Category Archives: Winter

The dark space between the stars

Insight, Meditation, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars, Winter

22 December 2016 – Astro-Weather: This is the time of year when Orion shines in the east-southeast after dinnertime. He’s well up now, but his three-star Belt is still nearly vertical. The Belt points up toward Aldebaran &, even higher, the 7 Sisters: the Pleiades. In the other direction, it points down to where bright Sirius is about to rise twinkling in the bright colors of the rainbow

The waning crescent Moon appears just above Jupiter in this morning’s sky. The benevolent king rises about a half-hour after our satellite bella Luna, & both are clear of the horizon by 2 am CST. They remain conspicuous until twilight is well underway. If you look carefully, you also should see Spica in their vicinity. Virgo the Maiden’s luminary lies about the same distance below Jupiter as the Moon stands above it.

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O Rex Gentium – Prince of Peace

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.

O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.

Isaiah had prophesied: “For a child has been born for us, a son given us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 – “He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” Isaiah 2:4

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.” ~Aldous Huxley

304 – Deathday of Saint Florian a Christian holy man, and the patron saint of Linz, Austria; chimney sweeps; soapmakers, & firefighters. The “Florian Principle” (known in German language areas as “Sankt-Florians-Prinzip”) is named after a somewhat ironic prayer to Saint Florian: “O heiliger Sankt Florian, verschon’ mein Haus, zünd’ and’re an”, equivalent to “O Holy St. Florian, please spare my house, set fire to another one”. This saying is used in German much like the English “not in my back yard“, when the speaker wants to point out that some person tries to get out of an unpleasant situation by an action that will put others in that very same situation. The name Florian is considered synonymous with fireman in the German speaking world. In some cases call for a fireman will actually be spoken as calls for Florian.

856 – Damghan earthquake kills an estimated 200,000 people, the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history

1808 – Ludwig van Beethoven conducts & performs in concert at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, with the premiere of his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto (performed by Beethoven himself) & Choral Fantasy (with Beethoven at the piano)

1851 – India’s first freight train is operated in Roorkee, India

1890 – Cornwallis Valley Railway begins operation between Kentville &Kingsport, Nova Scotia.

1891 – Asteroid 323 Brucia becomes the first asteroid discovered using photography

1937 – The Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic in New York City

1942 –Adolf Hitler signs the order to develop the V-2 rocket as a weapon

1989 – Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East & West Germany

1989 – Deathday of Samuel Beckett, Irish author, poet, & playwright, Nobel Prize laureate

2008 – An ash dike ruptured at a solid waste containment area in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion US gallons of coal fly ash slurry

2010 – The repeal of the Don’t ask, don’t tell policy, the 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the United States military, is signed into law by President Barack Obama

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POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Darkness gives
Way to light…
Confusion to understanding…
My green heart
Witch was pitched into the fire
Sizzles like fresh kill…
& the stars fade like memory
The instant before dawn…
High in the East, Bella Luna rounds space
Opening like a laughing eye…
That which can be named must exist…
That which is named can be written…
That which is written is remembered…
What is remembered lives…
Let the rest
Rest…
~hag

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…’The wine dark sea’…
…The active dark womb…
…The dark space between the stars…
Wrap this darkness gently about you like a comfortable blanket…Float gently now in its depths…Grow here, nourished by an invisible cord that connects you to the Source of all life…Floating gently in the dark…Softly rocking in the dark…And although it is dark, we realize that what surrounds us is not empty, but – like the womb – full of life. Take a moment now to sense the swirling, nurturing energy of the dark.

And now, as the energy increases, there is a spark…& the  dark gives birth…See that spark now as it glows, watch that spark now, watch it as it grows. Glowing brighter & brighter, it grows into a flame. And as you look at this flame, its light fills you with warmth…the light fills you with love. And as you feel the increased love & warmth within you, the visible intensity of the flame slowly diminishes & as it does, in its place, slowly coming to light, is the outline of a present. A gift…becoming more solid, until you can see its form clearly. Look how it is wrapped in a glistening filament of light.

This gift has your name on it, inscribed in the glimmering material. Is your name written in a special color? Is the inscription special in any other way? Approach your wrapped present now more closely. What shape is it? How big is it? What color is its wrapping? Pick it up: is it light? heavy?

And now you unwrap your gift. How easy or difficult is it to unwrap?

You finish opening your present….now receive your gift. What is it? Look at it carefully. Experience it fully. Accept it. Accept your gift with joy. Feel your heart warm with the love with which this gift is given to you.

And now, from your heart, send out gratitude for this gift, send out thanks for this gift, send it out like light, like a beacon back to the Great Mother, back to the Father Ground, out to the Universe- both the dark & the light. Send out your thanks for this gift.

Now, if you wish, find a place for this gift, a safe place where you can access this gift, a place to put this gift to work, that it may bless the world & give you the strength you need during the whole of the New Year.

Lighting a candle:
Deep in the ground of the human soul
Of victory assured
The Spirit-Sun is living
All through the winter of the inner life
The faithful heart divines it

See you in the dark
Find you in the light
Xox ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

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Current Festival & Program Events

SOL INVICTA

Celestial Event, Insight, Meditation, Poetry, Quote, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars, Winter

21 December 2016 – Astro-Weather: The Ursid meteor shower peaks tonight. The shower’s radiant — the point from which the meteors appear to originate — lies in the constellation Ursa Minor, near the Little Dipper’s bowl. The radiant is visible in the north all night, but it climbs higher as dawn approaches. The waning crescent Moon won’t interfere much after it rises around 2 am tomorrow morning, though your best views likely will come between 11 pm & 1am. Observers with clear skies should be able to see 5 to 10 Ursid meteors per hour.

Earth’s Winter Solstice occurs at 6:44 am CST. At that moment, the Sun reaches its farthest point south in the sky. The solstice marks the official beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, & tonight has more hours of darkness than any other. From mid-northern latitudes, however, the earliest sunset occurred about two weeks ago & the latest sunrise won’t happen until early January.

Step out at the beginning of dawn Thursday morning the 22nd, & high in the south you’ll find Jupiter, fainter Spica, & the waning crescent Moon in a line.

“When we look up to the wonder of the starry world, when we contemplate the whole process of the universe with its glories and marvels, then we are led at last to the feeling that all the glory that lies open to our view in the whole universe that surrounds us only has meaning when it is reflected in an admiring human soul.” ~Goethe

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Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

Triumphant in man’s deepest soul
Lives the Spirit of the Sun;
Quickened forces, set astir,
Awake the feelings to His presence
In the inner winter life.
Hope, impulse of the heart,
Beholds the Spirit victory of the Sun
In the blessed Light of Christmas,
The sign of highest life
In the winter’s deepest night. ~Rudolf Steiner

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

“What is to be the starting force & impulse for events in social & ethical life must come out of the spiritual world.” Rudolf Steiner, New Spiritual Impulses in History” December, 1917

Winter Solstice or Yule

The O Antiphons, also known as The great Os are Magnificat antiphons used at Vespers of the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions. The importance of the “O Antiphons” is twofold. First, each one is a title for the Messiah. Secondly, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah.

O Oriens – The Dawn Breaking, the Light of the World (A literal translation of the Latin yields “O Rising Sun”, but the poetic “O Morning Star” or “O Dayspring” is often preferred)

O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Morning Star,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Isaiah had prophesied: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” ~Isaiah 9:2

Blue Christmas, also called the Longest Night in the Western Christian tradition, is a day in the Advent season marking the longest night of the year. On this day, some churches hold a church service that honors people who have lost loved ones in that year. There is an interesting convergence for this day as it is also the traditional feast day for Saint Thomas the Apostle. This linkage invites making some connections between Thomas’s struggle to believe the tale of Jesus’ resurrection, the long nights just before Christmas, & the struggle with darkness & grief faced by those living with loss

Caravaggio

72 – Deathday of Thomas the Apostle, called Didymus which means “the twin” one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament. He is informally called doubting Thomas because he doubted Jesus’ resurrection when first told (in the Gospel of John account), followed later by his confession of faith, “My Lord and my God“, on seeing Jesus’ wounds.

Traditional legend written centuries later claim he travelled outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel, travelling as far as Tamil Nadu & Kerala in present-day India. According to tradition, he baptized many people, founding what today is known as Saint Thomas Christians or Nasranis. After his death, the relics of Saint Thomas the Apostle were enshrined as far as Mesopotamia in the 3rd century. In 1258, some of the relics were brought to Abruzzo in Ortona, Italy, where they have been held in the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle. He is often regarded as the Patron Saint of India, & the name Thoma remains quite popular among Christians in India

1804 – Birthday of Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

1907 – The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in Iquique, Chile.

1910 – An underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, England, kills 344 miners.

1913 – Arthur Wynne’s “word-cross“, the first crossword puzzle, is published

1919 – American anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia

1940 – Deathday of F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist & short story writer

1945 – Deathday of George S. Patton, American general

1946 – An 8.1 Mw earthquake & subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, kills over 1,300 people & destroys over 38,000 homes

1963 –”Bloody Christmas” begins in Cyprus, resulting in the displacement of 25,000-30,000 Turkish Cypriots & destruction of more than 100 villages

1967 – Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a heart transplant, dies in Cape Town, South Africa, having lived for 18 days after the transplant

1968 –Apollo 8 is launched placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans

1973 – The Geneva Conference on the Arab–Israeli conflict opens

1988 – A bomb explodes on board Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270

1992 – A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, killing 156

1994 – Mexican volcano Popocatépetl, dormant for 47 years, erupts

2004 – Iraq War: A suicide bomber killed 22 at the base next to the main U.S. military airfield, the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers

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SOL INVICTA { THE FEAST OF THE UNCONQUERED SUN }

THE BREATH OF NATURE IS SUSPENDED
IN THE VAST & HOLY NIGHT
WE WAIT WHILE WITHIN
THE DARK KING IS TRANSFORMED
INTO THE INFANT LIGHT

THE MOTHER
SLUMBERING THRU THE WINTER OF HER LABOR ABIDES…
HER COLD VELVET CHAOS
INDUCING THE IMMACULATE PROMISE OF LIGHT

HER BODY IS SALT
SAVOR ITS PATIENT SONG OF DEATH IN LIFE
PLUNGE INTO HER DORMANT SERUM
& RISE WITH THE MIDNIGHT SUN

PAY YOUR PENNY –
RECONCILED PROCEED –
COMMENCE THE JOURNEY STEEP
OF THE CARDINAL EARTH
FROM SOUTH TO NORTH
IN ADVENT DEEP
WE ARE AWAKE IN THE NIGHT
TO FEAST ON CAKES OF CARAWAY SOAKED IN CIDER…
PASS THE SPARK TO THE NEW WISHING LOG
FOR THE ALL NIGHT VIGIL
FIRE OAK ROOTS IN A CIRCLE
LET THEM BURN UNTIL DAWN

THE HUSHED CENTER THICK AS FRUITCAKE
& THE EVERGREEN CIRCUMFERENCE
A LIGHTED WREATH – ARE ONE – FOR ALL

A STATE VAST ENOUGH & STILL ENOUGH
TO ALLOW THE POWER OF LOVE
TO RETURN AT LAST

LET THE TANG OF JUNIPER & HOLLY
SHOUT WITH INCENSE TO THE COMFORTER
& THE BELLS RING OUT THE WORD –

‘THE KING IS DEAD LONG LIVE THE KING’
WE CALL OUT EMMANUEL –
SHEPHERDS QUAKE & SERAPHIM SING
FOLLOWING THE STAR THAT SHOWS US THE HOMELESS AVATAR
OUR WINTER BORN KING

EAT PHOSPHORUS WITH THE IVY GIRLS –
AMULET SPRIGS ABOVE THE PORTALS –
TRANSMIT THE RIDDLE OF MISTLETOE WITH WASSAIL KISSES –
& PASS THRU THE GATE OF YULE-TIDE
TO SUCCEED THE ZENITH & CALL THE SUN RISE
IN CRIMSON SASH & CANDLED CROWN
WITH LUCY BRIDE
SHE DANCES THE SILENT SPACE
WITH OPEN HANDS
TO SPIN THE WHEEL THROUGHOUT THE LONGEST NIGHT
SINGING ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ SWEET SUN KING
SOON TO REVEAL LOVES PURE LIGHT

IN THE VAST & HOLY DARK
THE VAST & HOLY DARK
THE VAST & HOLY DARK
SOON TO REVEAL
LOVES PURE LIGHT

IN THE VAST & HOLY DARK
THE VAST & HOLY DARK
THE VAST
& HOLY
NIGHT
~hag

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Entering into the Longest Night
Entering into the Birth of Light
Consecrating the expected Nativity
Of a New Solar Year
In Yule-Tide Exultation
In the light of Transformation…

The battle between old & new – Dark & Light…The winter solstice is the dark before the dawn, a time of renewal, giving us the most primordial myths of humankind: In Old Norse mythology, the Sun goddess was swallowed up by the wolf of darkness, but was reborn as her daughter, the maiden goddess of the underworld, who rose again to illumine the world. In Greece & Rome, midwinter marked the birth of gods, such as Mithras & Dionysus, who died & journeyed into the underworld, winning gifts for humankind before their miraculous rebirth. We must honor the dark before calling in the light.

The esoteric meaning of this time of year can be gleaned from the ancient mystery schools. In the Hellenistic world, initiates into the Mysteries of Isis had to undergo a ceremony of death & rebirth in which they entered the underworld to gaze upon the “sun at midnight.” This ceremony, which had its origins in ancient Egypt, speaks of the journey of the soul into the fecund depths of the subconscious mind, where we meet the Guardian at the gate, which opens to the dark sea of spirit from which all creation comes forth, purified & born anew.

To this day people gather at sacred sites as far apart as Newgrange in Ireland & the temple of Karnak in Egypt, to celebrate the miracle of the sun’s return at the darkest time of the year – In the pitch-black sanctuaries of caves & earth chambers, to wait for the birth of new light & life.

Of course when we strive to walk the modern path of initiation, working the 6 basic exercises every day, we don’t wait for the outward sun to shine, we must labor to give birth to the light within, for ourselves.

At a time when the fate of our planet & all her creatures hangs in the balance, let each of us journey down into the cave of the soul to drink from the secret well of wisdom & find the hidden flame within the dark — then return bearing our own unique gift of Light for the world.

The gift of the light (Gesture: Both hands scoop up light & bring it to your heart)
We thankfully take, But nothing may be, Just alone for our sake.
The more we give light (Hands move outward) The one to the other
It shines & spreads life (Arms move out horizontally, spreading light)
Growing still further,
Till every spark is set aflame. (Right hand in front of chest shows the proof of a flame.)
Till every heart, Joy shall proclaim. (Eurythmy Ah — arms up, palms upward)

May the cave of your heart be ever bright –

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Energizing Hope for the Sun’s return

Insight, Poetry, Quote, Remembering, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Soul to Soul, Speaking with the Stars, Winter

20 December 2016 – Astro-Weather: Last-quarter Moon (exact at 7:56 pm CST).  Bella Luna rises around midnight. Once she’s up, you’ll see that she is in Virgo under the tail of Leo. Jupiter rises below the Moon about an hour & a half later. By dawn Wednesday morning, they’re all high in the south.

You are remembered, Carl Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996)

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Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Those who work with the Original indications in the Calendar of the Soul know that Rudolf Steiner lists the birth & death days, as well as other significant occurrences in history & of various individualities, along with the dates in the calendar.  He said of this: “What is presented here can be useful to those who wish to follow the path of mankind’s spiritual development” ~Rudolf Steiner

O Clavis David (Samuel anointing David):
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Isaiah had prophesied: “I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.” Isaiah 22:22

“His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and for evermore.” Isaiah 9:7

“…To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.“Isaiah 42:7.

69 – Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. While Vespasian besieged Jerusalem during the Jewish rebellion, emperor Nero committed suicide & plunged Rome into a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Rudolf Steiner speaks about Vespasian & Nero in Mysteries of the Sun and of the Threefold Man (you will find quite a lot about Nero in Steiner’s Karmic Relationships lectures)

1192 – Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) is captured & imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after the Third Crusade

1522 – Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta & become known as the Knights of Malta.

1552 – Deathday of Katharina von Bora the wife of Martin Luther

1699 – Czar Peter I introduced a new calendar in Russia based on the birth of Christ

1916 –The battle of Verdun in WW1 results in a French victory after more than 9 months of intense fighting

1917 – Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded

1924 – Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison

1951 – The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs

1971 – The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner & a group of journalists in Paris, France

1987 – In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people

1995 – American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain in Colombia killing 259

International Human Solidarity Day

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POD (Poem Of the Day)

The power of Peace-The Birth of Love-The Light of Wisdom

Energizing Hope for the Sun’s return & the Earth’s renewal
We make a ‘spiritual manger’ – a sacred space –
In the cold black frozen places,
That seem devoid of life, but they are really just a sterilized palate –
A clean slate, fresh & ready
For the newly conceived light to be born into & fill…
~hag

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Kirsty Mitchell

When all seems dead & barren on the earth, below the surface the inner life is strengthened. Under the ice-covered exterior, a rich black loom embraces the kernel of our rebirth. And if we can let go of the false hustle & bustle imposed from without, & sit in the stillness of the dark, we will find that inner strength to let go of our fear of the dark, to let our eyes adjust to the dark, & soon we will see quite clearly in the dark, & then we can begin the work of re-patterning…

The hag has gone to seed & become bone…a fresh soul-frame for the new year.

Let us stand in uprightness at the door & dare to open the portal to face the abyss – To release ourselves, in consciousness, from the outer world for a sacred moment, that we may invoke our own immaculate conception – That we may surrender to the ‘Waking Dreaming’ – To celebrate the dark, where the inner life is honored & nurtured by the many Marys within…

Let the Power of faith lead us from the darkness into the birth of our own unique inner light…

 

The Darkness is coming…
But never fear…
The darkness is coming…
But the light is near…
The darkness is coming…
The darkness is here…

Together we can meet it with hope & peace

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

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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 $10 goes 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

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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

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An evening Discourse &  Full day Workshop at

Fostering Sustainable Agriculture through Research, Education and Policy since 1984

Friday March 3rd 2017,  Potluck Social 5:30 pm  Lecture –7 pm – 9 pm

What is Anthroposophy?

A Hands-on Discourse with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

What can the human being (anthropos) of today do to recognize our inherent wisdom (sophia) to access the source of spiritual knowledge, for our own inner development, and for the evolution of the earth and all of humanity?

What would it be like to support each other in community, as we strive to penetrate the mystery of our relationship with the spiritual world?

How does this ‘Spiritual Science’ built on the research of Rudolf Steiner, speak to the riddles of existence: our artistic needs, the truth of karma, the mystery of evil, life after death and so much more?

Come Explore this Modern Path of Initiation with:

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, and the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society. Founder of Reverse Ritual – Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year– Presenter, Poet, & Trans-denominational Minister.

Also:

 Saturday March 4th 2017 –

A Experiential Three Part Workshop* with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

‘The Spiritual Guidance of the Individual and Humanity’

Session #1 – 10 am – 12 noon:
• Introductions
• The divine wisdom working in the human being in the 1st three years of life.
• Through inner striving we can contact again and consciously build on this wisdom which is connected to the Christ impulse.
• Activity- Biography work: Our 1st conscious memory – a preview of the “I”.

Noon – 1:30 pm – Lunch

Session #2 – 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm:
• The childlike condition of humanity in ancient times, directed by higher spiritual beings.
• A look into the evolution of these guiding spirits –progressive as well as regressive –
• Revealing the necessity of the ‘two kinds of evil’.
• The importance of Spiritual Science to avoid error.
• Activity – Labyrinth Walk

3:30 pm – 4 pm – Break

Session #3 – 4 pm – 6 pm:
• A survey of the Post-Atlantean age, our present epoch.
• The Christ connection with the progressive spiritual beings
• Modern science as the work of the regressive spiritual beings
• A peek into the future
• Activity – The Golden Legend & The Rose Cross Mediation: An artistic rendering

*(Workshops can be taken as a whole or individually, details to follow)

Michael Fields W2493 County Rd ES
East Troy, WI 53120, USA

That which is

Festival, Insight, Poetry, Quote, Rudolf Steiner Quote, Speaking with the Stars, Winter

advent-sulamith-wulfingAdvent by Sulamith Wulfing

In Astrosophy, we look to the wisdom revealed in the position of the star-beings present now in the dome of the sky. During the 4 weeks of Advent (the 1st Sunday of Advent began yesterday November 27th 2016) the Sun is passing through the stars of Scorpio. The term “advent” – is Latin for ‘that which is coming’. So this is the time of preparation, of waiting in the dark, for the return of the light, at Winter Solstice, & it is deeply connected with the challenge of the Scorpion. – Can we overcome the consequences of error & evil that has separated us from our true divine nature? Advent can be seen as the time of transforming the fallen parts of our souls, so we can truly meet the Christmas birth.

scorpio

In the north, the darkness & death of nature mirror the descent of humanity from the light into the darkness of matter at the Fall. This time of Advent, reflects our journey away from the Divine Sun into the lower realm as represented by Scorpio. This descent began during the epoch of evolution known as ‘Ancient Moon’ – in the course of the rebellion called the ‘War in Heaven’ with the later infusion of Luciferic tendencies upon the human astral body. 

“But now an event occurred that gave evolution a new turn. Beings who had a certain leading connection with that part of the Moon cosmos…became “rebellious”. This Moon rebellion changed the character of the human beings. They now had a soul body, as we said. They were thereby able to have inner sensations, emotions, etc., but now introduced into their inner nature was the impulse to develop a dim sense of independence, of segregation and of divorce from the higher spiritual world. These impulses prepared them to later become egoists. Those beings who initiated this development were later on perceived as the Serpent who brought about the Fall of humanity and the loss of paradise, according to the Book of Genesis. We find that Moon rebellion recorded in the script of the constellation of Scorpion.” (Willi Sucher, Isis Sophia II,  Part Two, The Evolution of Ancient Moon)

Rudolf Steiner also describes this rebellion in Occult Science: An Outline &from another perspective in, The Spiritual Hierarchies and their Reflection in the Physical World: “Beings from the sphere of the Mights (Dynamis), to put it tritely, were detached; they were placed in the course of evolution so as to bring about obstacles instead of acting as progressive influences. We have come to know this as the War in Heaven….[later in Lemurian times]..The beings who stayed behind, whom we call Luciferic beings approached the human astral body –they were unable to reach the “I” – and injected into the astral body the results of the War in Heaven…humans now had been given the possibility of error and evil, but at the same time also received the capacity to rise above error and evil through their own strength…Thus we can see that only because the Dynamis were given adverse orders did humans receive the possibility of reaching their goal by means of their own powers, something that even the Seraphim cannot attain through their own endeavors. That is the crucial fact…Humans have to fulfill a completely new mission in the world, the mission we have just characterized, and  descended into the earthly world in order to accomplish it.  Christ came into the world as man’s free helper; not as a God working from above, but as the first-born among many.”

woman-child-dragon-bamberg-apocalypseBamberg Apocalypse

Advent is that time of the year to come to terms with the consequences of the error & evil that is in our own astral nature, reflected in our society so strongly today, as well as doing the work to develop the strength to overcome these tendencies in our self & in the world, so that we might prepare the way for the birth of Christ in us at Christmas-tide. This is our activity now for every human being during Advent.  It is in this confrontation & transformation of evil in our lives, in our time, that we can begin to renovate the stars of Scorpion, to offer back to the divine what has fallen away, out of freedom.

Advent is a true festival of our current time in world evolution.  Especially now since Saturn will be in Scorpio for the next 2 years.  This is a karmic call to humanity to awaken to this path of spiritual development with its focus on the confrontation with evil in our time.

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The transformation of the Scorpion, not this time into the eagle, but into the dove, this must be our work –  Opening to the Christ flame, the true I Am, born anew in the chalice of the heart at Christmas.

new-moon-the-bark-of-the-moon-guarded-by-the-divine-eyes

Also interesting to note that tomorrow November 28th is the New Moon, so right now we are in the dark of the moon, the most fertile time for inwardly listening to the voice of our souls. What is seeking to be born? What is longing for deliverance?

This illness I have been experiencing (I have viral pneumonia) has forced me to take a break from many outer activities. I am working hard to connect inwardly to the love, conscience & intelligence of my higher self, listening deeply to what is coming up in my thoughts & feelings.  I offer them up as questions, as hopes, for transformation, for healing, for redemption of my lower self. It’s hard to wait, to be observant, to be malleable & open to change. I have received many not so pleasant insights into parts of myself that need purification, terrifying, or shameful glimpses into my double. Sometimes coming from very unexpected sources, blunt synchronicities, uncanny dreams & visions.

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The Christian Community homily for this week speaks of this turbulent time: 1st Advent – Luke 21:25-36

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And men will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory.

 And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and lift up [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.

 And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [behold] the fig-tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this, you know yourselves that summer is near. So also when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of Man’s being shall not pass away until all has happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be smothered by an excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly like a snare…for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man”.

We celebrate Advent to awaken our connection with the cosmic purpose in the Universe. Can we use this time to become more aware of the way in which we are disconnected from our source?  Can we strive to awaken our purpose, as we work to remember our Divine origin?

mary-with-child-adjoct2008

I think of the Mother God gestating the emergent body of Jesus within her. Every breath she takes, every beat of her heart, every thought in her mind, devoted to forming the perfect human being capable of holding the divine.

I think of the approaching soul of Jesus, the pure, innocent Nathan soul, described in Luke’s Gospel, preparing to enter into this immaculate body – This soul which has never incarnated into a human being before.

I can’t help comparing that original purity & dignity of humanity with the way people treat each other now-a-days – so much derision, disrespect & hatred, all the discrimination, how can these lies appear to so many as truth, a selfishness that they are willing to kill for?

Then I try to think about how this is part of some great plan to wake us up, to divide the wheat from the chaff, so that we can reclaim our place in the universe as conscious, Christened human beings.

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Rudolf Steiner’s Calendar of the Soul helps: Thirty-sixth Week, [November 27, 2016 – December 03, 2016]

Within my being’s depths there speaks,
Intent on revelation,
The cosmic Word mysteriously:
Imbue your labor’s aims
With my bright spirit light
To sacrifice yourself through me.

With Prayers for Peace & Healing-
I Am  ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg