O look – another veil has dropped – a fresh insight has emerged – a challenging crossroad has appeared…Now what?
Head down & plodding I could easily miss it – open to adventure I may choose to take the road less traveled – or perhaps I’ll just sigh & say, nah, too much trouble – no – it feels like an obstacle – a trap – a turn for the worst – a chance to get lost…
But maybe – I am – fully prepared to ford the ravine – to scale the, well, maybe not a mountain, but surely a good sized mole-hill – to bump into wonder –Then I can stand on this milestone of the moment – in the tickling triumph of discovery – wrought thru with little breadcrumb clues & simple surprises…Knowing – I am – taking every step – with reverence – in awareness – that at every turning point, there is often a stumbling – into opportunity – disguised as a problem…
Yep I had a break thru in my thinking last night, & nope it wasn’t very pretty – Enlightening? Hell Yes. Still processing? Always Yes…And I know that this trans-personal revelation – this knowing of myself – this practical Anthroposophy which has lead me once more to the Threshold of the abyss to meet the Guardian – who sends me once again to stand in front of the Seraphim with the flaming sword – So…OK – I won’t be jumping up & running hither & thither, cause I’m not sure what to do with this break thru, with this explanation, this excuse..?
Ok so…I will – let it steep before I leap – Be 4 – I can – take my time – Be cause – I know – a magic twisty rise – will arise – up into a fresh future – And so…I engage in another wrestling match with my angel – a reckoning with my past – accompanied by a slap in the face from the future.
Happy Monday.
~hag
7 March 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”
“How is it they live in such harmony, the billions of stars, when most men can barely go a minute without declaring war in their minds?” ~Thomas Aquinas
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
161 – Deathday of Emperor Antoninus Pius, who is succeeded by his adoptive son Marcus Aurelius
321 – Emperor Constantine I decrees that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire
1274 – Deathday of Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican Friar & Theologian, “The prince of Scholastics”. Nickname in school=The ‘dumb ox’. Also known as the ‘Angelic Doctor’. “It must be realized that Thomas Aquinas, in the 13th Century, attained the concepts and ideas he elaborated in his writings in a completely different way from the way ideas are acquired today. One must think of his books as being inspired by a spirit from the Hierarchy of the Angeloi and that he recorded what came from a higher consciousness” ~Rudolf Steiner, The Karma of Materialism
Aquinas, who is most renowned for his Five Ways of Proving the Existence of God, believed that both faith and reason discover truth, a conflict between them being impossible since they both originate in God.
Believing that reason can, in principle, lead the mind to God, Aquinas defended reason’s legitimacy, especially in the works of Aristotle. The philosophy of Aquinas continues to offer insights into many lingering problems in Metaphysics, the Philosophy of Mind, & the Philosophy of Religion & Ethics.
In Rudolf Steiner’s historic sketch of the life of thought in the Middle Ages, he shows how Albertus Magnus ( an earlier incarnation of Marie Steiner) & Thomas Aquinas ( an earlier incarnation of Aristotle & Rudolf Steiner himself) & the Scholastics of the 12th century gave an impetus towards what in the twentieth century has come to be known as Spiritual Science, or Anthroposophy.
“The Middle Ages would not have produced what is called Scholasticism — the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas and Albertus Magnus and the other Scholastics — if this philosophy, this world conception, with all its social consequences, had not been inspired by the most important thought of the Church, by the Easter thought. In the vision of the descending Christ, Who lives for a time in man on Earth and then goes through the Resurrection, that soul impulse was given which led to the particular relation between faith and science, between knowledge and revelation which was agreed upon by the Scholastics. That out of man himself, only knowledge of the sensible world can be acquired, whereas everything connected with the super-sensible world has to be gained through revelation — this was determined basically by the way the Easter thought followed upon the Christmas thought.” ~Rudolf Steiner, The Cycle of the Year as Breathing-Process of the Earth
“Thomas Aquinas made himself thoroughly familiar with the world conception of Aristotle, who becomes, as it were, his master in the life of thought…For centuries, he is il maestro di color che sanno, the master of those who know, as Dante expresses the veneration for Aristotle in the Middle Ages.”
“Thomas Aquinas had intended on the one hand to investigate the world through physical research and intellectual knowledge but, on the other hand, that he had wanted to supplement this intellectual knowledge with the truths of revelation. But he had done that precisely to gain access to the unifying principle of the world.” ~Rudolf Steiner, Dornach, 12 June 1923
“Of the great Dominicans, St. Thomas Aquinas is especially noteworthy because in him the influence of the astral body of Christ was manifest to a high degree.”
“St. Francis of Assisi and Thomas Aquinas had copies of the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth woven into their souls, and it is this fact that allowed them to be such dynamic teachers. They worked from a sphere in which Christ had once lived.
In some cases external events such as natural catastrophes or similar things enhance this weaving of spiritual bodies into the soul of the recipient. It is said of St. Thomas Aquinas that lightning struck and killed his little sister in the room where he happened to be standing, but spared him. He interpreted this lightning bolt next to him to the effect that elemental forces were necessary to help him take up the copy of the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth. Elisabeth of Thüringen also had an imprint of the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth in her soul”. ~ Rudolf Steiner, The Principle of Spiritual Economy, Rome, March 28, 1909
During the Feast of Saint Nicolas in 1273, Saint Thomas Aquinas had a mystical vision that made writing seem unimportant to him. At mass, he reportedly heard a voice coming from a crucifix that said, “Thou hast written well of me, Thomas; what reward wilt thou have?” to which Saint Thomas Aquinas replied, “None other than thyself, Lord.”
When Saint Thomas Aquinas’s confessor, Father Reginald of Piperno (an earlier incarnation of Ita Wegman) urged him to keep writing, he replied, “I can do no more. Such secrets have been revealed to me that all I have written now appears to be like straw” Thomas Aquinas never wrote again.
1792 – Birthday of English astronomer Sir John Frederick William Herschel. In 1864, he published the General Catalogue of Nebulae & Clusters, which astronomers still use today
1876 – Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the “telephone”
1913 – The Berlin chapter of the Theosophical Society, of which Rudolf Steiner was president & Marie von Sivers secretary, is officially annulled.
1965 – Bloody Sunday: A group of 600 civil rights marchers is brutally attacked by state and local police in Selma, Alabama
New Astrology Emerging. (here)
Star Wisdom comes alive through active embodiment within each participant, made possible by working together in the instrument of the StarHouse—or within your sacred imagination in your own home. This immersion facilitates each participant forming conscious relationships with zodiacal and planetary beings.
Register here
Join us for an exploration, based on spiritual science and star wisdom, into the following themes:
This course, to train practitioners in Star Wisdom will take place in the StarHouse June 2022. It is designed to train beginners who are willing to ride a steep learning-curve, and long-time astrologers.
Our teaching weaves experiential activities (embodiment) and conceptual learning so you learn it more thoroughly.
On-line too: The course will also be on-line (live-streamed, interactive). A manager on our end will coordinate actively with those attending via Zoom, including relaying questions to the presenters for comment. (We plan that the event will be filmed and edited, and parts of it made available as a course through our website.)
Our approach to astrology is informed and inspired by Rudolf Steiner’s indications found sprinkled throughout his six thousand lectures, as it has been developed by a small group of astrosophers over several decades. This deeper understanding of, and interaction with, the heavens is based on:
- A sidereal (star-based) view of the heavens, emphasizing the active and dynamic role of the beings working from stars and constellations
- Equal length zodiacal signs (relating to the lineage of Zarathustra), equal houses, and recognizing the Earth’s role and significance to the birth chart
- Anthroposophy (thus called astrosophy, with its particular guidance for understanding the beings indwelling the zodiacal and planets)
- Identifying and working with spiritual themes in our lives in a way made practical by the research of Robert Powell, and the indications of cosmic Christianity, as understood through Anthroposophy.
- And other features that we will teach.
Some topics that we will cover:
- New and traditional methods for interpreting a birth chart
- Zodiacal constellations in the birth chart
- Understanding the meaning in the patterns of the moving planets
- Planetary aspects in the birth chart
- The important role of the twelve equal houses, in the birth chart
- How transiting planets interplay in the time-stream of life, presenting challenges and opportunities
- Determining the time of conception and its own chart
- The care necessary to regard the information of a person’s sacred birth moment with reverence and understanding
- The importance of understanding reincarnation and karma for human development
- The journey between death and rebirth, and why that is important for human destiny
- Human Life phases: the 7-year periods of our life biography and the relation of those periods to the planetary spheres
- The role of self-development for a practitioner of New Astrology
Enrollment and Application Reister here
Commitment: This intensive requires participation in five-plus full days.
Dates: Begin Thursday evening, June 23, 2022, 7 PM, through midday Tuesday June 28. On June 24-27, we will go from 9 AM to 5 PM. Evenings are for homework, integration, and optional study groups. Lunches will be provided, including the last day, Tuesday.
Limits: Enrollment will be limited to 24 in-person participants and others will participate on-line. In-person will go through an application process. More important than years practicing astrology is your motivation to learn. Our present on-line courses (New Astrology, series 1 and series 2) will be made available to all registered participants and can provide a strong foundation to a motivated person with little experience. After application for In-person participants, one of our team will arrange a phone call to interview you.
Scholarship program: We plan to have a scholarship program to which those of means can contribute. Please consider contributing to this fund to support others taking this course.
Costs: Cost of on-site/in-person for the whole course $1100. On-line (live-streaming) $800. A deposit will hold your place.
Meals and Snacks: Lunches provided every day including Tuesday (just after the end of the course). Dietary restrictions are queried on the application. Snacks and tea are provided mid-morning and mid-afternoon every day.
Lodging: You will need to find your own lodging and transport. Some lodging is available in nearby residences, and the Retreat Cabin near the StarHouse. These can fill up quickly, so please make your request soon. Other lodgings nearby are the Boulder Adventure Lodge (a-lodge.com), which fills up in summertime quickly. More information will be sent after registration.
Questions about the course
Tune in to our Zoom broadcasts, brief presentations of aspects of this course, with lots of time for Q&A. Intended to total 20 minutes in length. These are given on different days so you might find one that would work best for you. Each of these brief sessions will be different!
- February 19, Saturday 9 AM Mtn. (morning)
- February 22, Tuesday, 9 AM Mtn. (morning)
- March 14, Monday, 6 PM Mtn.
- March 28, Monday, 9 AM Mtn. (morning)
Register here
The Anthroposophical Society in America presents: Sophia Rising: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human in Santa Fe, New Mexico ~ April 21-24, 2022 Hotel Santa Fe Hacienda and Spa
Join us in New Mexico, the ‘land of enchantment’, resonant with light ether and deep history, as we enliven Sophia. Join together in community as Sophia emerges and rises in her many facets and expressions- past, present, and future.
You will be an active participant in this gathering that will engage storytelling and biography, art and color, eurythmy and movement, singing and speech, with offerings from speakers Carrie Schuchardt, Mary Stewart Adams, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Stephanie Georgieff, and more.
Come and experience Sophia Rising as we honor the elements, the landscape, and each other.
VENUE & TRAVEL
Our gathering will take place at the lovely Native American-owned Hotel Santa Fe. We recommend you book your stay with the hotel to create a connected communal atmosphere for our gathering. The hotel has a full restaurant, pool, hot tub, and spa, as well as kivas and cozy sitting areas. Please call or email to make reservations with our special room rate for suites at $179/night. Each suite includes a refrigerator, microwave and sitting area. So much of what Santa Fe has to offer is within walking distance from the hotel.
HOW TO BOOK: Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call reservations at 877-259-3409
**Ask for ASA Gathering to book with our special rate of $179/night for a suite. **
Registrants will receive suggested activities from our local organizers to explore in Santa Fe before or after our gathering. Extending your stay? The special ASA hotel rate is available for 3 days prior to and 3 days after the ASA gathering.
CLICK HERE to post on our room and rideshare board to coordinate with other participants.
AIR TRAVEL: Fly to Albuquerque or Santa Fe (note that flights are more limited and subject to the weather as Santa Fe is a small airport.)
There is a shuttle from Albuquerque to Santa Fe or car rentals available. Uber or Lyft is available if you fly into Santa Fe.
HOTEL and VENUE ADDRESS:
1501 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: (877) 259-3409
TICKETS
The ticket price includes access to all conference activities, snacks, coffee/tea and beverages, dessert reception Thursday, dinner Friday, lunch Saturday and brunch on Sunday.
No refunds after March 21, 2022
STANDARD TICKET (After 2/26): $350
SUPPORTER TICKET: $425
EXHIBITORS: If you are interested in being an exhibitor please fill out this form.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Limited assistance is available, please fill out this form.
Early Bird Only with Room Booking – After 2/26 more tickets will be released!
SCHEDULE
(subject to minor changes)
THURSDAY, April 21
7 pm Gathering Together – with a dessert reception
7:30- 8:30 pm ArtActs: Past – Present – Future Eurythmy, and Singing,
FRIDAY, April 22
Explore Santa Fe on your own and continued arrivals
1:00 – 2:30 pm Welcome: Spirit of Place with organizers
WEAVING EARTH Opening Ceremony with Angela Foster and friends
2:30pm-3:00pm Break
3:00-4:30 pm Encountering the Celestial Goddess Anthroposophia with Mary Stewart Adams
HeartMath with Michele Mariscal
4:30-4:45 pm Break
4:45- 6:00 pm WEAVING AIR ArtActs Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech
6:00-7:30 pm Dinner Together*
7:30 pm Fireside Chats – Story and Sharing – Breakout circles led by friends and organizers 8:30 pm
Stargazing with Mary Stewart Adams
SATURDAY, April 23
Breakfast – On your own
8:30 – 9:30 am WEAVING ETHER Eurythmy
9:30 – 10:00 am Break
10:00 -11:15 am The Virgin of Guadalupe: Sophia Rising in the Americas with Stephanie Georgieff – The Virgin of Guadalupe is one of the first recorded apparitions in the Americas. Revealing herself to a Nahuatl Native and ultimately to the Bishop of New Spain and his entourage in December of 1531, this image has continued to inspire countless souls for nearly 500 years. The symbolism and timing of her appearance presents deep mysteries for our age, and points to the ultimate Sophianic impulse for the present and future of Humanity.
11:30 – 12:30 pm WEAVING STORIES Biography Work
12:30 – 2:00 pm Lunch Together*
2:00 – 4:00 pm ‘ANTHROPOSOPHIA: OUR ALCHEMICAL WEDDING’ with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg and Friends. At the heart of this convergence is a Grand Experiential Soul Journey to ‘Know Thyself’’ – A Temple Experience in the New Mysteries, built up and worked on during all the WEAVING sessions, preparing us to enter a deeply intensive initiatory experience – a ‘Movable Feast’ with various stations engaging us in group eurythmy, singing, Steiner verses, color gestures in art, and a telling of the New Isis Myth. Passing through Trials of the Soul we meet powerful Spiritual Beings on the way to our sacred marriage – a union of Warmth and Light, so that we can unveil the ‘Sophia Rising’ within ourselves, and the world.
4:00 – 4:30 pm Break
4:30 – 5:30 pm WEAVING COLOR Invoking Natura: Sensing the Cosmic within the Earthly Pastels with Helen-Ann Ireland
5:30 – 6:00 pm WEAVING STORIES Biography Conversation
6:00 pm Dinner – On your own
8:00-9:30 pm WEAVING COMMUNITY Sophia Rising- Past, Present, and Future MC’d by Lucien Dante Lazar & Ultra-Violet Archer. Sign up to bring something to share! Poetry, Instruments, Story
SUNDAY, April 24
8:00 – 9:00 am WEAVING LIGHT Bathe in the Natural Warmth and Harmony of the Metal Gold with Helena Hurrell – A metal color light therapy experience inspired by the glass windows at the Goetheanum
9:00-10:30 am WEAVING FIRE with Carrie Schuchardt
HeartMath with Michele Mariscal
10:30 – 12:00pm Brunch Together*
12:00-1:00 pm WEAVING WATER Water Ritual with Joyce Reilly and Friends
WEAVING WHOLENESS Closing with Angela Foster and Friends
Notes: *Meals marked with an asterisk are included in the price of the ticket – Coffee, tea, and snacks will also be provided through the conference
A quiet ‘Sanctuary Room’ will be provided for contemplation
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER See you Santa Fe!
PRESENTERS AND GUIDES (Not a full list-more to come!)
Mary Stewart Adams is a Star Lore Historian, and host of the weekly public radio program and podcast “The Storyteller’s Night Sky”. Through her research in spiritual science and her education in literary arts, Mary has developed a unique, humanities-based approach to understanding our relationship with the stars. Her work is further augmented by an extensive knowledge of ancient mythologies and fairy tales, which she relates to the research and ideas of contemporary astronomy in order to understand the new star wisdom of astrosophy.
Eyahnna DalBo (artist of the Sophia Rising painting) came to anthroposophy 30 years ago when her daughter attended a Waldorf school. Her studies have included an undergraduate degree in fine art and graduate work in psychology using the arts for healing. In her private practice, she developed various energetic modalities. Her experience with subtle energy fields gave her the opportunity to teach and take part in designing a curriculum for a 2-year program focusing on energy healing. As a consultant, she initiated numerous therapeutic programs to assist in pioneering the field of art therapy. Through the gift of an apprenticeship with indigenous people she was able to bring their practices and ceremonies to what she offered deepening her ability to be of service. As an artist, she continues to utilize the spoken word, movement, sound, and visual imagery to honor and create a field that fosters awareness, growth, and transformation.
Angela Foster has been an active student of anthroposophy since 2008. After growing up in Texas, Angela is now embracing life in Atlanta, Georgia as an artist, teacher, and mom of two daughters, shepherd to two mini sheep. As a conscious practitioner of “beginner’s mind”, Angela has completed programs in foundation studies in Anthroposophy numerous times and is currently enrolled in Foundation Studies in Goethean Science through the Nature Institute. She and her husband manage the Anthroposophical Resource Center (ARC) an initiative in Decatur, Georgia that offers space for community events and serves as a little house for Anthroposophia.
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings.
Helena Hurrell joyfully met Anthroposophy in San Fransisco in 1977 and has been working with individuals and groups as a Waldorf educator since 1981 and then throughout her life trained to become a therapist while living in Australia, the UK and North America. She is currently in private practice in Colorado blending the therapeutic work she offers through her love of color ~ as an Art and Metal Color Light Glass Therapist trained in the UK and Germany. Both of these trainings are certified by the Medical Section at the Goetheanum. Metal Color Light Therapy is a relatively new initiative originated by the late Marianne Altmaier who developed this therapy and training out of her deep interest in and knowledge of the Goetheanum windows in Dornach. Helena’s website: www.helioscenter.org
Helen-Ann Ireland has been involved in anthroposophical studies for over 30 years as a Waldorf teacher, member of the School for Spiritual Science, Class holder, and now as chair of the Anthroposophical Society of America. A special interest has been in the area of the Divine Feminine and the Being of Sophia.
Michele Mariscal has 30 years of experience in the health and wellness field. She is a skilled facilitator in soft skills, speaker, coach and author. She is an Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist as well as a Trainer and Coach with the Institute of HeartMath. She facilitates greater heart-based living for individuals and organizations Michele is also a five-time author with her most recent publication of Growing Through Grief – The Alchemy of Healing from Loss.
Joyce Reilly Joyce studied psychology in college and was fascinated by the idea of a therapeutic community. She has worked in Camphill for many years, and is trained as a Waldorf and Therapeutic teacher. She founded Gheel House, a therapeutic community near Kimberton Pennsylvania, still thriving after 37 years. Joyce’s interests expanded to international conflict work and refugee resettlement. She works with organizations such as the Janusz Korczak Association, Karuna Peacebuilders, Kiwimbi International, Good Grief, the Worldwide Storytelling and Puppetry Association, and especially with the New York Anthroposophical Branch, and also works part-time at the local public library. Joyce is also trained in Psychosynthesis therapy and Anthroposophical psychology – currently practicing as a life coach and counselor.
Carrie Schuchardt co-founded The House of Peace in 1990, a home that is a physical and spiritual refuge for victims of war in a community with adults with special needs. In the last 15 years over 400 refugees from approximately 30 countries have been received in the healing embrace of The House of Peace, giving supportive assistance in establishing themselves in the US. In addition to the daily work of The House Peace, Carrie participates in many activities for the conversion of consciousness and policies from war to peace. Carrie has begun a network of women who witness publicly, Women Weeping, where women dress in mourning carrying symbolic lifeless children in order to help people feel what is rarely expressed in the media: the grief of hundreds of thousands of mothers in war zones around the world who lose their children to the terrible violence of war.
Maria Ver Eecke is presently the therapeutic eurythmist for the School of Eurythmy, Spring Valley, NY. She taught eurythmy for forty years in Waldorf schools, a charter school, and a home-school program. Maria met anthroposophy in Maseru, Lesotho, when she was a class teacher in an English-medium preparatory school. Currently she is the editor of the newsletters for the Eurythmy Association of North America and the Association of Therapeutic Eurythmy in North America.
That’s why I indicated that I see Goethe as the reincarnation of Theophrastus , who followed Aristotle at the time of the elderly Plato, and succeeded Aristotle for 35 years in directing the Lyceum. Steiner spoke a number of times about Goethe’s dual nature, or “double-life of the soul”, in which he was replicating a former life with distinction pretty exactly. This comes from the first lecture of The Karma of Vocation, GA 172.
As well, when Steiner went to Koberwitz in June of 1924, he also continued to give lectures on the Karmic Relationships. Thus, in Breslau he gave nine lectures on the KR while giving the Agriculture Course during the daylight hours. His first lecture, on June 7, 1924, tells of how he could never have incarnated side-by-side with Goethe. It would have been impossible.
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA239/English/RSP1973/19240607a01.html
So, don’t you think it is extremely telling that Steiner was given the task early in his career of editing Goethe’s scientific works? These works beg for the comparison of Goethe with Theophrastus. Maybe one day people within the anthroposophical domain will take this seriously. It has been brought forth a time or two.
With regard to Marie, I see her as a kind of victim of circumstance in which she saw the controlling forces which had burned down the Goetheanum continuing to take control even as Steiner was refounding the GAS with himself as leader. Thus, when he died she saw the legacy in the thousands of lectures he had given, and this needed to be the focus of continued activity, i.e., the legacy of Rudolf Steiner. That is why she officially ended the incentives of the Christmas Conference, and made it all a matter of contemplating the past, and not the future. Ita was for the future, but Marie was all about the past as it plays into the present. So, indeed, we can’t really blame her for her actions. Yet, a travesty did occur. It is still occurring, as we speak.
Just as you show by sharing what Steiner said regarding Goethe that he would have had a great antipathy to him if he were to have been incarnated at the same time & the fact that he was only just a short time in the spiritual world does not resonate with me with regards to Marie…
And of course I do agree that the past & future must work together that is our task now
Hi Hazel,
It sounds like maybe you are working on something big from the standpoint of personal revelation. I do this all the time, as well, and then wonder how to explain it. Thus, I have to trust in the sincerity of my fellow human beings, and the especial virtues that accrue to Anthroposophy. I see these as: Goodwill, Sincerity, Fire, and Enthusiasm. Curbing enthusiasm (Zeal) is not easy for me, and so I wanted to draw attention to another Crossroads Event that comes from a significant position change of the Sun. As you know, modern astronomy is little concerned with the relative location of the Sun as it travels through the 12 signs arrayed along the ecliptic, but today (March 9th), sees the passing of the Sun from Aquarius to Pisces, which is designated esoterically as the sign of Christ-Jesus.
Pisces is also the Cross-over sign from the last measure of Winter, to the Spring Equinox, which occurs on March 20th this year. So, I feel it is important to contemplate the Sun in its actual movement through the Zodiac. On April 14th, the Sun passes from Pisces to Aries, just three days before Easter Sunday.
Steiner’s lecture from December 18, 1910 describes this passing from Aquarius to Pisces in terms of John the Baptist and his cousin, Jesus. Remember what John says when Jesus approaches for the Baptism: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and I did not recognize Him”. John 1: 29-31.
Hi Hazel,
Since February 2nd I have been inspired to work with your diagram here which displays the four quarter days and the four cross-quarter days.
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Thus, from the Winter Solstice to Imbolc, or Candlemass, is forty days. This exactly coincides with the birth of the Nathan Jesus, as described in the Gospel of Luke. His presentation after forty days as the Lord and Consolation of Israel is a sight to behold. His parents knew little of what this meant, but his Mother preserved it in Her heart. So, your diagram for the year is a very strong catalyst for me.
Moving on to the approach to the Vernal Equinox, which occurs on March 20th this year, we can begin to see the working of the Gospel of Mark, and this is designed to indicate the progression from the physical birth of Jesus, as depicted in the Gospel of Luke, to His etheric nature, as seen in Mark. Thus, Rudolf Steiner’s course on the Gospel of Mark stands somewhat unique, since it was the very last of the four gospel courses. He would give it in September 1912, and it has a particular orientation that is not to be missed.
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA139/English/AP1986/GosMrk_index.html
He tells in this course of what Christ taught the disciples at Ephraim. You remember from the Gospel of John, chapter 11, when Christ took the disciples into the wilderness area there at Ephraim for safekeeping, that He taught them there for the same period of time that the Jews were going up to Jerusalem for the purification before the Passover. As such, Steiner is reflecting back to us what Christ actually taught the disciples in the period just before the return to Bethany six days before the Passover, which resumes the Gospel of John at chapter twelve.
One of these revelations that Christ gives to His disciples is how they were formerly the Maccabees, all twelve, who had actually decided the fate of the Jewish cultural stream, c. 165 BC. He actually tells them this at Ephraim. Why? Because they have earned the right to know why He selected them in their new roles as “fisher’s of men.” Then, Steiner goes into how the Elijah-John stream continued after the beheading of John the Baptist.
I do hope this resonates with folk here. There are so many more days to consider, even before the Passion four weeks. Are we up for it? I hope so. Hazel allows me to write, and I thank her for that. I do.
Thank you for these insights connecting the wheel of the year to the 4 gospels…fascinating…
Thanks, Hazel. I have been wanting to draw attention to this matter for some time. Yes, Luke accords to the winter solstice, and where the physical body is most presented. Then, as we approach the vernal equinox, the gospel of Mark takes over. This is occurring now with the increase of daylight over darkness. On March 17th, exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness will occur. This is meaningful. Then, of course, we progress to the Gospel of John at summer, and the Gospel of Matthew at autumn.
Good stuff, Hazel. Keep it coming..
Sure I have also felt the need to blame Marie Steiner-von Shivers for the tragic spilt in the society. And have worked hard to understand this idea of an indweling of a cosmic being in her. I struggled with this because, well if a cosmic being was indeed working thru her then that spilt never would have happened etc…But what really resonated with me was that 3rd scene from the Portal of initiation.
“Within our circle a knot forms – Out of threads which Karma spins in world-becoming. Maria, all the things you suffer – Are parts within a knot of fate – In which heavenly powers – Are linked with human life.
When in life’s pilgrimage I had attained – That rank which granted me the dignity – To serve with counsel in the spirit-spheres, A godlike Being did draw near to me, Who wished to descend into the realms of earth, And dwell there, veiled in form of flesh, as a human being. For just at this turning-point of time The Karma of humankind made this demand.
For each great step in world-development – Is only possible when Gods do stoop – To link themselves with human destiny. And this new spirit-sight that must grow – And germinate now in souls of human beings – Can only be unfolded when a God – Plants a seed within some human heart.
My task it was to find that human soul – Which worthy, could take within itself – That powerful Seed of God. I had to join – The deed of heaven to some human lot. My spirit’s eye then sought, and fell on you. Your course of life had fitted you to be – The mediator in salvation’s work.
Through many former lives you had acquired – Receptiveness for all the greatest things – That human hearts can experience. Within your tender soul you did bring forth, As spirit heritage, the noble gift – Of beauty, joined to virtue’s loftiest claim: And that which your eternal Self had formed – And brought to being through your birth on earth – Did reach ripe fruitage when your years were few. —
And such a soul alone was I to choose – As mediator for the God, who sought – The power to work within our human world. And now you have learned that your nature must – Transform itself into its opposite, When it flows forth to other human souls. The spirit in you ripens whatsoe’er – In human nature can attain the realm – Of vast eternity; and much it slays – Which is of transitory realms. – And yet the sacrifices of such deaths – Are but the seeds of immortality; All that which blossoms forth from death below – Must grow into the higher life above.”
~Rudolf Steiner, from Scene 3 of ‘The Portal of Initiation’
Marie suffered greatly because of this sacrifice, even though thru her years of work on every level as a holder of the Society while Steiner was alive, she contributed so much. And of course that Sophianc Being did not stay long in her sheaths, it touched in thru her so that Rudolf Steiner could bring this Being in & connect it with us as Anthroposophia joining the society with the movement. As you point out with the idea of spiritual economy it is very complex.
How can we hold 2 contrasting views at the same time – the truth of her vital contribution to Anthroposophy, as well as a karmic reckoning that came thru her?
I don’t always feel the point is to ‘prove’ the ‘anthro-lore’ with citations & such…The hints & obvious representations in places like the Mystery Dramas & especially what Steiner gives in Occult History & World History in the Light of Anthroposophy speak volumes & we need to step up & think for ourselves…