joined a group of Dominican tertiaries who were living in community. The next year she was sent to Viterbo to establish a new convent & here she found she was frequently the object of unwanted attention, as she was reported to have received the stigmata. Lucy did her best to hide these marks, & was frequently in spiritual ecstasy. The house had a steady stream of visitors who came to speak to Lucy, &, often, just to stare at her. Even the other Sisters were concerned about her, & at one point called in the local bishop who watched Lucy go through the drama of the Passion for twelve hours straight.

The bishop would not make a decision on Lucy, & called in the local Inquisition. At that time Pietro also came to her, making a final plea to persuade Lucia to return with him as his wife. She declined, & Pietro left alone. He would himself later become a Franciscan friar & a famous preacher.

When Lucy returned to the convent in Viterbo, she found that the Duke of Ferrara, Ercole d’Este I, had determined to build a convent in Ferrara, & he wanted her to be its prioress. Lucy, the Dominican Order, & the pope all agreed quickly to the new proposal. Lucy’s departure precipitated a conflict between Ferrara & Viterbo which would continue for two years. Viterbo wanted to keep the famous mystic for themselves, & the Duke wanted her in Ferrara. Lucy escaped secretly from Viterbo & was officially received in Ferrara on May 7, 1499. Thirteen young girls immediately applied for admission to her new community.

The local Prior Provincial of the Dominican Order would not permit any member of the Order to see her. There are records that at least one Dominican, Catherine of Racconigi, did visit her, evidently by bilocation,& that Lucy’s earlier visitations by departed saints continued. This punishment was to last her entire life. When she died her body was laid out for burial & so many people wanted to pay their last respects that her funeral had to be delayed by three days. Her tomb in the convent church was opened four years later & her perfectly preserved body was transferred to a glass case.

When the French Revolutionary Army suppressed the convent in 1797, her body was transferred to the Cathedral of Ferrara, & then in 1935 to the former Cathedral of Narnia. Lucy was beatified by Pope Clement XI on 1 March 1710.

1545 – Council of Trent begins, one of the Catholic Church’s most important ecumenical councils. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation. Four hundred years later, when Pope John XXIII initiated preparations for the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), he affirmed the decrees it had issued: “What was, still is.”

1938 – The Holocaust: The Neuengamme concentration camp opens in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, Germany

1977 – Air Indiana Flight 216 crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 129, including the University of Evansville basketball team

1981 – General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, largely due to the actions by Solidarity

1982 – The 6.0 Ms earthquake shakes southwestern Yemen with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing 2,800, & injuring 1,500.

1988 – PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat gives a speech at a UN General Assembly meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, after United States authorities refused to grant him a visa to visit UN headquarters in New York. Arafat engaged in a series of negotiations with the government of Israel to end the decades-long conflict between it & the PLO. These included the Madrid Conference of 1991, the 1993 Oslo Accords & the 2000 Camp David Summit. His political rivals, including Islamists & several PLO leftists, often denounced him for being corrupt or too submissive in his concessions to the Israeli government. In 1994 Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize, together with Yitzhak Rabin & Shimon Peres, for the negotiations at Oslo. During this time, Hamas & other militant organizations rose to power & shook the foundations of the authority that Fatah under Arafat had established in the Palestinian territories. In late 2004, after effectively being confined within his Ramallah compound for over two years by the Israeli army, Arafat became ill, fell into a coma & died on 11 November 2004 at the age of 75, the cause of Arafat’s death has remained the subject of speculation. Arafat remains a controversial figure. The majority of the Palestinian people view him as a heroic freedom fighter & martyr who symbolized the national aspirations of his people, while most Americans & Israelis came to regard him as an unrepentant terrorist

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POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I strive:
To comprehend Holy Wisdom
To understand knowledge
To inquire, to ponder, to render it evident
& lead the Creatrix back to Her Throne
~hag

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Domenico di Pace Beccafumi

What do Norse Vikings, Swedish farmers, an Italian peasant girl, & an English Bishop have in common? Well since today is the feast of St. Lucia you have a clue. The interesting story is in who & the why. Let’s start with the Norse Vikings. According to the old Julian calendar, December 13 was the darkest day. In modern times with our Gregorian calendar, we know this to be the Winter Solstice, usually falling on December 21st or 22nd; the shortest day & the longest night for those of us, like the Vikings, in the Northern Hemisphere. This darkest day was not a day to be out on a boat, better to be inside, possibly burning a log to keep warm -a tradition that would later become part of the winter festival – the burning of the Yule Log. But in those days, December 13 was the time of year when the ancient pagan Scandinavian farmers offered sacrifices for good crops for the coming summer. These sacrifices would usually involve building a ceremonial fire to light the night.

The name Lucia comes from Lux which means light. An old legend from Sweden, names Lucia as the bride of light. The story says that on December 13, Lucia will appear riding in a lusse-cart, similar to a chariot, & if the cart breaks down, you will get lice in your hair. On Lucia night, the threshing of grain must be finished to insure a bountiful crop the next year, the horses should have on winter shoes, & all new-born babies should be baptized before Lucia night or the trolls would come & whisk them away forever.

Another old legend tells of Lucia being seen in the Swedish province of Vermland during a great famine. Lucia, robed in white came across the Lake in a large ship. She commanded the ship to dock at different places & distributed food to the starving people. The people who lived in Vermland claimed Lucia was the queen of supernatural beings & was a worker of miracles.

To understand why we celebrate St. Lucia Day today, we need to look at the actual person. An English bishop from the Seventh Century, St. Aldhelm, gave us the story of St. Lucia as we know it today. Lucia was born in Syracuse, Sicily in Italy. Her mother, a widow, raised her in the Christian faith. Lucia made a vow to God never to marry & to devote her life to serving Christ & the poor. There was a young man who wanted to marry Lucia. But Lucia told her mother the secret vow & asked for her inheritance which would have been her dowry. Lucia used her inheritance to help the poor & needy. The story tells of Lucia bringing food to the Christians hiding in the caves. In order to bring with her as many supplies as possible, she needed to have both hands free. She solved this problem by attaching candles to a wreath on her head. Meanwhile, the rejected young man accused her of aiding & abetting the Christians. Lucia was brought before the Court & was asked to renounce her faith in Christ, but she refused. The court condemned her to die a martyr’s death. Later the Church declared Lucia a saint of the Church & patron saint of the blind, as she had brought so much light to the world & it is believed her eyes were plucked out during her persecution.

The story of St. Lucia resonated particularly in Scandinavia where it became mingled with those earlier Norse legends. Today it is one of the very few saint days observed in Scandinavia. Put the two together, the religious & the folklore, & you create a warm & joyous day dedicated to the finding of light in the darkness.

St. Lucia’s feast Day is a preparation for Christmas in the same sense as Advent is. The life of St. Lucia directs us to Christ – the Light of the World. It is a reminder of her sacrificial giving to the poor. A St. Lucia celebration stresses the importance of the coming of light – light as warmth, light as promise, light as hope, light as life & light shining in the darkness. – The Light of Christ shining in our dark world. Today we celebrate that light just as the Norse Vikings, Swedish farmers, an Italian peasant girl, & an English Bishop all did.

This celebration begins before dawn, with the oldest girl in the family rising to make saffron buns & Coffee for her parents. She wears white, with a red sash & a wreath of candles on her head.  Other girls in the family are dressed in white as attendants & the boys are dressed as “star boys” with pointy star hats. In the pedagogy of the Waldorf schools, the 2nd grade studies the Saints, so they take up this festival. The youngest in the class wears the candle crown & the class processes thru the hallways singing:

Santa Lucia, Thy light is glowing
All through the darkest night, comfort bestowing
Dreams float on wings of night,
Comes then the morning light
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia

Through silent winter gloom, Thy song comes winging to
Waken the Earth anew, Glad carols bringing,
Come thou, oh queeen of Night,
Wearing thy crown so bright,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia

Santa Lucia, Christmas foretelling,
Fill hearts with hope and cheer, Dark fear dispelling,
Bring to the world’s call,
Peace and goodwill to all,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia

Santa Lucia was born around the year 300 A.D. to a wealthy Sicilian family. Although her father died when she was a baby, he left plenty of money for Lucia & her mother to be cared for. As she grew Lucia learned of The Christ & was raised in the Christian faith. She made a secret vow never to marry but instead to spend her life serving the poor. Her mother was unaware of this vow, & pressed her to marry a man who was pagan. Although she resisted, Lucia became engaged to this man.

Around that time, her mother suffered from unexplained bleeding, & Lucia persuaded her to go to the tomb of St. Agatha to pray. Miraculously, her mother was healed. After this, Lucia told her mother of her vow never to marry, & persuaded her that in gratitude to God they should give away their wealth to the poor of the city. So, by candlelight, the mother & daughter went about the city secretly ministering to the poor. Some even said she would bring food to the poor people living in caves, & that because she needed both hands to carry the food, she strapped candles to her head.

As a result of her vow, the young man she had been engaged to was furious. Not only did he lose the opportunity of having the beautiful Lucia as his wife, he also missed out on the great amount of money that would have been her dowry that he would have received in the event of their marriage. He went to the governor & accused her of both being a Christian, & aiding other Christians. At that time, it was illegal to be a Christian. Lucia was called before a judge & given the chance to renounce her faith, but she refused.

The judge ordered her to be taken away & executed, but the soldiers who came to drag her away could not budge her. Instead, they put wood around her & laid a fire beneath her, but the fire would not light. Finally, the judge called forth one of the soldiers & told him to kill her with his sword, which he did.

Many years later, Sweden was in the grip of a terrible famine. At the height of that dark, icy winter, hunger & suffering were at their worst. People were reduced to grinding tree bark to bake into bitter bread. But on the long night of Santa Lucia Day a brilliantly lit ship came sailing across the stormy waters of Lake Vannern. At the helm stood a beautiful young woman dressed all in white, with a face so radiant that there was a glow of light all about her head. As the vessel touched shore, great quantities of food & clothing appeared with her for the starving. When asked her name, she simply replied “Lucia”. When all were fed & cared for, the vessel disappeared as quickly as it had come. To this day, the people of Sweden celebrate the remembrance of Lucia, & how she came to save the people of their country.

The emblem of eyes on a cup or plate recalls her torture & suffering & reflects popular devotion to her as protector of the light which brings sight. In paintings St. Lucy is frequently shown in Gothic art holding her eyes on a golden plate. She also holds the palm branch, symbol of victory over evil.

In Scandinavia (as late as until the mid 18th century) this date was the longest night of the year, coinciding with Winter Solstice, this was due to the Julian Calendar being employed at that time. This can be seen in the poem “A Nocturnal upon S. Lucy’s Day, Being the Shortest Day” by the English poet John Donne.

Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucy’s Day is viewed as an event signaling the arrival of Christmastide, pointing to the birth of the Light on Christmas Day. It is said that to vividly celebrate Saint Lucy’s Day will help one live the long winter days with enough light.

St. Lucy is the patron saint of the city of Syracuse (Sicily). On 13 December a silver statue of St. Lucy containing her relics is paraded through the streets before returning to the Cathedral. Here, it is traditional to eat whole grains instead of bread on 13 December. This usually takes the form of cuccia, a dish of boiled wheat berries often mixed with ricotta & honey, or sometimes served as a savory soup with beans.

St. Lucy is also popular among children in some regions of North-Eastern Italy, where she is said to bring gifts to good children & coal to bad ones the night between 12 & 13 December. According to tradition, she arrives in the company of a donkey & her escort, Castaldo. Children are asked to leave some coffee for Lucia, a carrot for the donkey & a glass of wine for Castaldo. They must not watch Santa Lucia delivering these gifts, or she will throw ashes in their eyes, temporarily blinding them.

In Hungary & Croatia, a popular tradition on Saint Lucy’s Day involves planting wheat grains that will eventually be several centimeters high on Christmas; this new wheat serves as symbolic of the new life born in Bethlehem, the Nativity, & a candle is sometimes placed near the new plant “as a symbol of the Light of Christ”.

Although St. Lucy’s Day is not an official holiday in Sweden, it is a popular occasion in Sweden. At many universities, students hold big formal dinner parties since this is the last chance to celebrate together before most students go home to their families for Christmas.

The modern tradition of having public processions in the Swedish cities started in 1927 when a newspaper in Stockholm elected an official Lucy for Stockholm that year. Today most cities in Sweden appoint a Lucy every year. Boys take part in the procession, playing different roles associated with Christmas. Some may be dressed in the same kind of white robe, but with a cone-shaped hat decorated with golden stars, called stjärngossar (star boys); some may be dressed up as “tomtenissar” (Santa’s elves), carrying lanterns; & some may be dressed up as gingerbread men. They participate in the singing &also have a song or two of their own, usually Staffan Stalledräng, which tells the story about Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, caring for his five horses.

In Denmark, the Day of Lucy (Luciadag) was first celebrated on 13 December 1944, as an attempt “to bring light in a time of darkness, a passive protest against German occupation during the Second World War, but it has been a tradition ever since.

Historically Norwegians considered what they called Lussinatten the longest night of the year & no work was to be done. Between Lussi Night & Yule, trolls & evil spirits, in some accounts also the spirits of the dead, were thought to be active outside. It was believed to be particularly dangerous to be out during Lussi Night. According to tradition, children who had done mischief had to take special care, since Lussi could come down through the chimney & take them away, & certain tasks of work in the preparation for Yule had to be finished, or else the Lussi would come to punish the household. The tradition of Lussevaka – to stay awake through the Lussinatt to guard oneself & the household against evil, has found a modern form through throwing parties until daybreak. Another company of spirits was said to come riding through the night around Yule itself, journeying through the air, over land & water. This might be an echo of the myth of the Wild Hunt, called Oskoreia in Scandinavia, found across Northern, Western &Central Europe. Legend also has it that farm animals talked to each other on Lussinatten, & that they were given additional feed on this longest night of the year.

In Saint Lucia, a tiny island in the Caribbean named after its patron saint, St. Lucy, 13 December is celebrated as National Day. The National Festival of Lights & Renewal is held the night before the holiday. In this celebration, decorative lights (mostly bearing a Christmas theme) are lit in the capital city of Castries; artisans present decorated lanterns for competition; & the official activities end with a fireworks display. In the past, a jour ouvert celebration has continued into the sunrise of 13 December.

Dante also mentions Lucia in Inferno Canto II as the messenger “of all cruelty the foe” sent to Beatrice from “The blessed Dame” (Divine Mercy), to rouse Beatrice to send Virgil to Dante’s aid. She has instructed Virgil to guide Dante through Hell & Purgatory.

Born of darkness comes the sacred light. What would it be like to use this feast day as an opportunity to ‘see’ the growing darkness with eyes of hope, knowing that in the dark womb the light will be reborn, again & yet again.

xox

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

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Kiss of the Muse scan, 11/17/70, 9:17 PM, 8C, 7776x10528 (126+108), 100%, Default Settin, 1/20 s, R75.0, G29.8, B43.0

The Bridging Project – Between Life and Death from Soul to Soul

Audio Conference December 14, 2016 – 7:15 pm CST (8:15 pm EST)

“The dead and the living are embedded in the same way in something that the spirits of time weave as an unceasing stream of cosmic wisdom and cosmic will activity.  What the spirits of time weave is history — the ethical-moral life of an age, the social life of an age.”

Rudolf Steiner, Historical Necessity and Freewill, Lecture 3, Our Life with the Dead  (focus of our study for the December 14 meeting).

The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our second study conversation.  The study has been divided among five volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished under the title: “The Influence of the Dead on Destiny”, The following is the link to the audio book and lectures:

Option 1.  Click link below if you wish to connect through your computer (a headset is recommended) https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/520692669

Option 2.  Call in using your telephone.

United States: +1 (571) 317-3116

Canada: +1 (647) 497-9372

Access Code: 520-692-669

Option 3. You can use a combination of Options 1 and 2 (computer and phone)

Agenda for our Study Call

7:15  Verse        

7:18  Welcome and Introductions

7:25  Study led by five volunteers

8:05  Conversation

8:20  Identify volunteers for the next study call

Lecture 4 – The Rhythmical Relationship of the Human Being Dec 11 2017

8:28  Close with verse

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lisa-villa-moser-flowers

FLOWERS AND LANDSCAPES
New Works by
Lisa Villa Moser

Opening Reception:
Friday December 2nd, 2016
5 pm – 8 pm

Closing Reception
Sunday December 18th, 2016
12-3 pm

lisa-villa-moser-grasses

at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society 4249 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL. 60618. MAP

lisa-villa-moser-yellow-flowers

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hi-dukes-new-year-lucky-stars-branch-poster-8-5x11-web-2

Start your New Year on the right foot at our annual New Year’s Eve Celebration!

Our evening will be spent in community, with various offerings and activities. Jutta & the Hi-Dukes ™ will play their exciting, unique blend of world music, for your family-friendly dancing pleasure. Everyone can take part because members of the band lead you through the traditional dances they present.

Doors open at 8:00 pm and the music will start around 9:00 pm. Your Donation of $10goes to the band (You are always welcome to give more to support the branch as well)

Additional offerings and activities for the evening to be announced soon.

Please bring a favorite delectable dish to share.

at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society 4249 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL. 60618. MAP

***

Mysteries of the Celtic Goddess

brigid-helena-nelson-reedBrigid by Helena Nelson Reed

Thursday February 9th 2017 -7 pm
at the Theosophical Society in America
1926 North Main Street
Wheaton, IL 60187

Invoking the Practical Alchemy of the Celtic Triple Goddess Brigid
To Purify, Awaken, & Galvanize Your Head, Heart, and Hands

Brigid’s festival is the 1st of the cross-quarter days in the wheel of the year, a time of spiritual re-dedication and initiation. Brigid invites us to forge and shape ourselves, as the tools of our own destiny. Come Renew Yourself. Together we will thaw the winter & rouse the mysteries growing within…

Hazel Archer Ginsberg is a Spiritual Midwife, and Trans-denominational Minister, working in an eclectic style that inspires connections – initiating us into the magic, waiting to be revealed, in the cycle of the seasons. Festivals Coordinator of the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society. Lecturer, Promoter, Blogger, Poet & Performance Artist.  www.ReverseRitual.com.

$10 nonmembers   $5 members

Live Webcast

***

Big Wheel Keep on Turning-Proud Mary Keep on Burning!

12 December 2016 – Astro-Weather: On this eve of the Full Long Nights Moon, Bella Luna’s bright light occults Aldebaran. The bright orange star vanishes on the Moon’s narrow dark limb just beyond the brilliantly sunlit landscape

As darkness falls, you’ll see our satellite suspended against the stars of the Hyades, the cluster that forms the face of Taurus the Bull. As the evening wears on, the Moon edges closer to Aldebaran. The occultation occurs at roughly midnight

If the Moon looks a little bigger than normal set against the Hyades star cluster, it may not be your imagination. Luna reaches perigee, the closest point in its orbit around Earth, at 5:29 p.m. CST when it is 222,737 miles away from us

***

 Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

 ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

“…what man lives through historically, what he lives through socially, what he lives through in the ethical relationships between people,  all this really has the value of a dream, of sleep…People will consider history in quite another way when this has reached their living consciousness; they will no longer consider as history the fable convenue that is usually called history today; but they will realize that historical life can only be understood when that which is dreamed and slept away in usual consciousness, and contains the influences of the deeds, impulses and activities of the so-called dead, is sought in this historical life. The deeds of the dead are interwoven with the impulses of feeling and will of the so-called living. And this is real history.”

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

1098 – First Crusade: Siege of Ma’arrat al-Numan: Crusaders breach the town’s walls & massacre about 20,000 inhabitants. After finding themselves with insufficient food, they reportedly resort to cannibalism

1408 – The Order of the Dragon, is created by Sigismund of Luxembourg, king of Hungary

1901 – Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal (the letter “S” [***] in Morse Code), at Signal Hill in St John’s, Newfoundland

1915 – President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai, announces his intention to reinstate the monarchy & proclaim himself Emperor of China

1935 – Lebensborn Project,  was founded by Heinrich Himmler, an SS-initiated, state-supported association in Nazi Germany with the goal of raising the birth rate of “Aryan” children via extramarital relations of persons classified as “racially pure & healthy” based on Nazi racial hygiene & health ideology. Lebensborn encouraged anonymous births by unmarried women, & mediated adoption of these children by likewise “racially pure and healthy” parents, particularly SS members & their families. Lebensborn expanded into several occupied European countries with Germanic populations during the Second World War.

1941 – Adolf Hitler declares the imminent extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery

1942 – World War II: German troops begin Operation Winter Storm, an attempt to relieve encircled Axis forces during the Battle of Stalingrad

1950 – Paula Ackerman, the first woman to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services

1963 – Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom

1979 – The 8.2 Mw Tumaco earthquake shakes Colombia &Ecuador with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 300–600, & generating a large tsunami

1985 – Arrow Air Flight 1285, crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland, killing all 256 people on board.

1988 – The Clapham Junction rail crash kills 335 & injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains

***

Alex Donis

POD (Poem Of the Day)

 ~today Proud Mary said:

“Big wheel keep on turning”…

What comes around goes around

So let the great wheel spin

As we sit at the hub of the universe

& create the day…

***

Isidro Escamilla

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on December 12th.  In 1531 a “Lady from Heaven” appeared to Saint Juan Diego, a poor Indian from Tepeyac, a hill northwest of Mexico City.  She identified herself as the “Mother of the True God” & instructed him to have the bishop build a church on the site & left an image of herself imprinted miraculously on his tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth.  The tilma should have deteriorated within 20 years but shows no sign of decay after 485 years.  It to this day defies all scientific explanations of its origin.

In the earliest account of the apparition, the Nican Mopohua, the Virgin Mary tells Juan Bernardino, the uncle of Juan Diego, that the image left on the tilma is to be known by the name “The Perfect Virgin, Holy Mary of Guadalupe”.

Alternative names that sound similar to “Guadalupe”, Tecuatlanopeuh which translates as “She whose origins were in the rocky summit“, & Tecuantlaxopeuh She who banishes those who devoured us.”

Following the Conquest in 1519–21, the Spanish destroyed a temple of the mother goddess Tonantzin at Tepeyac outside Mexico City, & built a chapel dedicated to the Virgin on the site. Newly converted natives continued to come from afar to worship there, often addressing the Virgin Mary as Tonantzin.

A Spanish version of the Nahuatl term, Coātlaxopeuh, which is interpreted as meaning “The one who crushes the serpent,” may be referring to the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl.

According to another theory the juxtaposition of Guadalupe & a snake may indicate a nexus with the Aztec goddess of love & fertility, Tonantzin (in Nahuatl “Our Revered Mother“), who also went under the name of Coatlícue (“The Serpent Skirt“). This appears to be borne out by the fact that this goddess had a temple dedicated to her on the very Tepeyac Hill where Juan Diego had his vision, the very temple which had recently been destroyed at the behest of the new Catholic authorities.

Some describe her as the Woman of the Apocalypse from the New Testament’s Revelation 12:1, “clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” She is also described as a representation of the Immaculate Conception.

In 1929 & 1951 photographers claimed to have found a figure reflected in the Virgin’s eyes; upon inspection they said that the reflection was tripled in what is called the Purkinje effect, commonly found in human eyes. An ophthalmologist, later enlarged an image of the Virgin’s eyes by 2500x & claimed to have found not only the aforementioned single figure, but images of all the witnesses present when the tilma was first revealed before Zumárraga in 1531, plus a small family group of mother, father, & a group of children, in the center of the Virgin’s eyes, fourteen people in all.

In 1936 biochemist Richard Kuhn analyzed a sample of the fabric & announced that the pigments used were from no known source, whether animal, mineral or vegetable. Dr. Philip Serna Callahan, who photographed the icon under infrared light, declared from his photographs that portions of the face, hands, robe, & mantle had been painted in one step, with no sketches or corrections & no visible brush strokes.

The image has layers of meaning for the indigenous people of Mexico who associated her image with their polytheistic deities, which further contributed to her popularity. Her blue-green mantle was the color reserved for the divine couple Ometecuhtli &Omecihuatl; her belt is interpreted as a sign of pregnancy; & a cross-shaped image, symbolizing the cosmos & called nahui-ollin, is inscribed beneath the image’s sash. She was called “Mother of maguey,” the source of the sacred beverage pulque. Pulque was also known as “The milk of the Virgin.” The rays of light surrounding her are seen to also represent maguey spines.

On 14 November 1921 a bomb hidden within a basket of flowers brought by an anti-Catholic secularist damaged the altar, but left the tilma unharmed. A brass standing Crucifix, bent in the explosion, is now preserved at the shrine.

Her message of love & compassion, & her universal promise to help & protect all humankind, as well as the story of the apparitions, are described in the “Nican Mopohua,” a 16th century document written in the native Nahuatl language.

Accounts state that The Virgin Mary appeared four times before Juan Diego & one more before Juan Diego’s uncle. According to these accounts the first apparition occurred on the morning of December 9, 1531, when a native Mexican peasant named Juan Diego saw a vision of a maiden at a place called the Hill of Tepeyac, which would become part of Villa de Guadalupe, a suburb of Mexico City. Speaking to Juan Diego in his native Nahuatl language (the language of the Aztec empire), the maiden identified herself as the Virgin Mary, “Mother of the very true deity”& asked for a church to be built at that site in her honor.

Based on her words, Juan Diego then sought out the archbishop of Mexico City, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, to tell him what had happened. As the bishop did not believe Diego, on the same day, Juan Diego saw the Virgin Mary for a second time (the second apparition); she asked him to keep insisting.

On Sunday, December 10, Juan Diego talked to the archbishop for a second time. He instructed him to return to Tepeyac Hill, & ask the lady for a miraculous sign to prove her identity. That same day the third apparition occurred when Diego returned to Tepeyac  &, encountering the Virgin Mary reported the bishop’s request for a sign; she consented to provide one on the following day (December 11)

By Monday, December 11, however, Juan Diego’s uncle Juan Bernardino had fallen sick & Juan Diego was obliged to attend to him. In the very early hours of Tuesday, December 12, Juan Bernardino’s condition having deteriorated overnight, Juan Diego set out to Tlatelolco to fetch a priest to hear Juan Bernardino’s confession & minister to him on his death-bed.

In order to avoid being delayed by the Virgin & ashamed at having failed to meet her on the Monday as agreed, Juan Diego chose another route around the hill, but the Virgin intercepted him & asked where he was going (fourth apparition); Juan Diego explained what had happened & the Virgin gently chided him for not having had recourse to her. In the words which have become the most famous phrase of the Guadalupe event & are inscribed over the main entrance to the Basilica of Guadalupe, she asked: “No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre?” (Am I not here, I who am your mother?). She assured him that Juan Bernardino had now recovered & she told him to gather flowers from the top of Tepeyac Hill, which was normally barren, especially in December. Juan followed her instructions & he found Castilian roses, not native to Mexico, blooming there. The Virgin arranged the flowers in Juan’s tilma, or cloak, & when Juan Diego opened his cloak before archbishop Zumárraga on December 12, the flowers fell to the floor, & on the fabric was the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The next day, on December 13, Juan Diego found his uncle fully recovered, as the Virgin had assured him, & Juan Bernardino recounted that he too had seen her, at his bed-side (fifth apparition); that she had instructed him to inform the bishop of this apparition & of his miraculous cure; & that she had told him she desired to be known under the title of Guadalupe.

The bishop kept Juan Diego’s mantle first in his private chapel & then in the church on public display where it attracted great attention. On December 26, 1531 a procession formed for taking the miraculous image back to Tepeyac where it was installed in a small hastily erected chapel. In course of this procession, the first miracle was allegedly performed when an Indian was mortally wounded in the neck by an arrow shot by accident during some stylized martial displays executed in honour of the Virgin. In great distress, the Indians carried him before the Virgin’s image & pleaded for his life. Upon the arrow being withdrawn, the victim made a full & immediate recovery.

Juan Diego’s tilma has become Mexico’s most popular religious & cultural symbol, & has received widespread ecclesiastical & popular support. In the 19th century it became the rallying call of American-born Spaniards in New Spain, who saw the story of the apparition as their own Mexican origin & infusing it with a sense of mission & identity –also legitimizing their armed rebellion against Spain.

The earliest mention of the miraculous apparition of the Virgin is a page of parchment (the Codex Escalada) which was discovered in 1995 &, according to investigative analysis, dates from the sixteenth century. This document bears two pictorial representations of Juan Diego & the apparition, several inscriptions in Nahuatl referring to Juan Diego by his Aztec name, & the date of his death: 1548, as well as the year that the Virgin Mary appeared: 1531. It also contains the glyph of Antonio Valeriano; & finally, the signature of Fray Bernardino de Sahagun that was authenticated by experts.

An incredible list of miracles, cures & interventions are attributed to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Each year an estimated 10 million people visit her Basilica, making her Mexico City home the most popular Marian shrine in the world. Altogether 24 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Juan Diego was canonized in 2002, under the name Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin.

May we be worthy of the miraculous

Xox

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

The Bridging Project – Between Life and Death from Soul to Soul

Audio Conference December 14, 2016 – 7:15 pm CST (8:15 pm EST)

“The dead and the living are embedded in the same way in something that the spirits of time weave as an unceasing stream of cosmic wisdom and cosmic will activity.  What the spirits of time weave is history — the ethical-moral life of an age, the social life of an age.”

Rudolf Steiner, Historical Necessity and Freewill, Lecture 3, Our Life with the Dead  (focus of our study for the December 14 meeting).

The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our second study conversation.  The study has been divided among five volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group.

This collection of lectures has been republished under the title: “The Influence of the Dead on Destiny”, The following is the link to the audio book and lectures:

Option 1.  Click link below if you wish to connect through your computer (a headset is recommended) https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/520692669

Option 2.  Call in using your telephone.

United States: +1 (571) 317-3116

Canada: +1 (647) 497-9372

Access Code: 520-692-669

Option 3. You can use a combination of Options 1 and 2 (computer and phone)

Agenda for our Study Call

7:15  Verse        

7:18  Welcome and Introductions

7:25  Study led by five volunteers

8:05  Conversation

8:20  Identify volunteers for the next study call

Lecture 4 – The Rhythmical Relationship of the Human Being Dec 11 2017

8:28  Close with verse

***

FLOWERS AND LANDSCAPES
New Works by
Lisa Villa Moser

Opening Reception:
Friday December 2nd, 2016
5 pm – 8 pm

Closing Reception
Sunday December 18th, 2016
12-3 pm

at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society 4249 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL. 60618. MAP

***

Start your New Year on the right foot at our annual New Year’s Eve Celebration!

Our evening will be spent in community, with various offerings and activities. Jutta & the Hi-Dukes ™ will play their exciting, unique blend of world music, for your family-friendly dancing pleasure. Everyone can take part because members of the band lead you through the traditional dances they present.

Doors open at 8:00 pm and the music will start around 9:00 pm. Your Donation of $10goes to the band (You are always welcome to give more to support the branch as well)

Additional offerings and activities for the evening to be announced soon.

Please bring a favorite delectable dish to share.

at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society 4249 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL. 60618. MAP

***

Mysteries of the Celtic Goddess

Brigid by Helena Nelson Reed

Thursday February 9th 2017 -7 pm
at the Theosophical Society in America
1926 North Main Street
Wheaton, IL 60187

Invoking the Practical Alchemy of the Celtic Triple Goddess Brigid 
To Purify, Awaken, & Galvanize Your Head, Heart, and Hands

Brigid’s festival is the 1st of the cross-quarter days in the wheel of the year, a time of spiritual re-dedication and initiation. Brigid invites us to forge and shape ourselves, as the tools of our own destiny. Come Renew Yourself. Together we will thaw the winter & rouse the mysteries growing within…

Hazel Archer Ginsberg is a Spiritual Midwife, and Trans-denominational Minister, working in an eclectic style that inspires connections – initiating us into the magic, waiting to be revealed, in the cycle of the seasons. Festivals Coordinator of the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society. Lecturer, Promoter, Blogger, Poet & Performance Artist.  www.ReverseRitual.com.

$10 nonmembers   $5 members

Live Webcast

***

Love in Wisdom is Gathering

5 December 2016 – Astro-Weather: At nightfall, look lower right of the Moon for Mars & much farther lower right from there for bright Venus. Meanwhile, well to the Moon’s lower left is Fomalhaut.

dec-5-2016

This is also a good week to target the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars & Jupiter. It lies among the background stars of northern Cetus & appears more than halfway to the zenith in the southern sky during early evening

 Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

 ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

“HEALING WILL COME TO OUR AGE when the thoughts and ideas that are applied to social conditions and political life are in living contact with spiritual reality”. ~ Rudolf Steiner

st-nick2

Saint Nicholas’ Eve – Sinterklaas – a mythical figure with legendary, historical & folkloric origins based on Saint Nicholas. Other names for the figure include De Sint (“The Saint”), De Goede Sint (“The Good Saint”), & De Goedheiligman (“The Good Holy Man”)

Sinterklaas is celebrated annually with the giving of gifts on 5 December, the night before the feast of Saint Nicholas – the primary source of the popular Christmas icon of Santa Claus

david-and-abigail-by-antonio-molinariDavid & Abigail by Antonio Molinari

Feast Day of Abigail (Hebrew: “my father’s joy”) the wife of Nabal; she became a wife of David after Nabal’s death (1 Samuel 25) She was the mother of Daniel. The Talmud regards her as one of the seven female prophets, the other six being Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Sarah, Huldah, & Esther.

st-crispina

304 – Deathday of Saint Crispina  – a martyr of Africa who suffered during the Diocletian persecution. She was born at Thagara (now an archaeological site in Tunisia near the town Taoura) in the Roman province of Africa. She died by beheading at Theveste, in Numidia.

Crispina belonged to a distinguished family and was a wealthy matron with children. At the time of the persecution she was brought before the proconsul Annius Anullinus; on being ordered to sacrifice to the gods she declared she honoured only one God.

Her head was shaved at the command of the judge, & she was exposed to public mockery, but she remained steadfast in the Faith & was not moved even by the tears of her children. When condemned to death, she thanked God & offered her head with joy for execution.

The Acts of her martyrdom, written not long after the event, form a valuable historical document of the period of the persecution. The day of St. Crispina’s death was observed in the time of Augustine of Hippo; in his sermons Augustine repeatedly mentions her name, as well known in Africa & worthy to be held in the same veneration as the names of Saint Agnes & St. Thecla.

nicetas-a-greek-philosopher-of-the-pythagorean-school

400 – Deathday of Nicetas, a Greek philosopher of the Pythagorean School. He was born in Syracuse. Like his fellow Pythagoreans he believed that the daily movement of permanent stars was caused by the rotation of the Earth around its axis. Copernicus referred to him in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium as having been cited by Cicero as an ancient who also argued that the earth moved.

st-sabas

532 – Feast day of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified, a Cappadocian-Syrian monk, who lived mainly in Palaestina Prima. He was the founder of several monasteries, most notably the one known as Mar Saba. The Saint’s name is derived from Aramaic meaning “old man”

Journeying to Alexandria on military matters, his parents left their five-year-old son in the care of an uncle. When the boy reached eight years of age, he entered the nearby monastery of Bishop Flavian of Antioch. The gifted child quickly learned to read & became an expert on the Holy Scriptures. In vain did his parents urge Sabbas to return to the world & enter into marriage.

When he was seventeen years old he received monastic tonsure. After spending ten years at the monastery of Bishop Flavian, he went to Jerusalem, & from there to the monastery of Saint Euthymius the Great. But Euthymius sent Sabbas to Abba Theoctistus, the head of a nearby monastery with a strict cenobitic rule. Sabbas lived in obedience at this monastery until the age of thirty.

After the death of the Elder Theoctistus, his successor blessed Sabbas to seclude himself in a cave. On Saturdays, however, he left his hermitage & came to the monastery, where he participated in divine services & ate with the brethren. After a certain time Sabbas received permission not to leave his hermitage at all, & he lived in isolation in the cave for five years.

Euthymius attentively directed the life of the young monk, & seeing his spiritual maturity, he began to take him to the wilderness with him. They set out each January 14 & remained there until Palm Sunday. Euthymius called Sabbas a child-elder, & encouraged him to grow in the monastic virtues.

When Euthymius died (c. 473), Sabbas withdrew from the lavra (a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church & a refectory at the center) & moved to a cave near the monastery of St. Gerasimus of Jordan. After several years, disciples began to gather around Sabbas, seeking the monastic life. As the number of monks increased, the Great Lavra sprang up.

Sabbas founded several more monasteries. It is claimed that many miracles took place through the prayers of Sabbas: at the lavra a spring of water welled up, during a time of drought they received abundant rain, & there were also healings of the sick & the possessed.

The relics of St. Sabbas were in the main church  of Mar Saba monastery, West Bank. They were taken by Crusaders in the 12th century & remained in Italy until Pope Paul VI returned them to the monastery in 1965 as a gesture of good will towards the Orthodox

phillis-wheatley

1784 – Deathday of Phillis Wheatley, Senegal-born slave, American poet who wrote: His Excellency General Washington –

Celestial choir! enthron’d in realms of light,
Columbia’s scenes of glorious toils I write.
While freedom’s cause her anxious breast alarms,
She flashes dreadful in refulgent arms.
See mother earth her offspring’s fate bemoan,
And nations gaze at scenes before unknown!
See the bright beams of heaven’s revolving light
Involved in sorrows and the veil of night!

The Goddess comes, she moves divinely fair,
Olive and laurel binds Her golden hair:
Wherever shines this native of the skies,
Unnumber’d charms and recent graces rise.

Muse! Bow propitious while my pen relates
How pour her armies through a thousand gates,
As when Eolus heaven’s fair face deforms,
Enwrapp’d in tempest and a night of storms;
Astonish’d ocean feels the wild uproar,
The refluent surges beat the sounding shore;
Or think as leaves in Autumn’s golden reign,
Such, and so many, moves the warrior’s train.
In bright array they seek the work of war,
Where high unfurl’d the ensign waves in air.
Shall I to Washington their praise recite?
Enough thou know’st them in the fields of fight.
Thee, first in peace and honors—we demand
The grace and glory of thy martial band.
Fam’d for thy valour, for thy virtues more,
Hear every tongue thy guardian aid implore!

One century scarce perform’d its destined round,
When Gallic powers Columbia’s fury found;
And so may you, whoever dares disgrace
The land of freedom’s heaven-defended race!
Fix’d are the eyes of nations on the scales,
For in their hopes Columbia’s arm prevails.
Anon Britannia droops the pensive head,
While round increase the rising hills of dead.
Ah! Cruel blindness to Columbia’s state!
Lament thy thirst of boundless power too late.

Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side,
Thy ev’ry action let the Goddess guide.
A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,
With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! Be thine.

wolfgang-amadeus-mozart

1791 – Deathday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer & musician. Mozart’s final year

1848 – California Gold Rush: In a message to the United States Congress, U.S. President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California

1931 – Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow was destroyed by an order of Joseph Stalin

1932 – German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa

1941 – World War II: Great Britain declares war on Finland, Hungary & Romania

1943 – World War II: Allied air forces begin attacking Germany’s secret weapons bases in Operation Crossbow

1952 – Great Smog: A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution, killing at least 12,000

1955 – The American Federation of Labor & the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge to form the AFL–CIO

Rosa Parks: an introvert who changed the world.

1955 –Rosa Parks lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott

1978 – The Soviet Union signs a “friendship treaty” with Afghanistan

***

clouds-halo

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Let us lift the clouds that guard the secret –
The miracle is happening
Let aspirations rise & speak:
The Peace of Wisdom is coming back
To give birth to Love
Again & yet again Sing Life
Stirring below the surface of skin,
Anoint the pain of mortality, the loss & suffering
The misunderstandings that prick
Consciousness & prod us toward truth…
Bless the body
Where Love in Wisdom is gathering…
~hag

***

innereye

Let us take our circle into the secret reaches of our inner sanctum – To Penetrate to the heart of the core of the root – To Peer down through the cracks in the surface, all the way to the center – To Treat the darkness there, as the source, of light…a cleverly disguised treasure, waiting to be discovered, a repository of raw material that will fuel the fires of inspiration…a place where we can go to practice the high art of redemption…

Will we dare to be curious about the amazing sacraments that lie beneath the obvious questions – To open that mysterious door, that leads to the even more mysterious door, that will take us to the most private, yet inclusive, fertile oasis of all…As we aspire to wrestle tenderly with the unripe side of our nature, until it agrees to share its hidden treasures with the rest of us…

Then the immediate future, the eternal now, will bring cathartic revelations leading to spiritual orgasms & ingenious changes in the way we dance our life…

You are potentially a genius, we all are…Perhaps not in the same way that Einstein & Beethoven were, but still: We possess some brilliant capacity or set of skills that is exquisitely unique…We are a masterpiece unlike any other that has ever lived…& you know what?…The precise instructions we need to ripen into that glorious Genie have always been with us…The master plan…Our special mission…Our personal soul code…Our secret song, that says, it’s our birthright to dance daily with the Divine Intelligence…

We have the power & the privilege to ask ‘The Source’ very specific questions about what we need to do NOW in order to activate more of our soul’s code, & to then receive a very specific answer…

So what question will you ask the Divine Intelligence tonight, as you commune in the sacred dance of yourself? …

Breathe in the Q…Breathe out the answer…Open to receive it…Breathe in the Q… As you embody your answer in the healing moment of the now…

The Question is love & love is the answer

Breathe in the Q…Breathe out the answer…

& as you let yourself hatch & become the answer…Just breathe & Be…

& slowly come, slowly come back into the body of this now…Breathe in the now…& begin to renew your connection to the circle…Bring your awareness back to the unity of your community…Come join the ring…with the milk & manna still lingering on our lips…Mingling with the salt of our skin…Ready to be turned into honey-mead…

We take the marriage feast back to the ring, into the circle that never stops…

Out into the world to feed our lives, with loves healing mystery…Grounded in every cell of our bodies…Connected to the stars in our eyes…Lived with every breath…As we take in the power we’ve raised here to fuel & feed our ‘Balance in Change’…

& so it is…

Xox

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

branch-christmas-2015-16-felted-manger-group

CALLING ALL CRAFTERS/JEWELRY MAKERS/VENDORS
The Rudolf Steiner branch is at 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. part of CHICAGO’s famous Lincoln Square area, right next to the Half Acre Brewery, & they are having an extravaganza event from 11am -11pm on Sunday December 11th, which will bring in a lot of foot traffic – it is the perfect opportunity to have a pop-up store at the branch!
On a regular Saturday there are lines of folks that come for the free tour, & they are anticipating that this event will be much much bigger, as they are reveling a new beer & it’s big news (a younger crowd of 30 somethings I would think) they will be lining up around the block by 9am. We could put a sign outside & you could set up tables in the storefront bookstore area.
The branch would want 20 per cent of sales.
What do you say?
Please ask any others that have wares to sell to join in, there’s plenty of space
Interested? Contact me Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

a face of flowers out of season

2 December 2016 – Astro-Weather: For the next two evenings, the thickening crescent Moon poses with bright Venus in the southwest at dusk

dec-2-2016-moon-venus

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 Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

 ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

HEALING WILL COME TO OUR AGE when the thoughts and ideas that are applied to social conditions and political life are in living contact with spiritual reality. ~Rudolf Steiner

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Deathday of Saint Aurelia of Strasbourg, a 4th-century saint. According to legend, Aurelia accompanied Saint Ursula & the eleven thousand virgins from Roman Britain to Cologne, where they were favorably received by Aquilin, bishop of the place. From Cologne they traveled to Basel. From Basel the travelers descended the Rhine to Strasbourg where St Aurelia succumbed to a violent fever, dying after a few days. Three virgins were left to care for her. She is particularly invoked against fevers in the church that bears her name. Her three companions lived many years in the same place & were buried there. Some centuries later their tomb was opened & their bodies were found completely intact, marked with titles bearing their names.

1469 – Deathday of Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian banker & politician

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1804 – At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French

1814 – Deathday of Marquis de Sade

1823 – Monroe Doctrine: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James Monroe proclaims American neutrality in future European conflicts, & warns European powers not to interfere in the Americas.

The intent and impact of the Monroe Doctrine persisted with only minor variations for more than a century. Its stated objective was to ‘free’ the newly independent colonies of Latin America from European intervention & avoid situations which could make the New World a battleground for the Old World powers, so that the U.S. could exert its own influence undisturbed.

1845 – Manifest destiny: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James K. Polk proposes that the United States should aggressively expand into the West

Manifest Destiny” was a belief that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There are three basic themes to manifest destiny:

*The special virtues of the American people and their institutions

*The mission of the United States to redeem and remake the west in the image of agrarian America

*An irresistible destiny to accomplish this essential duty

Historians have emphasized that “manifest destiny” was a contested concept—many prominent Americans (such as Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, & most Whigs) rejected it. Historian Daniel Walker Howe writes, “American imperialism did not represent an American consensus; it provoked bitter dissent within the national polity…Whigs saw America’s moral mission as one of democratic example rather than one of conquest.”

It never became a national priority. By 1843 John Quincy Adams, originally a major supporter of the concept underlying manifest destiny, had changed his mind & repudiated expansionism because it meant the expansion of slavery in Texas.

From the outset Manifest Destiny—vast in program, in its sense of continentalism—was slight in support. It lacked national, sectional, or party following commensurate with its magnitude. The reason was it did not reflect the national spirit (Columbia)

depression-dorothea-langePhoto by Dorothea Lange

1930 – Great Depression: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Herbert Hoover proposes a $150 million public works program to help generate jobs & stimulate the economy

1942 – World War II: During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction

1943 – World War II: A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbor of Bari, Italy, sinks numerous cargo & transport ships, including the American SS John Harvey, which is carrying a stockpile of World War I-era mustard gas

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1956 – The Granma reaches the shores of Cuba’s Oriente Province. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara & 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution

1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist & that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.

1962 – Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to comment adversely on the war’s progress

1970 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations

1971 – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, & Umm al-Quwain form the United Arab Emirates

1976 – Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado

1980 – Salvadoran Civil War: Four American missionaries, Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Ursuline Dorothy Kazel, & lay missionary Jean Donovan, are raped & murdered by a death squad

1982 – At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart

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1988 – Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state

1991 – Canada & Poland become the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union

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2001 – Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

2015 – San Bernardino attack: Syed Rizwan Farook & Tashfeen Malik kill 14 people & wound 22

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POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I come
& go out the same door
A portal ever undulating
To greet the passage of Time
To trace the footfall
Of a hidden god
To stand in space
When the rest disappears
In a face of flowers out of season…
No day passes
When we are not
Part of each other
~hag

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lunar-nodes-solar-markers

I’ve been told that the Third Lunar Node, occurring around the age of 56, often brings about a healing crisis. Encountering serious illness & death becomes more frequent. Many people at this time become ill with cancer, have a heart attack, or suffer the threatening climax of a chronic illness? This was the age my mother Betty Mae died, the age I am now. What a perspective to view recent lower-back issues,  social upheavals, new career orientations, & the current viral pneumonia, arising in this light.

The thought of death & dying comes more strongly into consciousness & serves to sharpen my gaze into the spiritual world. I become more contemplative. What will come after death for me? Where do I come from? Where am I going? What deeper meaning does my life have?

Bam…All at once, long nagging habits, life questions, daily activities, routines, & social interactions, suddenly come forward in my consciousness, begging for clarity, purification or retribution. Anxiety stirs as I feel my waning physical strength preventing me from fulfilling duties. I take stock of my Self. The longing to leave something lasting & significant to the world pierces. I examine what is important, what is real, what is essential? & ask: How can I be a more loving human being? How can I forgive myself, & the other? How can I put the Being of Anthroposophia to work in my every thought, word & deed? How can I live in the truth of ‘Christ in me’?

At the second lunar node my question was: In what social connections can I best serve? Now a further spiritual element arises – I ask: Who shares my common interests & goals? Friendships & social relationships are examined & weighed according to their spiritual connectivity & lasting value. Spiritual questions become the only focus. I’m done with small talk.  I strive to experience the reality & truth of the spiritual world. I seek a Spiritual Home, where there is support & healthy discussion. And yet I feel so alone, unworthy. Who are my peers, my partners & co-creators? Why do I clash & bump up against my contemporaries? Why can’t I heal this moon-karma? Where are my mentors?

They say: When the student is ready…sigh…
I read that Goethe reached his third lunar node in 1805. He became ill in the first months of that year, plagued by kidney colic. His friend Schiller also became ill during those months. On May 1st, Goethe visited him for the last time, & on May 9th Schiller died. Three weeks later Goethe wrote :

“What more can a person have from life
Than God-Nature revealing itself
How it allows the solid to trickle away to spirit
How it solidly preserves that created by spirit.” 

Hey, ‘Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ right?

Xox

 ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

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TONIGHT

lisa-villa-moser-flowers

FLOWERS AND LANDSCAPES
New Works by
Lisa Villa Moser

Opening Reception:
Friday December 2nd, 2016
5 pm – 8 pm

Closing Reception
Sunday December 18th, 2016
12-3 pm

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at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society 4249 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL. 60618. MAP

lisa-villa-moser-yellow-flowers