Category Archives: Spring

Insights on the Eve of Rudolf Steiner’s Death

Festival, Quote, Remembering, Soul to Soul, Spring

Dear friends, Today on the 29th of March 2017, the eve of the 93rd anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s Death, I thought to share these insights given by some of his closest associates.

From “Rudolf Steiner, a Biography” by Christoph Lindenberg:

“March 1925 was cold & foggy. It became quite windy in the last week of the month, & then the storms began. From the South & the West, the rain whipped against the walls of the studio. On March 29th, Rudolf Steiner awoke in pain. “No work was done that morning. It was the 1st time. We spoke at length about the pain. There was no reason to be worried. The pains disappeared in the course of the day. He was extraordinarily still & patient that day & gave new suggestions for his care” (Wegman & Nachrichtenblatt 1925)Dr. Margarete Kirchner-Bockholt

Perhaps at this point it would be important to say a few words about Rudolf Steiner’s illness. It has been publicly stated that he died of stomach cancer. (Brugge) In light of the way his illness progressed, such an assumption is fully understandable. But one of Ita Wegman’s closet colleagues, Dr. Margarete Kirchner-Bockholt vehemently rejected this conjecture.

Dr. Ita Wegman

And Dr. Ita Wegman had reported that Rudolf Steiner’s etheric body was no longer able to work in the digestive organs in the appropriate manner. “The result was that these organs were subjected too strongly to the physical forces, which are forces of degeneration.” (Wegman & Nachrichtenblatt 1925)

In his recollections of Rudolf Steiner D.N.Dunlop recalled, “A few weeks before his final illness, during the summer conference in Torquay, I spoke to him about my concerns for his physical health. He drew me aside, vigorously but with infinite friendliness, & made me aware that his situation could not be explained in terms of our usual notions of disease”. (Meyer)

Albert Steffen

Albert Steffen, who visited Rudolf Steiner regularly throughout his illness, recalled this time: “I visited him March 28th at 5 pm  in the afternoon in his studio, where he lay in his sickbed. It was a tall room with skylights. Nothing of the earth looks in: no tree, no mountain, no house, only the light of the heavens. Sculptural & architectural models that he has made himself stand on the shelves along with some busts he has sculpted; at the foot of his bed, the noble statue of Christ, carved by his own hand, soars high above him. All around him are tables covered with books & manuscripts…Up to the last day of his life, his interest was for the entire world. In his studio, which he had not left for half the year, he had collected an entire library” (Goetheanum, 1925)

According to Ita Wegman’s report, Rudolf Steiner was very still sad & silent. She recalled, “It seemed to me as though he had a very difficult problem to solve. The forces of light in his eyes appeared weaker than usual”.

He wrote the last “Letter to the Members” that day! This last missive is like a preview of what was to come in the 21st Century. It is titled “From Nature to Sub-Nature.” In it, Rudolf Steiner characterizes the dangers of the technological age & the task that has arisen for humanity through the technological developments, which rob humans of a direct experience of nature & place themselves in its stead.

At 4 pm on MARCH 29th, the pain returned. Yet Rudolf Steiner asked again if the adjoining studio was ready for him to work on the model for the 2nd Goetheanum. Both doctors, Wegman & Noll, kept watch throughout the night”.

More tomorrow, 30 March – Rudolf Steiner’s DeathDay.

“His last thoughts were of the work to which he had in love dedicated himself” ~Rudolf Steiner, from the last act of the 4th Mystery Drama.

Together we stand with his spirit

~Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

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Upcoming Events &  Festivals

ONGOING:

Community Study – 3/22/17  Wednesday at 8:00am- 9:40am  in the Library at the Chicago Waldorf School 1300 W. Loyola, Chicago

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

Contact Hazel Archer Ginsberg (773-549-3026)  Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

Micha-el Grail-Road

Chicago Event, Spring

Beloved Friends –

A day after the Vernal Equinox, as the earth turned from equal day & equal night toward the triumph of the light, our 3-fold friends, Dottie, Daniel & Frank, came  flying in with the winds of change, from the City of Angels. With a timetable of a mere 24 hours, we hit the road running in a collective effort to begin broadcasting the seeds of their Elderberries 3-fold initiative in the cold clime of The Windy City.

The Being of the Rudolf Steiner Branch warmed & welcomed them, the council & members were set a-blaze with their enthusiasm. Roots are setting; sprouts are unfurling in the etheric. We are forging the Micha-el Grail-Road; paving the way from the West to the East, opening the way into the Heart-land.

Please join your good will with ours that these fruits will ripen – casting ever more seeds – to flourish & feed the 3-fold social organism of humanity & the Being of Anthroposophia.

It felt so fitting to leave these friends to meet with the 6th graders at the Urban Prairie Waldorf School where I gave a storytelling of 2 fearless Knights from King Arthur’s Round Table. All the while I held the picture of Karl König´s poem “The Knighthood of the 20th Century”, which is written on the wall of the Elderberries 3-Fold Café. Tomorrow I take the young ‘Lords & Ladies’ on a Rite-of-Passage Retreat called- The Path of Chivalry: A Quest to Become a 21st Century Knight -fueled by the passion of purpose bestowed on me from Dottie, Daniel & Frank who work every day to manifest Anthroposophy in the world.

Ever striving to be in service to the highest good

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Everywhere we hear the question ‘where are the youth’?
Growing up today, life is bound to be complex and challenging for nearly every young person. We often grow up in unwholesome family environments and a culture that does not meet our deepest need for beauty and a healthy social life.

Around us we see pain and devastation on all levels. Hope, the medicine for depression and addiction, is kindled through righteous activity. Young people have an inner need to participate in self and societal transformation or else their life forces wither and die. Right action in turn, necessitates profound understanding of the human being and the natural and spiritual worlds. This is where Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy, or Spiritual Science, serves.

What if our Rudolf Steiner Branches across this continent and the world were buzzing hubs of initiative? Youth are asking for inner transformation to go hand in hand with outer deeds?

This storyline is what we also heard when meeting the community in Chicago.
It was a beautiful evening of conversation, questions and stories, non-stop for four hours! We first met the board and then transitioned in to an open conversation about our work at Elderberries with the larger community.

Many of the beautiful friends that showed up shared their surprise and appreciation after hearing more about our work and how we approach personal transformation in community. Toward the end when speaking about the practical building and renovation concerns – one of the younger friends Mihai, opened his jacket slightly to reveal his work uniform saying ‘you know I’m a building engineer’… as if to say ‘we’ve got this, don’t worry’!

In gratitude, the three of us – Frank, Dottie and I boarded the plane back to LA after an inspiring visit. Thank you to Hazel and her husband Chuck Ginsberg for hosting us so beautifully and keeping the dream alive. Let’s see what’s possible!

~ Daniel Evaeus

Sow the seeds of peaceful premonition

Celestial Event, Central Regional Council, Chicago Event, Festival, Insight, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars, Spring

20 March 2017 – Astro-Weather: For those of you tired of winter weather, good news: Spring officially begins today. Earth’s vernal equinox occurs at 5:29 am CDT, which marks the moment when the Sun crosses the celestial equator traveling north. The Sun rises due east & sets due west today. If the Sun were a point of light & Earth had no atmosphere, everyone would get 12 hours of sunlight & 12 hours of darkness. But our blanket of air & the finite size of our star make today a few minutes longer than 12 hours

Last Quarter Moon occurs at 10:58 a.m. CDT. You can find the half-lit orb rising in the east along with the background stars of Sagittarius around 1 am; it hangs relatively low in the south-southeast as twilight begins. Look to our satellite’s lower right & you should pick up the bright glow of Saturn. The ringed planet shines significantly brighter than any of Sagittarius’ stars

“If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful flowers, what might not the heart become in the long journey towards the stars?”~ G K Chesterton

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Kirsty Mitchell.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

“I turn to history not for lessons but to confront my experience with the experience of others and to win for myself a sense of responsibility for the state of the human conscience”. ~ Zbigniew Herbert

Today marks the vernal point in the Northern Hemisphere & the autumnal point in the Southern Hemisphere, when day & night are in balance

Nowruz (Persian: literally “New Day”) the Iranian New Year, also known as the Persian New Year. Nowruz is partly rooted in the traditions of Mitraism & Zoroastrianism. In Mitraism, festivals had a deep linkage with the sun light. The Iranian festivals such as Mehrgan (autumnal equinox), Tirgan, & the eve of Chelle ye Zemestan (winter solstice) also had an origin in the Sun god (Surya). Among other ideas, Zoroastrianism is the first monotheistic religion that emphasizes broad concepts; such as the corresponding work of good & evil in the world,& the connection of humans to nature. Zoroastrian practices were dominant for much of the history of ancient Iran.

Although having Iranian & religious Zoroastrian origins, Nowruz has been celebrated by people from diverse ethno-linguistic communities for thousands of years. It is a secular holiday for most celebrants that is enjoyed by people of several different faiths, but remains a holy day for Zoroastrians

Bethany Roberts

OSTARA (pronounced O-STAR-ah) is celebrated on the Vernal or Spring Equinox. The name for this Sabbat actually comes from that of the Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre. Her chief symbols are the bunny (for fertility & because the Ancient Ones who worshiped her often saw the image of a rabbit in the full moon), & the egg (representing the cosmic egg of creation). This is where the customs of “Easter Eggs” & the “Easter Bunny” originated.

Ostara is a time to celebrate the arrival of Spring, the renewal & rebirth of Nature herself, & the coming lushness of Summer. It is at this time when light & darkness are in balance, yet the light is growing stronger by the day. The forces of masculine & feminine energy, yin & yang, are also in balance at this time. At this time we think of renewing ourselves. We renew our thoughts, our dreams, & our aspirations. We think of renewing our relationships. This is an excellent time of year to begin anything new or to completely revitalize something. This is also an excellent month for prosperity rituals or rituals that have anything to do with growth.

Customs such as the lighting of new fires at dawn for healing, renewed life, & protection of the crops still survive in the Southern Americas as well as in Europe. Eggs were gathered & used for the creation of talismans & also ritually eaten. The gathering of different colored eggs from the nests of a variety of birds has given rise to two traditions still observed today – the Easter egg hunt, & coloring eggs in imitation of the various pastel colors of wild birds. It is also believed that humankind first got the idea of weaving baskets from watching birds weave nests. This is perhaps the origin of the association between colored Easter eggs & Easter baskets.

There is much symbolism in eggs themselves. The golden orb of its yolk represents the Sun God, its white shell is seen as the White Goddess, & the whole is a symbol of rebirth. The Goddess Eostre’s patron animal was the hare.

The Spring Equinox is a time of new beginnings, of action, of planting seeds for future grains, & of tending gardens. Spring is a time of the Earth’s renewal, a rousing of nature after the cold sleep of winter. As such, it is an ideal time to clean your home to welcome the new season. “Spring cleaning” is much more than simply physical work. It may be seen as a concentrated effort to rid your home of the problems & negativity of the past months, & to prepare for the coming spring and summer. To do this, we may approach the task of cleaning our homes with positive thoughts. This frees the home of any negative feelings brought about by a harsh winter. A common rule of thumb for Spring cleaning is that all motions involving scrubbing of stains or hand rubbing the floors should be done “clockwise”. This custom aids in filling the home with good energy for growth.

Appropriate Deities for Ostara include all Youthful and Virile Gods and Goddesses, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, Love Goddesses, Moon Gods and Goddesses, & all Fertility Deities. Some Ostara Deities to mention by name here include Persephone, Blodeuwedd, Eostre, Aphrodite, Athena, Cybele, Gaia, Hera, Isis, Ishtar, Minerva, Venus, Robin of the Woods, the Green Man, Cernunnos, Lord of the Greenwood, The Dagda, Attis, The Great Horned God, Mithras, Odin, Thoth, Osiris, & Pan.

Key actions to keep in mind during this time in the Wheel of the Year include openings & new beginnings. Work for improving communication & group interaction are recommended, as well as fertility & abundance. Ostara is a good time to start putting those plans and preparations you made at Imbolc into action. Start working towards physically manifesting your plans now

43 BC – Birthday of Ovid, Roman poet

303 – Birthday of Saint Alexandra of Rome, wife of the Emperor Diocletian who secretly converted to Christianity. While Saint George was being tortured, Alexandra went to the arena, bowed before him & professed her faith openly. When she questioned whether she was worthy of paradise & of martyrdom without being baptized, Saint George told her “Do not fear, for your blood will baptize you.” She was denounced a Christian & imprisoned on her husband’s orders in Nicomedia, then sentenced to die. Her husband was so outraged by her conversion that he is said to have uttered “What! Even thou hast fallen under their spell!”

1602 – The Dutch East India Company is established

1616 – Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment

1726 – Deathday of Isaac Newton, English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, & philosopher

1760 – The Great Boston Fire  destroys 349 buildings

1815 – After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris beginning his “Hundred Days” rule

1828 – Birthday of Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian poet, playwright, & director

1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published

1861 – An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina

1915 – Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity

1922 – The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier

1923 – The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso‘s first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the United States

1928 – Birthday of Fred Rogers, American television host & producer

1933 – Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler ordered the creation of Dachau concentration camp as Chief of Police of Munich & appointed Theodor Eicke as the camp commandant.

1995 – The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo carries out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, killing 12 and wounding over 1,300 people.

2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries (the UK, Australia and Poland) begin military operations in Iraq

2012 – At least 52 people are killed and more than 250 injured in a wave of terror attacks across ten cities in Iraq

2015 – A Solar eclipse, equinox, & a Supermoon all occur on the same day

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POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Will you
Sow the seeds of peaceful premonition
Into a fruitful action
To ignite the weave
In radiant expectation…
~hag

***

“Spring is coming, spring is coming
birdies build your nest.
weave together straw and feather
doing each your best.
spring is coming, spring is coming
flowers are waking, too.
daisies, lilies, and daffodils
now are coming through.
spring is coming, spring is coming
all around is fair.
shimmer, glimmer on the meadow,
joy is everywhere.”

Equinox means “equal night” when the sun is positioned above the equator & day and night are about equal in length all over the world. This is the start of the Astrological year. Many ancient cultures built structures to point directly toward the rising Sun on this day every year. The celebration of the Vernal Equinox is about new life & hope, the planting of seeds & the activation of the fertility cycle.

A look into the ancient Mystery Schools honoring The Vernal Equinox: The Spring Equinox is also called: Alban Eilir, Eostar, Eostre, Feast of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Festival of Trees, Lady Day, NawRuz, No Ruz, Ostara, Ostra, Rites of Spring. The Old Testament heroine of Spring was the goddess Ishtar- Persian for ‘star'(Esther is the Aramaic word for Ishtar).  So Ishtar was the goddess of the morning & evening star, as well as being the Great Mother, Shining One, Lady of Visions, Priestess of Priestess’, she was the source of the Oracles of Prophesy, & Possessor of the Tablets of Life’s Records.Her symbols were the eight pointed star, the pentagram, dove, serpents, & the double axe. Her planet was Venus. She wore a rainbow necklace. The Persians converted this necklace (the rainbow) into a razor-sharp bridge that led to the Mount of Paradise. In ancient Sumeria, she had 180 shrines where women gathered daily for prayer, meditation, & socializing. The night of the full moon, known as Shapatu, saw joyous celebrations in her temples.

In Ireland, the spring equinox was celebrated long before the arrival of the Celtic tribes. The best known of the ancient Irish equinox temples is Knowth, which is near to Newgrange (Brú na Boinne). Knowth has a 100-foot long passage that accepts the Sun on the morning of the Spring & Autumn Equinox. A second & older stone cairn equinox temple is found at Longhcrew & is given the name Cairn T. Both Knowth & Cairn follow a sunbeam on the morning of the Equinoxs to enter a passageway lighting up the sacred geometry on a back stone inside the temple. This precise timing from a period of over 6 thousand years ago still works today.

The German fertility Goddess was Ostara, who was associated with fertility. Ostara mated with the solar god on the Spring Equinox & nine months later she gave birth to a child at the Winter Solstice.

The Saxon name for the Germanic lunar goddess Ostara was Eostre. Her festival was held at the full moon after the Spring Equinox just like our Easter celebrations.

The Mayans of Central American have also honoured the spring equinox. For ten centuries they have held their unique celebration using their ancient knowledge of the Sunbeam. El Castillo is the name of their great pyramid of the Equinox & as the sunsets on its western face light & dark compliment each other creating a very special pattern of a diamond backed snake descending the pyramid. This solar magic has always been known as the “The Return of the Sun Serpent”.

For the Greeks the god-man of the Spring Equinox was Dionysus. He was associated with flowering plants & fruitful vines & he was always in pain during winter, symbolizing hibernation & the cessation of growth. He returned triumphant on the Spring Equinox & many researchers see direct parallels with the story of Jesus Christ.

Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Babylonia, Elam (5000 years ago) celebrated the start of their new year at the time of the spring equinox. Zoroastrianism was the religion of Ancient Persia until the advent of Islam 1400 years ago. “Nooruz,” their ‘new day’ or New Year was celebrated on the Spring Equinox. Many religious historians connect Judeo-Christian concepts to Zoroastrianism.

In Rome, about 200 years before the birth of Christ there was a wide range of what are today called “mystery cults”. Attis & Cybele held their Spring Equinox rituals at the location of today’s St. Peter’s on Vatican hill. Attis was also known under various names such as Osiris, Dionysus, Tammuz & Orpheus. The Attis & Cybele festival had a death or day of blood & three days of semi-death & then a return to life for the deceased. Attis‘s mother was called Nana & she was a virgin. Attis was crucified on a pine tree.  His blood was spilled to redeem the earth. Attis was both a sacrificial victim & a savior, his death & re-birth was intended to bring salvation to mankind. Most researchers will say that Attis is clearly a prefiguring prototype for The Christ.

In Judaism we can see that the Passover dinner was their spring fertility festival. It records the escape of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt – its main meal was of unleavened bread & lamb.

In America the native Indians honoured the Spring Equinox in landscape-sized temples such as Mystery Hill in Salem NH. Five standing stones & one recumbent stone are set in a linear alignment that connects the sunrise on both the Spring & Autumn Equinoxes.

March 20-23, is the mid-point of the Waxing Year. The spark of light that was born at Winter Solstice has reached maturity, & from this point forward, the days grow longer than the nights. This is the time of full Dawn, 6:00 a.m. on the Year Clock, & so was the time of the festivals of the Grecian Goddess, Eostre, & the Germanic Ostara, both Goddesses of Dawn. (It is from these Bright Ladies that the modern Easter holiday takes its name). This is the time that is often seen as the time of Kore’s return from the Underworld, where She (as Persephone) has ruled throughout the Winter. It is also the time of the celebration of the rebirth of Adonis the Beautiful.

Spring is the time for a celebration of planting & of the greening of the Earth. Folks start to talk about having ‘Spring Fever’ & doing ‘Spring cleaning’, as the brighter sunshine provides a needed morale boost.

Many traditions associated with Spring Equinox have been retained over the years & grafted onto the Easter celebration. Even today, people arise early on Easter morning to attend ‘Sunrise Service’. (Remember Eostre, the Dawn Goddess?)

May this time of new beginnings bring you the fresh start you need, as you begin to plan & to plant the seeds for the future you want to see grow with the light.

Xox ~Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

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Gretchen Steele

The Bridging Project
Between Life and Death from Soul to Soul
April 5, 2017 – 7:15 pm CST 

“This dulling of human feelings of wonder is connected with what was not taken up in the age approaching the twentieth century. If we wish to speak of the causes of our present catastrophic events, we will find that these causes are not human actions, but instead are sins of omission. This is the essential point.” ~Rudolf Steiner, Historical Necessity and Freewill, Lecture 6, “New Spiritual Impulses in History – Their Rejection by the Materialistic World Conception and the Result of the Catastrophic Events of World War I” … Our focus for the April 5 meeting

The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing study conversation. The study has been divided amongst six 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”, here is the link:
https://steiner.presswarehouse.com/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=179577
The following is the link to the audio book and lectures:
http://www.rudolfsteineraudio.com/influencedeaddestiny1917/influencedestinydead1917.html

This will be a “go-to-meeting” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer).  To connect to the audio/video-conference:
Option 1.  Click link below if you wish to connect through your computer (a headset is recommended)
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/328407941
Option 2.  Call in using your telephone.
United States: +1 (312) 757-3117
Canada: +1 (647) 497-9373
Access Code: 328-407-941
Option 3. You can use a combination of Options 1 and 2 (computer and phone). If you use the phone, please turn off the audio on your computer.

Please join us!
Agenda for our Study Call

7:15 Verse
7:18 Welcome and Introductions
7:25 Study led by six volunteers
Alberto – beginning to page 79
Marianne D – page 79 to 81
Hazel – page 81 to page 83
Raven – page 83 to page 85
Marianne F-D – page 85 to 87
Travis – page 87 to end
8:05 Conversation
8:20 Identify volunteers for the next study call, June 14
8:25 Share initial thoughts regarding Central Region gatherings in August (time of the solar eclipse) and November (All Souls)
8:28 Close with verse

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El Greco

Our Holy Week Study: “An Outline of Esoteric Science Chapter 5: Knowledge of Higher Worlds – Initiation” by Rudolf Steiner:

Palm Sunday April 9th 2017 – 2pm – 4pm

Holy Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Good Fri – 7pm – 9pm

Holy Saturday 2pm – 4pm

Easter Sunday April 16th 2017,  2pm – 4pm –

The Midwest Eurythmy Group will perfrom

~The Mystery of Golgotha – Then and Now~ A discourse with Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Group work: Based on Baruch Urieli’s ‘Learning to Experience the Etheric World –
Empathy, the After-Image and a New Social Ethic’

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

Details to follow

March In

Insight, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars, Spring

6 March 2017 – Astro-Weather: Around 7pm CST the brightest star in the night sky — Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris) dazzles due south. Sirius triples the light output of Orion’s brightest star, blue-white Rigel (Beta Orionis). Sirius comes from the Greek term for “sparkling” or “scorching” & is attributed to the Greek poet Hesiod, who lived in the latter half of the 8th century BC. Although Sirius ranks number one among stars, both Venus & Jupiter outshine it tonight. Jupiter appears twice as bright, & the light of Love from Venus surpasses them both.

“When we look up into the starry heavens, the feeling of our soul’s home awakens in us. The feeling awakens: Before you came down to earth to a new incarnation you yourself were in those stars, and out of the stars , the moral law was imparted to you.” ~Rudolf Steiner

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Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

12 BC – The Roman Emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the Emperor.

632 – The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada’) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad

845 – Execution of the 42 Martyrs of Amorium at Samarra

1251 – Deathday of Rose of Viterbo, Italian saint, known for her mystical gifts of foretelling the future & having miraculous powers.  Born of poor & pious parents, even as a child Rose had a great desire to pray & to aid the poor. When she was 3 years old, she allegedly raised to life her maternal aunt. At the age of 7, she had already lived the life of a recluse, devoting herself to penances. She prayed much for the conversion of sinners. Rose was not yet 10 years old when the Blessed Virgin Mary is said to have instructed her to enter the Third Order of St. Francis & to preach penance in Viterbo.

In January 1250, her native city was in revolt against the pope. When Rose took the pope’s side against the emperor, she & her family were exiled from the city & took refuge in Soriano nel Cimino. When the pope’s side won in Viterbo, Rose was allowed to return.

Rose foretold the speedy death of the emperor, a prophecy fulfilled on December 13, 1250. Soon afterwards she went to Vitorchiano, whose inhabitants, were affected by a bad sorceress. Rose secured the conversion of all, even of the sorceress, reportedly by standing unscathed for three hours in the flames of a burning pyre

1475 – Birthday of Michelangelo, Italian painter & sculptor

1619 – Birthday of Cyrano de Bergerac, French author & playwright

1665 – The first joint Secretary of the Royal Society, Henry Oldenburg, publishes the first issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

1806 – Birthday of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English-Italian poet & translator

1820 – The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, brings Maine into the Union as a free state, & makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free

1857 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case -a landmark decision, it held that “a negro, whose ancestors were imported into the U.S., and sold as slaves”, whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court”, & that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. Dred Scott, an enslaved man of “the negro African race” who had been taken by his owners to free states attempted to sue for his freedom. In a 7–2 decision written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the court denied Scott’s request. The decision was only the 2nd time that the Supreme Court had ruled an Act of Congress to be unconstitutional.

Although Taney hoped that his ruling would finally settle the slavery question, the decision immediately spurred vehement dissent from anti-slavery elements in the North, especially Republicans. Many contemporary lawyers, & most modern legal scholars, consider the ruling regarding slavery in the territories to be dictum, not binding precedent. The decision proved to be an indirect catalyst for the American Civil War. It was functionally superseded by the Civil Rights Act of 1866 & by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1868, which gave African Americans full citizenship.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford is unanimously denounced by scholars, it “stands first in any list of the worst Supreme Court decisions.” “The Court’s greatest self-inflicted wound”. “Universally condemned as the U.S. Supreme Court’s worst decision “Unquestionably, our court’s worst decision ever”

1869 – Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society

1888 – Deathday of Louisa May Alcott, American novelist & poet

1943 – Norman Rockwell published Freedom from Want in The Saturday Evening Post with a matching essay by Carlos Bulosan as part of the Four Freedoms series

1986 – Deathday of Georgia O’Keeffe, American painter

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Grace Kahn

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~ The words I spell
Make the worlds I think –
May the rhythm of my heart stir music
To rouse the seed from the darkness –
A witness to what open hands can create
As we ride together into the fresh Spring
Of freedom
Toward destiny divined
~ hag

***

MARCH in like a lion…Out like a lamb

March is abundant with ‘Holy Days’, finding voice through many cultural expressions.

The Full Storm Moon of March brings the Jewish Festival Purim, a joyful spring holiday that features a festive meal, gift-giving, costumes, & noisemakers. The word “Purim” means “lots,” & refers to Haman’s casting of lots in the story of Esther. It is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations. Americans sometimes refer to Purim as the Jewish Mardi Gras.

The 15th is the famous Ides of March; which we all know is the day Julius Caesar was warned by the soothsayers to beware; the day he was assassinated. But did you know that according to the ancient Roman calendar, the Ides of March was considered New Year’s Day, & marked the 1st day of Spring?

March 17, brings us the ‘wearing of the green’ for St. Patrick’s Day. This former pagan used the shamrock to teach folks about the Trinity.

The 20th happens to be the Iranian New Year celebration, Norooz, or ‘New Day’.

In 622 AD, Mohammed led his followers from Mecca to Medina to escape assassination. According to the story, when his pursuers reached the cave where Mohammed & his followers had taken shelter for the night, they found a dove nesting in front of it & the entrance covered by a spider’s web. So the pursuers passed on, leaving them in peace. Mohammed continued on to Medina, where he & his followers were able to worship freely. Muslims consider this flight — or Hijrah — to be the beginning of their calendar year. People worship quietly on this day, which begins with the 1st sighting of the crescent moon, & in keeping with the rebirth of nature is also considered the 1st day of Spring.

Here on this side of the globe we call it the Spring or Vernal Equinox, also known as: Alban Eilir, Eostar, the Feast of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Lady Day, Festival of Trees, NawRuz, Ostara, & the Rites of Spring – when the Sun enters the 1st sign of fiery Aries, as opposed to the lunar cycle used by the ancients.

Day & night are equal, poised & balanced, but about to tip over to the side of light. It is sacred to the twilight time of dawn, youth, the morning star & the east. The Saxon goddess, Eostre (from whose name we get the direction East & the holiday Easter) is a dawn goddess, like Aurora & Eos. Just as the dawn is the time of new light, so the vernal equinox is the time of new life.

The Equinox is all about harmony & balance – that brief yet eternal time of equilibrium, when day & night are of equal length. In the fall, the darkness holds sway, but now for the spring season the light is triumphant.

What a perfect opportunity to tap into this celestial energy as it intersects our earthly ecliptic, a perfect opportunity to bring balance into our lives, harmony into our bodies.

We all have a mixture of yin & yang, darkness & light, female & male energies within us. Do they both have equal say? Or is one force overshadowing the other? Perhaps we are consciously putting more emphasis on one, to help develop that side, or maybe we just feel unbalanced & we don’t know why? Are we thinking too much, are we too sensitive, too busy doing, to just be? Is your left side tighter or looser than your right? Which side do you part your hair? Ah ha…! These are questions only you can answer for your Self.

Two other holidays also get mixed up in this ancient symbolism of Spring’s fertility. March 25th is called the ‘Annunciation of Mary.’ – the day that the Angel Gabriel announced that Mary, the Christian version of The Sophia, was pregnant with the son of god ; who is born 9 months later, on Dec. 25th. How’s that for a nice little spring fertility symbol.

It is also fitting that March is International Women’s month, since this is the time of the rebirth of nature. It’s a gentle reminder that we give birth to the future. The future is in our hands, the hands of the midwife, the lap of the mother, & the hands of the Peacemaker.

So let’s honor ourselves & thank the powers of love & light, knowing, March may come in like a lion, but it goes out like a lamb – As we re-conceive of ourselves in alignment with the powers of Spring…

Peace & Blessed Bee…~ Hazel Archer Ginsberg

 

Wings of the Dove the Cosmic Fire Does Inspire

Chicago Event, Festival, Quote, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Spring

May 15, 2016

Whitsun-day/Pentecost

John 20 19-23 Ed De Guzman

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’

After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’

When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” John 20:19-23

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pentecostblank-1
“And Suddenly there came from the sky a Noise like a Strong Driving Wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.

Then there appeared to them Tongues as of Fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all Filled with the Holy Spirit”. Acts 2: 2-3

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5thgospel

“Then came the moment when it seemed to the apostles that they had lived through a long time as in a dream from which they awoke with the Pentecost event.

The apostles felt impregnated by all-encompassing love and awakened from the dream-like state.

Now, however, they were as transformed: like people who had achieved a new state of mind or soul disposition, like people who had lost all the narrow restrictions, all the egotism of life, who had gained an infinitely wide heart and all-embracing tolerance, a deeply heartfelt understanding of all that is human on earth.

They could also express themselves so that everyone present could understand them.

One felt also that they could see into each heart and soul and clarify the secrets of the soul, so they could comfort the other, could tell him exactly what he needed.

Now, in that instant, understanding of what actually happened on Golgotha appeared before their minds’ eye.” ~From ‘The Fifth Gospel’ by Rudolf Steiner

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Cycle of the Yeary Sergei O. Prokofieff

“…After    His  Resurrection   from  the   dead  and  also  at  His   Ascension,    Christ   was   still  outside  the world  of   men;  He  had   not   endowed   their  individual   ego-consciousness   with  those  forces   which  He  had  already  borne  into Earth-existence   through  the  Mystery  of  Golgotha.

In order  that  this  might  come  about,  the festival  of Ascension  had  to  be  followed   by  the   Festival   of  Pentecost,  the  festival  of  the  outpouring  of  the   Holy   Spirit,   the  Spirit  of   Universal  Love,  upon  the  Apostles.

Rudolf   Steiner   speaks   about   this   as   follows: ‘From the event  of  Pentecost  onwards,  the  Christ-Being  experienced  His  entry  into  the  sphere  of  the  Earth,  which  signified  for  Him  what  the  transition into the  Spirit-Land signifies for the human being.

But  instead  of  ascending  –  as  is  the   case  with  a  human  being  after  death–  to  Devachan,  to  a  spiritual  region (that  is, as far as the World of  Archetypes),  the  Christ  Being  offered   up  His   sacrifice as  though  He  were   building  His  Heaven  on  the  Earth;  He  sought  it  on  the Earth.

Since  then,  and  for  all  future  ages  of  the  Earth,   it  has  become  possible  for  every  man  inwardly  to  experience  the  direct  presence  of  the  macrocosmic  Christ  through an  inner  experience  of  the  new  Holy  Spirit  who  proceeds   from  Him, who  quickens  the  soul  of    man  with a  universal,  cosmic  love, and   reveals  to  his  fully   awake  individual  ego-consciousness  a  perception  of   the     higher    worlds,  so  that  he  may  become  a   conscious witness  and   servant  of  the  Spirit. ” ~From ‘The  Cycle  of  the  Year   as  a  Path  of  Initiation, The  Mystery  of  Pentecost’  by Sergei O. Prokofieff

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whitsun circle

Whitsun-Day, 15 May 2016,  

~Festival of United Soul Endeavor

A Biography Atelier with Leah Walker

2pm -4pm

at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln, Chicago

$10 includes all artistic materials

Warmth: Contraction/Expansion

The Pulse of Me & We – AUM = A – I stand for myself, U – I stand for humanity, M – I stand for Life

Welcome Circle

What is Whitsun?

What is Biography Work?

It is good to remember that biography work (just like Whitsun) is really for the future–a more human and moral future.  It is an antidote to our increasing individuality, a remedy for the isolation so many of us feel deeply, painfully.  It is a new art form. In this, our current time, we may simply take small steps with and through biography–we may strive to develop this potentially great work.  ~Leah Walker

Exploring Ourselves as ‘Social Artist’:

‘Postcards’ – Imaginations that deepen our inner feeling for the role others play in creating who we are.

‘Life Triptych’ – Spontaneous Sketches, that open us to real moments from our lives; revealing the nature of our Spirit Self-hood.

We may therefore picture to ourselves that, by uniting in brotherliness in working groups, something hovers invisibly over our work, something like the child of the forces of the spirit self–  the spirit self that is nurtured by the beings of the higher hierarchies in order that it may stream down into our souls…In our groups we perform work that streams upward to those forces that are being prepared for the spirit self. ~Rudolf Steiner, Preparing for the Sixth Epoch, Dusseldorf, June 15, 1915

Spirit Recalling, Spirit Sensing, Spirit Beholding

Light divine,

Christ-Sun,

Warm Our hearts;

Enlighten Our heads;

That good may become

What from our hearts, We are founding,

What from our heads, We direct,

With focused will.

~Rudolf Steiner, The foundation Stone Mediation

Snacks to Share Encouraged !
For more info. Contact Hazel Archer Ginsberg ReverseRitual@gmail.com