Greetings Friends on this ‘The Ides of March’ 2020 – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way –*“

We can certainly agree that these are interesting times, & dear friends, we have signed up to be here in this life. So, yes, we are being called to raise our vibrations to meet every challenge, every opportunity. We know from Spiritual Science that ill health is brought about not only by human actions, but by our thoughts & feelings, which create conditions & circumstances for dis-ease. Sickness can be seen as an expression of the soul-spiritual state of the social organism of humanity. In this age of the ‘Consciousness Soul’, we are global citizens, teetering between individuation with its ‘social distancing’ & conscious community.

In times of crisis it is important to use critical thinking, which takes into account not only the materialistic science but spiritual science as well – asking questions, questioning answers…

Many folks are questioning the connection that the ‘Spanish flu’ of 1917-18 had with the 1^st World War, the war that beget all wars. At that time, materialistic science gave us new fields of technology – high powered machine guns, nerve gas & radio waves pervaded the atmosphere for the 1^st time – These developments were also wrapped up with fraudulent politics propagating divisive ideologies.

Dr. Rudolf Steiner revealed the link between the formation of viruses & bacteria & what could be called ‘the god Mammon’ – showing a prophetic connection that we can see in the world today between god-like corporations like the insurance & ‘healthcare’ industry & pharmaceutical companies who make billions from illnesses. But are we as a society so asleep, so hypnotized & indoctrinated by our screens that we don’t see this connection, or our own responsibility in the link with the increasing number of ‘natural catastrophes’ worldwide?

Theories by folks in the know like Dr. Francis Boyle, the man who was once responsible for pushing through legislation for biological weapons, who is now trying to give us a look into the inner workings of the pentagon, are labeled ‘conspiracy’, which is a catch phrase denoting crazy. But the word conspiracy actually means:  ‘a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful’. Why do we want to discredit or kill the messenger? Dr. Boyle who helped make biological weapons, says that coronavirus is a weaponized biological agent of global warfare that came out of a biowarfare lab.

Many respected doctors like Thomas Cowan & Dietrich Klinghardt are trying to alert us to the fact that there is a connection between coronavirus & places where there has been a recent rollout of 5G, like Wuhan, China & Milan, Italy. Here in the states, at Washington’s Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, one of the 1^st places in the US tricked out with 5G, there have been 6 confirmed deaths from the virus of patients who were in the hospital for other reasons.

Perhaps this ‘pandemic’ will raise our awareness of the health dangers of 5G? Maybe it will wake us up to the need to improve the US health system? It may help us think twice about our carbon footprint when we are deciding whether or not to fly? Can we enact measures to create new climate policies, like demanding subsidies be removed for corporate polluters?

Can this become the impetus to finally develop brotherhood in the economic realm, as seen in the example of the NBA’s Mark Cuban, who vows to pay the arena workers, from security to concessions & beyond, during the lock down.

And what about our own personal self-sacrifice? Every one hated Jimmy Carter when he asked folks to cut down on gas. But as individuals we need to do our part to address the climate crisis through our personal choices. Let’s put our money where our mouth is, supporting practices like bio-dynamics that heal & spiritualize not only our own health but the health of the earth.

How telling is it that there is a plague of locusts in Africa right now! When will we stop thinking something happening ’over there’ doesn’t absolutely effect everyone on the planet?

We are being called to develop tolerance, & interest in the other, fostering the energies of compassion & empathy to develop love, so that we cannot rest until help is given to everyone who is suffering. This kind of thinking opens us up to include not only this current health crisis, but all the worldwide issues like hunger & human rights abuse.

Besides the basic physical things already mentioned by many, let us practice ‘soul hygiene’, by doing constructive things like the Hallelujah in Eurythmy, (or Hope U, Love A, & Ah Ha Wonder) & The Foundation Stone Meditation at Sunrise (including the energy of the Sun gives us an extra boost) every day, to create a high spiritual vibration of Love & Light – Please join us for the healing of all.

~hag

*From, ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ (1859) by Charles Dickens.

Simple Hallelujah

The 5 panels of the Foundation Stone Meditation:

Human Soul!
You live within the limbs
Which bear you through the world of space
Into the spirit’s ocean-being:
Practice SPIRIT-RECALLING
In depths of soul,
Where in the wielding
World-Creator-Being
Your own I
Comes into being
In the I of God
And you will truly LIVE
In human world-all being.

For the Father-Spirit of the heights holds sway
In depths of worlds begetting life.
Spirits of Strength: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones
Let ring forth from the heights
What in the depths is echoed,
Speaking: Ex deo nascimur –
Out of the Godhead we are born.

This is heard by the spirits of the elements
In east, west, north, south:
May human beings hear it!

Human Soul!
You live within the beat of heart and lung
Which leads you through the rhythms of time
Into the feeling of your own soul-being:
Practice SPIRIT-SENSING
In balance of the soul,
Where the surging deeds
Of world-evolving
Unite your own I
With the I of the world;
And you will truly FEEL,
In human soul’s creating.
For the Christ-will encircling us holds sway,
In world rhythms, bestowing
Grace upon souls.
Spirits of Light: Kyriotetes, Dynamis, Exusiai
Let from the east be enkindled
What through the west takes on form;
Speaking: In Christo morimur –
In Christ death becomes life.

This is heard by the spirits of the elements
In east, west, north, south:
May human beings hear it!

Human Soul!
You live within the resting head
Which from the grounds of eternity
Unlocks for you world-thoughts:
Practice SPIRIT-BEHOLDING
In stillness of thought,
Where the eternal goals of the gods
Bestow the light of cosmic being
On your own I
For free and active willing
And you will truly THINK
In human spirit depths.

For the Spirit’s world-thoughts
Hold sway
In cosmic being, imploring light.
Spirits of Soul: Archai, Archangeloi, Angeloi
Let from the depths be entreated
What in the heights will be heard,
Speaking: Per spiritum sanctum reviviscimus
In the spirit’s cosmic thoughts the soul awakens.

This is heard by the spirits of the elements
In east, west, north, south:
May human beings hear it

At the turning point of time
The cosmic spirit-light of the world
Entered the stream of earth existence.
Darkness of night had ceased its reign;
Day-radiant light
Shone forth in human souls:
Light
That gives warmth
To simple shepherd’s hearts;
Light
That enlightens
The wise heads of kings.

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 Single purpose
And focused willing
~By Rudolf Steiner, Translation by Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

POD (Poem Of the Day

~In the beginning & at the end
The book is opened
And we see what we must
Remember.
We are made of god-stuff
The explosion of stars
Waves of light
Molded into form
Secrets writ large on the scroll of each soul
The laws of creation
Death & change inscribed in the blood
A Sun-seed ever expanding
In eternal thoughts
That led to love…
But where is Wisdom?
~hag

The ‘Merry Prep-Stirs of Chicago’ invite you to stir it up with us on the Vernal Equinox 19 March 2020 (the earliest date for the Equinox in 124 years) we will gather at 7 pm together with the Thursday Study Group at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in America – Chicago while reading Steiner. At this years Fellowship of Prep makers Gathering, I was gifted the 500 & 501 preps by Lloyd Nelson. We will also work with these at Sunrise on Easter Sunday at the “Magic Hedge” by Montrose Beach. contact Hazel or Brita Finlayson for Details.

***

Greetings friends – Our Easter Retreat ‘KNOW THYSELF – Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology’ – a combined effort of the CRC & AAP is POSTPONED.

We will continue to evaluate the world situation & will revisit this potent working in late Summer or early Autumn. 

If you have registered already, you can roll that over & it will be honored when the event goes forward later this year. Or if you would like a refund, contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@peoplepc.com

We will use our next CRC Zoom Meeting to explore together the spiritual psychology & karma of epidemics.

April 8^th 2020, 7:15 pm CST

Let us stand together with courage in this now, as we look to our future with equanimity, holding all that comes before us as being guided by a divine directive waiting to be revealed by our patient spiritual investigation.

Yours in service ~The CRC team: Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton

***

Sacred Gateway: Conscious Living, Conscious Dying, and the Journey Beyond

Festivals for the Dead, the Unborn, and the evolution of Earth – Then and Now. with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Explore the ancient origins of the many cultural expressions that work with, celebrate, & honor our beloved dead. Prepare the way for the Unborn, and for the future of humanity. Become inspired to Renew or Create your own Tradition. Through Spiritual Science learn to find your destiny, and meet your karma. Prepare for your own conscious crossing into the journey between death and rebirth, by asking questions like: Who have I been? Who am I now? Where am I going…? Who do I want to become?

THIS EVENT WILL NOW BE HELD ONLINE APRIL 17-19.  STAY TUNED FOR NEW REGISTRATION INFORMATION! 

***

Our dear Dr. Steiner said: ‘It is not the Christ we lack, but the knowledge of Christ, the Sophia of Christ, the Isis of Christ we are lacking.’ In ‘Ancient Myths and the New Isis Mystery: Their Meaning and Connection with Evolution’ Lecture 3; given in Dornach, 6 January 1918, by Rudolf Steiner; we hear how the power of ‘The Word, the power of The Logos’, must be resurrected through our striving to activate the Wisdom of Anthroposophia within each of us. Join Hazel Archer-Ginsberg for a powerful presentation Lifting the Veil of the New Isis-Sophia, to bring Light to Love.

~Vitae Sophia~A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Saturday, 30 May, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm Groh Farm, 135 Temple Rd, Wilton, NH

Eurythmy: AUM = A – I stand for myself, U- I stand for humanity, M – I stand for Life

Social Sculpture: Steiner’s ‘Blue Dot Exercise’– Through Art, the bridge between science & spirit, we warm the ‘I’, to open the heart, in support of healthy community.

What are my gifts-What are my tools? How can I place them in right relationship within the social realm? How can I hone them to strengthen and enhance the world?

Living into the Foundation Stone of Love – How can we take our individual Inner Whitsun & expand it, into what Steiner calls the “World Festival of Knowledge” a path leading from ‘Sprit Recollection’, to ‘Sprit Sensing’, to ‘Sprit Beholding’?

Enter the Labyrinth of ‘Vitae Sophia’ – Human hearts, once warmed, can rise up to meet the source of wisdom, like flowers turning toward the sun.  

$30 suggested donation at the door, with potluck lunch to follow
(please bring a dish to share) RSVP deb@anthroposophy.org Sponsored by the Anthroposophical Society in New Hampshire

***

Also part of the tour 

3 June 2020 – a Round Table Discussion 7 pm – 9 pm on ‘The Sophia’ with John Bloom, Joan Sleigh, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg & Carrie Schuchardt  at The House of Peace in Ipswich, MA. 

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

Whitsun 2020 Vitae Sophia

Beloved Michaelites, polish your shield until it shines like the Sun, & sharpen the sword of your clear thinking, so that together, we may redeem the Cosmic Intelligence to bring right perspective to our world thoughts today.  

We are called to see the true image of ‘corona’: a circling wreath, an auric rainbow of light revealing the realm of formative forces, the etheric glow of the human being wearing the crown of our divine birthright.

Our role-model for this crowning can be seen up in the starry sky. Have you ever noticed this circle of light around the Sun on a cloudy day, or embracing Bella Luna when she is Full? (Look for this tonight – it is the Full Worm Moon)

This ‘Crowning’ is a powerful image of childbirth.

Will we make it our intention to attend humanities Coronation? Or will we participate in the fear-based counter-image of the Corona – a piercing crown of thorns, eclipsing our true nature, a panicked rush toward the war-of-all-against-all, come too soon…?

Is this another attempt to darken & obscure our vision of the etheric Christ – a continued coup, usurping the Crown of Isis-Sophia – a corporate weapon of terror, gone viral, by the bought & sold media, employed by the lethal beasts of fear, hatred, & doubt…?

For some time now the world appears to have fallen under the spell of these 3 beasts. And their contagion is like a fast spreading virus –constricting the human heart, creating a shrouding corona of darkness around Mother Earth. These dark spikes of dis-ease drive us apart, dismember us, pin us in isolation.

Whether the concern about this virus is justified, whether it is concocted by the dark brotherhoods, connected with 5G, propagated by corrupt politics, big pharma, & corporate greed; for many people it is a real & present danger.

Of course it is always good to be reminded to practice Common Sense, which encourages us to take necessary precautions, like washing our hands & keeping our physical body healthy, by eating well, & exercising; Our mental body strong by practicing the 6 basic exercises, meditating…etc…; Our etheric body agile, with good rhythmic habits; And, purifying our astral body, by letting go of negative emotions & building healing imaginations. Because we know that when we are living in fear, propagating hatred, or fostering doubt, we are not only more susceptible to illness, but we close ourselves off from our fellow human beings – we put up a wall, so that instead of the power of a true Democracy where the people can work together to find solutions & find safety in numbers, we are fighting against each other.

Is this manufactured (or karmic?) pandemic meant to trigger the negative side of the consciousness soul age, that anti-social part of us – that keeps us from unifying – from developing compassion, interest & love of the other – keeps us under mandatory quarantine, or under house arrest for our own good – a justification for the imposition of global martial law…?

Sure it’s easy to get caught up in trying to find the narrative, but we must not let the 3 beasts of fear, hatred & doubt creep in & set-up a breeding ground in our thinking, multiplying in our feeling life, infecting our willing – so that we act out, or become frozen – paralyzed.  These beasts certainly create a cold environment, freezing-up the immune system, tightening tensions, giving rise to anxiety.

In the coming years, humanity is expected to face many global crises in various forms. Fear, hatred & doubt will not be good resources for solutions or collaborations.

How can we call out the adversarial powers without getting infected by them? Rudolf Steiner tells us we must recognize, & name these materialistic counter-powers, which foster lies, gossip, suspicion, racism, & hypocrisy. These are the counter-images of the healthy human qualities of warmth, enthusiasm, & reverence – Faith, Hope, Charity & Love – which we must strive to cultivate.

We can work to redeem these traits in ourselves; this will have its reflection in the world.  Will we take this opportunity to build our courage? This builds the health of our Soul-forces of Thinking, Feeling, & Willing, & makes straight the path of our highest evolution.

Aristotle taught us that courage can be trained. Today, more than ever, dear Michaelites we are being called to take up this training, & put it into action in our every thought, word & deed.  There are many opportunities to do this work together. Come join us in Conscious Community.

~hag

***

KNOW THYSELF – Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology — an Easter-Tide Retreat 9 -12 April 2020,

Registration is now open for the Easter-Tide Retreat: “Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology” presented by the Central Regional Council and the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology 

Maundy Thursday 9 April 2020 Noon through Easter Sunday at 3 pm
Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL

AAP:James A. Dyson, M.D., Roberta Nelson, Ph.D., and David Tresemer, Ph.D. with Susan Overhauser, Ph.D.

CRC:Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton

Eurythmist: Mary Ruud

Activities:

• Art-Acts
• Star Wisdom
• The Karma Exercises
• Experiential PAGEANT on Holy Saturday: ‘Sophia-Christos- ‘Know Thyself’
• Easter Sunrise Songtrail
• Optional service at the Christian Community
• Communal meals and time for Conversation

Lectures:

• ‘Living into Karma through the Senses’
• ‘How to find the Self in a Sea of Karma’
• ‘Unfolding the Enigma of the Saturn Path’
• ‘The Gesture of Karma’
• ‘Christ as Lord of Karma — how do I access this in terms of my personal psychology?’

Conference Fees (includes 1 meal per day & art supplies):

• $190 Supporter Level
• $140 Standard Rate
• $60 Youth Rate (Age 35 and under)

Limited scholarships available. Click here to apply.

You are welcome to join us for individual lectures or activites $20 or $50 per day

Click here for program information and to register

We are looking for folks in Chicago who can offer Home Stays. Please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@peoplepc.com

***

Sacred Gateway: Conscious Living, Conscious Dying, and the Journey Beyond April 16-19, 2020 in Detroit, MI.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

• Bring a new consciousness to your own life and death
• Support those who are crossing and who have crossed over 
• Expand your practice and knowledge of working with the dying

Through interactive workshops, triad sharing, keynote discussions with Rev. Patrick Kennedy, Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg,  Dr. Melinda Toney, and more, as well as experiential and artistic activities, we will consciously explore the spiritual and practical aspect of human life and death. 

Conference Fees:

• $280 Supporter Level
• $195 Standard ASA Member Rate
• $215 Non-Member Rate 
• $60 Youth Rate (Age 35 and under)

Pre-conference Activities: 

Thursday, April 16  

2 pm Tour of Brightmoor Maker’s Space  

4 pm  Screening of short film The Art of Natural Death Care  Detroit Waldorf School Auditorium- By Donation  

7pm Screening of a Will For The Woods Detroit Waldorf School Auditorium- Open to the public!  $10 Suggested Donation 

Friday, April 17

10:00-1:00p Registration Opens 
10:00-12:00p Choose from two pre-conference activities at the Detroit Waldorf School 

• Exploring the Beauty of home funerals and green burial: Photo essay and Q&A with Merilynne Rush, MS, End-of-Life Doula Trainer and Home Funeral Guide (Open to the public. Donation accepted at the door) 
• The Story of Detroit: A Walking Songtrail (Meet in the school playground. Approx. two mile walk)

12:00p Bag Lunch (For Purchase) 
1:00p  Conference Opening 
1:45-3:00p  Keynote Discussion with Rev. Patrick Kennedy: Befriending Death 
3:00-3:30p Break
3:30-5:00p  Festivals for the Dead, the Unborn, and the evolution of Earth – Then and Now. with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg.- – Explore the ancient origins of the many cultural expressions that work with, celebrate, & honor our beloved dead. Prepare the way for the Unborn, and for the future of humanity. Become inspired to Renew or Create your own Tradition. Through Spiritual Science learn to find your destiny, and meet your karma. Prepare for your own conscious crossing into the journey between death and rebirth, by asking questions like: Who have I been? Who am I now? Where am I going…? Who do I want to become?

ALL WORKSHOPS CHOSEN ON SITE  
Fuller descriptions coming soon! 

• From Loss to Connection Through the Arts: Reading, Writing and Drawing with Marianne Dietzel and Maureen Flannery
  Together we will invite our loved ones across the threshold to join us in experiencing practices thet connect and heal. We will read to the dead, write prose and poetry, and draw from gestures of nature.
• BIOGRAPHY: GIFTS OF REVIEWING LIFE AND CONNECTING TO LIFE AFTER DEATH     Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox
• A HOME DEATH CARE STORY: CONSCIOUS DYING AND THE HOME VIGIL~BASED ON DYING OF WAYNE TONEY    Dr. Melinda Toney, Carole Schoaf, and Katherine Blackburn 
• MULTI-CULTURAL APPROACHES: ANCIENT AND MODERN/ SACRED AND ESOTERIC: FESTIVALS FOR THE DEAD. THEN AND NOW. RENEW OR CREATE YOUR OWN TRADITION  Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Julia Torres and Guests 

5:30-6:30 Choose: Eurythmy (Movement), Singing, or Poetry 
6:30 Evening Appetizer Reception (Included in registration fee) 
7:30-9:00 Evening Performance 

Saturday April 18 – All workshops chosen on site/Saturday Lunch and Dinner for purchase 

8:00 Coffee/Tea/Breakfast Snacks (Included in Regisration Fee) 
8:30-9:15 Choose: Eurythmy (Movement), Singing, or Poetry 
9:30-11:00 Three-Day Themed Workshops   
11:00-11:30 Break
11:30-12:30 Vigil Room Experience  
12:30 – 2:00  Lunch and Table Conversations 

2:15 – 3:45 Topic Workshops
    Workshop Choices Coming Soon! 

3:45-4:15 Break

4:15-5:45 Story Space: Death & Healing 

5:45-7:00 Dinner With Your Dinner Table Groups 

7:30-9:00 Evening Performance with Sarah Putnam: Little Gidding by TS Elliot followed by Memento Mori Ritual 
 

Sunday, April 19 – All workshops chosen on site

8:00 Coffee/Tea/Breakfast Snacks (Included in Registration Fee) 

8:30-9:15 Choose: Eurythmy (Movement), Singing, or Poetry 

9:30 – 11:00 Three Day Themed Workshops 

11:30-1:00 Green Burial Ceremony and Closing 

***

~Vitae Sophia~A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Saturday, 30 May, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm Groh Farm, 135 Temple Rd, Wilton, NH

Eurythmy: AUM = A – I stand for myself, U- I stand for humanity, M – I stand for Life

Social Sculpture: Steiner’s ‘Blue Dot Exercise’– Through Art, the bridge between science & spirit, we warm the ‘I’, to open the heart, in support of healthy community.

What are my gifts-What are my tools? How can I place them in right relationship within the social realm? How can I hone them to strengthen and enhance the world?

Living into the Foundation Stone of Love – How can we take our individual Inner Whitsun & expand it, into what Steiner calls the “World Festival of Knowledge” a path leading from ‘Sprit Recollection’, to ‘Sprit Sensing’, to ‘Sprit Beholding’?

Enter the Labyrinth of ‘Vitae Sophia’ – Human hearts, once warmed, can rise up to meet the source of wisdom, like flowers turning toward the sun.  

$30 suggested donation at the door, with potluck lunch to follow
(please bring a dish to share) RSVP deb@anthroposophy.org Sponsored by the Anthroposophical Society in New Hampshire

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

***

Our dear Dr. Steiner said: ‘It is not the Christ we lack, but the knowledge of Christ, the Sophia of Christ, the Isis of Christ we are lacking.’ In ‘Ancient Myths and the New Isis Mystery: Their Meaning and Connection with Evolution’ Lecture 3; given in Dornach, 6 January 1918, by Rudolf Steiner; we hear how the power of ‘The Word, the power of The Logos’, must be resurrected through our striving to activate the Wisdom of Anthroposophia within each of us. Join Hazel Archer-Ginsberg for a powerful presentation Lifting the Veil of the New Isis-Sophia, to bring Light to Love.

4 March 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: At nightfall, Bella Luna forms a nearly equilateral triangle with Procyon to her lower left & Betelgeuse to her lower right. Those are the top two stars of the Winter Triangle; the third is brighter Sirius below them.

***

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Thought finds form
All that is forgotten returns
Transformed in the doing
This moment marks a time
Like a black obsidian
Reflecting sunlight
Into my mind’s eye
~hag

***

On this anniversary of Ita Wegman’s Crossing of the Threshold into the spiritual world, in 1943, here is a memory picture of Dr. Wegman by Dr. Norbet Glas, the founder of the Lucas Clinic, next to the Wegman Clinic in Arlesheim (shared by Dottie Zold)

‘The request to write about Dr. Wegman has moved me deeply and given me such cause for thought. I have come to the conclusion that there must be very few people whose personality is so difficult to describe as hers. For example, to write a personal account of Dr. Wegman, one must have the gift to create a real and vivid life picture in any description of her. For such she always was : full of a natural, unquenchable source of life – a complete human being, with all the truly human qualities. And such people are admired by many, loved by many, but also misunderstood and even hated by many. Who, then, is right?

Like an answer to this question a memory-picture arises of Dr. Wegman in a room with Rudolf Steiner. Her figure was erect; she was wearing a brightly colored dress. With shining eyes she watched a little group of doctor-friends who had gathered together there. I observe Rudolf Steiner keenly. Never had I seen him like this. He looked at her with an infinitely loving expression. He seemed to me like a father who, with admiration and respect was watching his grown up daughter, and at the same time was very proud of her.

With this picture in mind, one knows for certain, that as long as confidence in Rudolf Steiner remains, one must think of Dr. Wegman too, with admiration and thankfulness.

Simpler pictures ruse up in my memory: the breakfast table in the early days of the Arlesheim Clinic. There of us often sat there together. She was generally first, and waited for us. She did not like one to come late, though I hardly ever heard a direct remark about it. She often read the morning newspaper with the greatest interests, and I know that this rather surprised me. It had been my opinion that Anthroposophists concerned themselves very little with newspapers! But it was characteristic of her, that she had the greatest interest in everything that was happening in the world. It seemed to her just as important to read the Basler Nachrichten as to hear the reports about the patients from us or from the nurses. At times, indeed, something like indignation came over me that she seemed to be more interested in an article in the newspaper than in the report of the night nurse. She did not pay attention to the report, but read and read, and only when she had finished, asked the nurse to repeat it.

Her absolute unwearied activity in those days could only be marveled at. She organized the new Clinic, and saw the patients who were living in; she visited those outside; she held regular consultations in Basle at that time, in the afternoons. She concerned herself with the production of medicines and evolved plans for making them widely known. Her head was full of ideas for the Curative Education Institutes just being established. She sought for connections with many people, and developed these. And with the ingenuousness of someone who is herself unassuming, and asks for nothing for herself personally, she often convinced people how they could put their money to the right use, as she indeed hoped it was. No one can be surprised that many such undertakings went wrong. But she never grew weary of beginning again to discover fresh ways.

In the evenings she often went to Rudolf Steiner, told him of her experiences, asked his advice and listened to what he wished of her. She was late in coming back and we waited for her. Often she told us then what she wished and what Rudolf Steiner had advised.

Her great sense of humour was one of her delightful qualities and hardly anyone in the Clinic could laugh as heartily as she. And as a keen observer, she found very many opportunities for laughter. I can still almost hear her hearty laughter when she once heard me trying awkwardly to say something in Swiss-German dialect to a patient from the village.

If she had a plan in her mind, she tried every way to bring her thoughts to realization. She wanted to try it with everybody, expecting from each the capabilities that were necessary. She was eager to carry it through, and she had confidence in people. If they did not go with her, she soon let the matter drop, without being annoyed with them for long. The proposal was suddenly made to me once (I was then quite young) to become the director of a business. I felt neither the inclination nor had I the slightest ability to fill such a post. (At that time I had only contempt for everything in the business world.) she described to me in glowing colors how well I could do it. I did not wish to undertake it and she realized this at once. I spent a sleepless night. What should I do? The next morning I saw Dr. Wegman again. She was friendly and interested, as always – but nothing more was said about the ‘directorship’ – never a word more. And here let another quality of hers be called to mind which I have hardly ever seen so wonderfully developed in anyone else: if people did not do what she asked, or behaved unfairly towards her, she never held it against them for long. She could be overpoweringly angry, so angry that one could only be astonished at it, but in a short time it was all over, and she was always ready to hold out the hand of reconciliation.

She was so untiringly active that she never gave herself time really to feel seriously hurt. She was filled with a glowing will-power which communicated itself to others. Her one great wish was that the scientific world should recognize the significance of Anthroposophy. She thought that by far the best way would be to let the scientists make direct contact with Rudolf Steiner. In the last years of Rudolf Steiner’s life he came to Vienna. In the morning, Dr. Wegman talked over with us the possibility of arranging a meeting with the greatest scientists of Vienna. That was her plan. And we were so delighted, and so fired with her impulse that we let everything else stand aside, and did nothing but go in search of people who seemed to us important. We invited them, and tried to convince them that they would be missing a rare opportunity if they did not come to our meeting that evening. We succeeded, and Rudolf Steiner came together in the evening with the most eminent doctors and scientists of Vienna; he gave an address, followed by a discussion until late into the night which none of those present will ever have forgotten.

She was so untiring in her efforts to carry Rudolf Steiner’s teaching far out into the world, because she felt the menacing approach of world catastrophes. Rudolf Steiner himself had given enough warning of it, and consciousness of the threatening evils would not let her rest.

Women as active as she often begin to display a certain hardness, and pride themselves on their virility. This was never so with Dr. Wegman; one was always aware of great womanhood. She never tried to imitate men, either, in her broad minded thinking. In fact, she lived entirely in certain plans for the future, as to how a great medical and pedagogical movement, on the basis of Rudolf Steiner’s ideas, might be brought to realization. In the realizing of these ideas, she would allow nothing to disturb her. And the many ‘clever’ men, who so often wanted to show her, by rigid logic, how impossible everything would be or what mistakes she had made – all these she really disliked, and was bored by them. People were offended by this trait in her, for they did not understand it. She would not allow her ardour to be quenched or her untiring zeal to make good use of the time as long as it was still possible to do something. If she had spoken her mind, however, to the person concerned, and he had been very vexed, she was truly sorry. But she would bear with no narrowness, and therefore could not endure certain qualities, such as egoism, vanity, and – most of all – stupidity. If she had been very angry and had spoken in a temperamental way, she would suddenly stop, begin to laugh, and say: ‘But really, it is so stupid!’ And usually it was very stupid. She simply hated that kind of logic by which the spirit is restricted. She had in her something of a power with which she could make the impossible possible. This is needed in true medical work and she had this will to heal as no one else. This fire in her nature stimulated the doctors who were round her, and for that we shall be eternally thankful to her. She was ready to help at any moment. If she was not immediately ready with the advice she wanted to give, she went to Rudolf Steiner, asked him and at once brought the answer. In Vienna I often received word from her within twenty four hours from Basle as to what to do in this or that case.

Like all magnanimous people, she was full of praise and appreciation for good work. I remember how she came once to one of the Homes which indeed had been founded at her suggestion, but had not yet been seen in full working order. In the morning – having arrived the night before – she looked all round, and said, with warm admiration: ‘I could not have believed that Rudolf Steiner would be so alive here!’ And she praised everything. We even felt that it was more than we deserved. But it was such a joy for her when something succeeded, that she found no limits to her praise. Those who accompanied her were not always too pleased about this! But if she noticed it – and she generally did notice – then she made a point of expressing her appreciation all the more!

The last time I was able to see her – shortly before the outbreak of war – she seemed to have greatly changed. One felt a great power of peace flowing from her. But it was no longer the earthly, warrior-nature which used formerly to show itself: now it was deep pain and wisdom. She wanted to help everyone for whom there was something she could do. More people from Germany and Austria asked help from her than she could undertake. How moved she was when one day I brought to her a doctor from Vienna who had fled and waded through a stream in the night, so as to be able to cross the border at an unguarded spot! He possessed nothing but his soaked clothes, and he was quite destitute. She had never seen the man before. All her warmheartedness broke through at such a moment and she did everything that was possible at that time. Long afterwards this doctor wrote with admiration of our ‘Colleague’ at Arlesheim.

If these few pictures from her life help to indicated something of the character of Dr. Wegman, the aim and intention of the writer is achieved. Their purpose has been to bring to remembrance those great human qualities which made her want to lead us towards lofty goals.’

Gloucester, England

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth)

1678 – Birthday of Antonio Vivaldi, an Italian, Baroque musical composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher, & priest. Born in Venice, the capital of the Venetian Republic, he is regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, & his influence during his lifetime was widespread across Europe. He composed many instrumental concertos, as well as sacred choral works & more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as the Four Seasons.

Many of his compositions were written for the all-female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children. Vivaldi had worked there as a Catholic priest.

After meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna, hoping for royal support. However, the Emperor died soon after Vivaldi’s arrival, & Vivaldi himself died, in poverty, less than a year later.

1868 – Birthday of Harry Collison, the 1^st General Secretary of the British Anthroposophical Society. In his early days Collison was a Freemason & Theosophist, he founded a group called the ‘Myrdhin’ Group, which was then renamed the ‘Zarathustra’ Group, at the suggestion of Rudolf Steiner.

Collison translated many of Steiner’s works into English, & was involved with the arrangements for many summer conferences held at Oxford, feathering ‘eurhythmy’ in the hall of Keble College.I n 1914 Collison arranged for several performers from Dornach to visit the UK & demonstrate the art to the study groups. The performers were Lori Maier-Smits, her younger sister Ada, Elisabeth Dollfus & Flossy von Sonklar. His exposure to eurhythmy had begun the previous year, when he had participated in the premier of f Steiner’s mystery play, The Soul’s Awakening, put on in Munich. Collison was one of the gnomes.

Even with his heavy involvement with Anthroposophy from 1910, Collison did not give up his artistic interest; in fact he described his subsequent career as “fairly successful”

Due to its continued loud support for Wegman & Vreede, the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain was expelled from the General Anthroposophical Society in 1935. The British Society finally rejoined the General Anthroposophical Society in 1963.

He was variously described by those who knew him as charming, humorous, whimsical & genial, a delightful companion with whom to take a walk in the country or a tour of an art gallery, a provider of wise advice & counsel. He could also be excitable in conversation, authoritarian in his approach to dealing with issues & curt in manner if he lost patience. As Marie Steiner von Sivers, wrote, he enjoyed a rich life.

1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect. The United States Bill of Rights is written and proposed to Congress

1797 – John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd President of the United States of America

1852 – Deathday of Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, (the Government Inspector) & playwright

1916 – Deathday Franz Marc, killed in action, German painter, one of the key figures of German Expressionism. He was a founding member of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a journal whose name later became synonymous with the circle of artists collaborating in it.

1943 – Death day of Dr. Ita Wegman, co-founder of Anthroposophical Medicine with Rudolf Steiner. In 1921, she founded the first anthroposophical medical clinic in Arlesheim, Switzerland.

Ita Wegman, was born in Karawang, West Java, the first child of a Dutch colonial family. Around the turn of the century, she went to Europe & studied therapeutic gymnastics & massage. In 1902, when she was 26, she met Rudolf Steiner, who encouraged her to become a medical doctor. She began at the University of Zurich, where women were allowed to study medicine.

She developed a special form of massage therapy, called rhythmical massage, & other therapeutic treatments. In 1917, having opened an independent practice, she developed a cancer treatment using an extract of mistletoe following indications from Steiner. This first remedy, which she called Iscar, was later developed into Iscador & has become an important cancer treatment

By 1919 she had a joint practice together with two other doctors, also women. In 1920 she purchased land in Arlesheim, where she opened her own clinic, the Klinisch-Therapeutisches Institut, or Clinical-Therapeutic Institute, the next year. A number of other doctors joined the institute, which grew steadily over the next years as a first center for anthroposophical medicine. In 1922 she founded a therapeutic home for mentally handicapped children, Haus Sonnenhof, also in Arlesheim, & co-founded a pharmaceutical laboratory, Weleda, that has since grown into a significant producer of medicines & health-care products.

In the following year, Rudolf Steiner asked Wegman to join the Executive Council of the newly reformed Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. Steiner also named her as the head of the First Class of the School of Spiritual Science. She also directed the Medical Section of the research center at the Goetheanum.

Together, Wegman & Steiner wrote what was to be Steiner’s last book, Extending Practical Medicine (earlier editions were published as Fundamentals of Therapy), which gave a theoretical basis to the new medicine they were developing. The book was partly written while Wegman cared for Steiner, who was already terminally ill. Wegman founded a new medical journal, Natura, the following year.

In 1936, the clinic opened a second home in Ascona, Switzerland. Shortly thereafter, difficulties between Wegman & the rest of the Executive Council flared up,& Wegman was asked to leave the Council; in addition, she& a number of supporters had their membership in the Anthroposophical Society itself withdrawn.

Her medical work & personal inner development flourished, however, & Wegman travelled extensively in support of the rapidly growing movement to extend medicine’s limits; she was especially active in the Netherlands & England during this time.

Dr. Ita Wegman died in Arlesheim in 1943, at the age of 67.

1977 – The 1977 Vrancea earthquake in eastern and southern Europe kills more than 2,500, mostly in Bucharest, Romania.

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KNOW THYSELF – Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology — an Easter-Tide Retreat 9 -12 April 2020

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Sacred Gateway: Conscious Living, Conscious Dying, and the Journey Beyond April 16-19, 2020 in Detroit, MI.

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~Vitae Sophia~

A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Saturday, 30 May, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

$30 suggested donation, with potluck lunch to follow.

Groh Farm, 135 Temple Rd, Wilton, NH

RSVP deb@anthroposophy.org

Eurythmy: AUM = A – I stand for myself, U- I stand for humanity, M – I stand for Life

Social Sculpture: Steiner’s ‘Blue Dot Exercise’– Through Art, the bridge between science & spirit, we warm the ‘I’, to open the heart, in support of healthy community.

What are my gifts-What are my tools? How can I place them in right relationship within the social realm? How can I hone them to strengthen and enhance the world?

Enter the Labyrinth of ‘Vitae Sophia’ – Human hearts, once warmed, can rise up to meet the source of wisdom, like flowers turning toward the sun.  

Living into the Foundation Stone of Love – How can we take our individual Inner Whitsun & expand it, into what Steiner calls the “World Festival of Knowledge” a path leading from ‘Sprit Recollection’, to ‘Sprit Sensing’, to ‘Sprit Beholding’?

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