/dove-of-holy-spirit-and-the-virgin-detail-of-fresco-from-civic-art-gallery-of-recanati-marche-italy-173284901-58ab150b5f9b58a3c996a9ee.jpg?resize=331%2C331&ssl=1)
“…in the words that have resounded ever since the time of the Mystery of Golgotha and that must be impressed still more deeply into the evolution of the earth: This truth, which has shone down through the ages, is associated with the words, “et incarnatus est de spiritu sancto ex Maria virgine” (“and is born of the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary”).
Most of the people of today seem to attach just as little significance to these words as they do to the Easter mystery of the Resurrection. We might even say that the central mystery of Christianity, the resurrection from the dead, appears to modern thought, which is no longer directed to the truths of the spiritual world, just as incredible as the Christmas mystery, the mystery of the Word becoming flesh, the mystery of the virgin birth. The greater part of modern humanity is much more in sympathy with the scientist who described the virgin birth as “an impertinent mockery of human reason” than with those who desire to take this mystery in a spiritual sense.
Nevertheless, my dear friends, the mystery of the incarnation by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin begins to exert its influence from the time of the Mystery of Golgotha; in another sense it had made itself felt before this event…
To those who wish, reverently and sincerely, to tune their thoughts in harmony with the Mystery of Golgotha, the period between Christmas and Easter is seen as a picture of the thirty-three years of Christ’s life on earth.
Previous to the Mystery of Golgotha, with which I include the mystery of Christmas, the magi studied the heavens when they wished to investigate the secrets of human evolution or any other mysterious event. They studied the constellations, and the relative positions of the heavenly bodies revealed to them the nature of events taking place upon earth. But at that moment in which they became aware of the important event that was happening on earth, by the sign given to them through the position of the sun in Virgo on December 24 and 25, they said, “From this time onward the heavenly constellations themselves will be directly revealed in human affairs on the earth.”
Can the starry constellations be perceived in human affairs? My dear friends, this perception is now demanded of us, the ability to read what is revealed through the wonderful key that is given us in the mysteries of the Christian year, which are the epitome of all the mysteries of the year of other peoples and times.
The time interval between Christmas and Easter is to be understood as consisting of thirty-three years. This is the key. What does this mean? That the Christmas festival celebrated this year (2022) belongs to the Easter festival that follows thirty-three years later (2055), while the Easter festival we celebrate this year belongs to the Christmas of (1989). In (1989) humanity celebrated a Christmas festival that really belongs to the Easter of this year (2022), and the Christmas festival we celebrate this year belongs, not to the Easter of next spring but to the one thirty-three years hence (2055). According to our reckoning, this period — thirty-three years — is the period of a human generation, thus a complete generation of humanity must elapse between Christmas festivals and the Easter festivals that are connected with them. This is the key, my dear friends, for reading the new astrology, in which attention is directed to the stars that shine within the historical evolution of humanity itself.
How can this be fulfilled? It can be fulfilled by human beings using the Christmas festival in order to realize that events happening at approximately the present time (we can only say approximately in such matters) refer back in their historical connections in such a way that we are able to perceive their birthdays or beginnings in the events of thirty-three years ago, and that events of today also provide a birthday or beginning for events that will ripen to fruition in the course of the next thirty-three years.
…All things in historic evolution arise transfigured after thirty-three years, as from a grave, by virtue of a power connected with the holiest of all redemptions: the Mystery of Golgotha.
It does not suffice, however, to sentimentalize about the Mystery of Golgotha. An understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha demands the highest powers of wisdom of which the human being is capable. It must be experienced by the deepest forces that can stir the soul of man. When he searches its depths for the light kindled by wisdom, when he does not merely speak of love but is enflamed by it through the union of his soul with the cosmic soul that streams and pulses through this turning point of time, only then does he acquire insight and understanding into the mysteries of existence. In days of old the wise men who sought for guidance in the conduct of affairs of human beings asked knowledge of the stars, and the stars gave an answer; so, today, those who wish to act wisely in guiding the social life of humanity must give heed to the stars that rise and set in the course of historic evolution. Just as we calculate the cyclic rotations of celestial bodies, so must we learn to calculate the cyclic rotations of historic events by means of a true science of history. The time-cycles of history can be measured by the interval that extends from Christmas to the Easter thirty-three years ahead, and the spirits of these time-cycles regulate that element in which the human soul lives and weaves in so far as it is not a mere personal being but is part of the warp and woof of historic evolution…
Christ spoke to humanity in these words, “Lo! I am with you always even to the end of the world.”…
Just as Christ Jesus passed through death in such a way as to make death an illusion and resurrection the reality — this is the content of the Easter mystery — so did Christ Jesus pass through birth in such a way as to render birth an illusion and “transformation of being” within the spiritual world the reality, for in the spiritual world there is neither birth nor death, only changes of condition, only metamorphoses. Not until humanity is prepared to look up to that world in which birth and death both lose their physical meaning will the Christmas and Easter festivals regain their true import and sanctity…” ~Rudolf Steiner, Et Incarnatus Est: The Time Cycle of Historic Events, 23 December 1917, Basel, GA 180
And so dear friends – What is coming to birth from 1989 at Easter-Tide this year? And what are we implanting that will come to light in the Easter-Tide of 2055?
23 March 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Bella Luna reaches perigee — the closest point to Earth in its orbit — at 6:37 P.M. CDT. At that time, our satellite will float 229,758 miles (369,760 kilometers) away.
Sunrise: 5:58 A.M. CDT
Sunset: 5:15 P.M.
Moonrise: 11:36 A.M.
Moonset: 9:08 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (67%)
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1775 – American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his speech – “Give me liberty, or give me death!” – at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
1919 – In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement
1933 – The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany
1938 – Deathday of Friedrich Rittelmeyer, a Protestant German minister, & theologian; friend of Rudolf Steiner; co-founder & driving force of The Christian Community.
Growing up in Frankish Schweinfurt – his father was a Lutheran minister – it was already clear to him as a child that he wanted to go into a religious profession. From 1890 Rittelmeyer studied philosophy & Protestant theology. His teacher Oswald Külpe, encouraged him to write his dissertation on Friedrich Nietzsche.
He also went on a study trip to meet theologians & socially-engaged ministers of the time, as well as members of the Moravian Church. From 1895 to 1902 he was at the Stadtvikar in Würzburg. In 1903 he took up the preachership of Heilig-Geist-Kirche in Nuremberg. There he married Julie Kerler on 5 April 1904. Rittelmeyer worked & closely collaborated with Christian Geyer, the head preacher of the Sebalduskirche, together they produced two joint volumes of sermons. Around 1910 they both led discussions with the Bavarian church council on a liberal interpretation of the Bible.
Also inn 1910 the Nuremberg school teacher Michael Bauer enabled Rittelmeyer to have his first encounter with Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Rittelmeyer described the encounter & discussed Steiner’s personality & work in his book ‘Rudolf Steiner Enters my Life’.
“In earlier ages, the fact alone that such an all-embracing genius gave witness to Christ as being the greatest reality in earthly history, would have had a profound effect. But in Rudolf Steiner much more was present. One could put it like this: he comprehended all branches of learning so spiritually and so deeply, and he recognized Christ in such big and broad dimensions that eventually Christ shines forth as the true light in all spheres of life. He observed strictly the necessity for each sphere to form its own method according to its intrinsic laws. He never carried religion into anything from without. But he illuminated all realms of knowledge with such powerful light, that Christ became visible in it. A Christ, it is true, far greater than the Christ of the Churches; but a Christ related to the Bible and to the Christ of the early Christians.”
“Thus, he advanced the science of language to the point where it could understand why Christ is called ‘the Word’. Thus, he carried medicine to the point where medicine could understand again ‘the body of Christ’. Thus, he carried astronomy to the point where Christ became visible as the true ‘Light’…he taught how science could again become reverent and devout. He built a temple for all sciences, so high and so broad, that their servants could work in it without sacrificing an iota of their personal freedom or of the special characteristics of their province. He united the learning of the age with Christ, and Christ with the learning of the age.”
In 1916 Rittelmeyer was sent to the Neue Kirche in Berlin, working as preacher there. He soon came to oppose the First World War & with 4 other Berlin theologians signed a proclamation of peace & understanding on the occasion of Reformation Day (October 1917).
In September 1922 he established the “Movement for Religious Revival” (Christengemeinschaft) Rittelmeyer acted as its first “Erzoberlenker” or Head Preiest, & from its base in Stuttgart was the leading envoy right up to his death.
New Astrology Emerging. (here)
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!
- March 28, Monday, 9 AM Mtn. (morning)
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.
Register here
| The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC Mysteries of the Holy Grail – from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation April 6, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern) |
| “The pupils of the Grail were told of a state which humans would attain in future. Possessed of clear, alert consciousness, their being would be purified, the substance of the human body would become as pure and chaste as that of the plant, and their organs of reproduction transformed.”~ from Chapter 12 Rudolf Steiner, The Mysteries of the Holy Grail, Chapter 12 “The Higher Calyx” and Chapter 13 “The Resonant Chalice,” excerpts from Steiner’s lectures given at Nuremberg on 2 December 1907 (GA 92) and Stuttgart 16 September 1907 (GA 101) … will be the focus of the April 6 meeting. Chapters 12 and 13 in the book can be found online at the CRC’s website by clicking this link A transcript of the 2 December 1907 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link A transcript of the 16 September, 1907 lecture can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link * Please consider giving to the development and maintenance of the digital library of Rudolf Steiner’s work. Scroll to the bottom of this message to read more about the RSArchive.org and SteinerLibrary.org |
| The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to join our ongoing study conversation. The study has been divided among two volunteers who will summarize their section to rebuild it as a foundation for our conversation. Please familiarize yourself with the lecture if possible so you will feel comfortable sharing your reflections and thoughts with the group. This collection of lectures has been republished by Rudolf Steiner Press under the title: “The Mysteries of the Holy Grail — from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation.” The book was compiled and edited by Matthew Barton, published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2010. This will be a “Zoom” conference call allowing us an opportunity to see one another while conversing (or audio only if you prefer). To connect to the audio/video-conference: Video Conference Details:Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88210505106 Meeting ID: 882 1050 5106 One tap mobile +13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcHr5EVwrv If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu or Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com Agenda for this meeting (CST) 7:15 Welcome and Introductions 7:18 Verse 7:25 Study led by volunteers Note: CRC team will ID volunteers Michael – Chapter 12 Tom – Chapter 13 7:50 Conversation 8:25 ID volunteers for next meeting 8:28 Close with verse |
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.
I noticed you have a new post today Hazel, and I’m anxious to read it, but wanted to go over this post more thoroughly, because there’s so much here that fills my mind. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to communicate all that this post has brought, but here goes.
Firstly, I’d say how much I can relate to Rittlemeyer’s assessment of Steiner – it was Steiner’s understanding of Christ as the Master of Masters that caught my attention initially, and that keeps me coming back to his material. So, Rittlemeyer and I are comletely attuned in our assessments of Steiner.
As to why Steiner refers to the Mystery of Golgotha as the Turning Point of Time, this is hinted at in the lecture you gave us (GA 180); referring in particular to this sentence: “From this time onward the heavenly constellations themselves will be directly revealed in human affairs on the earth.” This is a reversal of order – before this Turning Point, the constellations were looked to for revelation of human affairs. Now, the reverse is the case. This reversal is also seen in the modern initiation process. In the old initiations, a person went through the stages and it resulted in a transformed “will”. I mention this because the will becomes a major factor at this Turning Point. Now, in our present consciousness age, the order of initiation has also been reversed, at least the will part has. Now that Christ has come to Earth and performed the ultimate Offering to God, we are expected to use our wills to enter into the initiation process. Whereas previously the initiation resulted in a changed will, now, consciously, we must begin with the will; so again, a reversal of the order. And to link this to another great subject you’ve brought here, the first example of this might be Mary’s willingness to be the vessel for the Immaculate Conception. Mary may well have been the first one to enter into the new initiation order, even before Jesus Himself. Here I need to refer to an explanation given by Cayce for the I.C., because Cayce said that “the accord of the mother”, mentally and spiritually and physically, had to be completely attuned in order for Holy Spirit’s influence to take effect, and that required her willingness. Her willingness was recorded for us when she said “Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.” Here’s Cayce’s explanation of the I.C.:
“Then, the immaculate conception is the physical and mental so attuned to spirit as to be quickened by same. Hence the spirit, the soul of the Master then was brought into being through the accord of the Mother in materiality that ye know in the earth as conception.” 5749-7, par. 23
And again, “that which to man with ALL his knowledge is impossible, to God is but as the breath, or the wind in its passing, yet in its passing may quicken to each atom. For as each cell in each atom of the body KNOWS its purpose, if it is imbued with the spirit of LIFE, yet knoweth naught if it is condemned by the desires of flesh only to its mere rote of activity – yet quickened by the Spirit bringeth, even as in thine [Mary’s] experience, that of the unnatural to the natural.” 1158-5, par. 27,28
Getting back to Steiner seeing in Christ’s Golgotha “work” the Ultimate Offering. Steiner refers to the importance of generations, which Steve has also commented on. I was reminded recently, in Steiner’s comments on the Gospel of Matthew, of the 3 sets of 14 generations in Matthew’s genealogy, how it required these 42 generations to prepare the vessel for the perfect Offering, 3 sets of 14 to prepare the perfect physical, astral and etheric body, one set for each. It was this perfect Offering which became what Steiner calls the Turning Point of Time, the turning point that brought about the various reversals mentioned. There’s much more I could say about this Offering, but perhaps that’s enough for today. I’d just say that you’ve given us some most inspiring thoughts to consider in today’s post Hazel, and Steve as well has shown how the initiation process has been realized for him. There’s even more to consider from your last comment Hazel, in regards to Sophia’s Rising in all of us, but we must begin with our wills, just as we must now will our thinking; so our own awareness and consciousness must will ourselves to undergo the modern initiation, the initiation that the risen Christ gave to his servant John in the Revelation, and that John recorded for us.
Dear Maverick – Thank you for your correspondence. I love Rittlemeyer he really took Steiner’s teaching in & did his own research to verify the reality of these supersensible truths.
The Turning Point of Time is so fascinating to contemplate on so many levels. This way of naming as a reversal resonates with me.
I always have the picture of the U shape – how we came down to the bottom of the U in our incarnating process
& now we are going back up to spirit, to become conscious members of the spiritual worlds as the 10th Hierarchy of Love & Freedom.
The Mary Mysteries will take us far when we are able to live into them as John the Evangelist did – to find the Virgin Sophia in our Spirit Self…
And it’s true – the New Mysteries are all about Wisdom infused Will powered by the warmth of Love.
Hi Hazel,
It is very interesting to consider the significance of 33 year cycles of time. So, this lecture from 23 December 1917 I remember grokking into some time ago. 1989, which leads to 2022, is when I met a man who would come into my life in order to help prepare an initiation for me when I reached age 40. Age 40, which for me occurred in 1990, is when an initiate experiences the breaking forth of the so-called, “higher Ego”. Steiner describes the significance of this occurrence in the first lecture of GA 112. He also indicates what it means if it is eyewitnessed by the one who comes into the life of the neophyte. This fellow that I met gave me a riddle in which he alluded to knowing of my past life, but to disclose it would shatter me. So, he left it as a challenge to figure out over the course of 30 years; a Saturn revolution.
Now, I believe it is important to indicate the nearly three 33 year cycles that have occurred in the aftermath of the life of Rudolf Steiner. As such:
1925 to 1958 = 33 years
1958 to 1991 = 33 years
1991 to 2024 = 33 years
Now, it was in early May of 1991, while I was still 40 years old, with the Sun in the sign of Taurus, that the higher Ego broke forth and my friend gave me the riddle of my life. In thirty years time, I feel that I am closing in on the matter of “Spirit Recollection In Depths Of Soul”, which accords to the first FSM verse.
Thanks, Hazel. You often give something unexpected which stirs the motives of revelation from your participant audience. Katharsis is the first dispensation from the Holy Spirit, or Divine Sophia, which Steiner conveys very well in lecture 12 of GA 103. Photismos, or Illumination, is the next step. In the days of the ancient mysteries, these two processes were closely aligned. The neophyte attained Katharsis through the exercises of the mystery school, e.g., The Mystery of Ephesus, and then went through a second process involving the removal of the etheric body for the indenture of the developed astral organs in an act of 3 and one half days, which is a microcosm of 33 years. This effected initiation according to the ancient mysteries.
Now, in our time, the etheric body is too indentured into the physical body in order to make the scheme of the ancient mysteries possible. Thus, with the transition from the ancient mysteries to the modern mystery of initiation with the advent of Christ, something more has been supplied in order to endure the process. This is the process of the Holy Grail. Once united with the ancient mysteries, when the etheric body could still be drawn out of the physical body in order to effect initiation, the time had arrived when Katharsis could only meet Photismos by an interval of time, in which a moral development took place. This is epitomized in the Epic of Parsifal. Parsifal had to start over because his own mother had implored him to not ask questions, and then dressed him in rags in order to follow a worthy knight on the quest. So, this helped prove his anxiety on the quest. Also noteworthy is that he did not look back in order to experience his mother’s broken heart. This alludes to warnings about not looking back in the Old Testament.
“This cleansed, purified astral body, which bears within it at the moment of illumination none of the impure impressions of the physical world, but only the organs of perception of the spiritual world is called in esoteric Christianity the “pure, chaste, wise Virgin Sophia.” By means of all that he receives during katharsis, the pupil cleanses and purifies his astral body so that it is transformed into the Virgin Sophia. And when the Virgin Sophia encounters the Cosmic Ego, the Universal Ego which causes illumination, the pupil is surrounded by light, spiritual light. This second power that approaches the Virgin Sophia, is called in esoteric Christianity — is also so called today — the “Holy Spirit.” Therefore according to esoteric Christianity, it is correct to say that through his processes of initiation the Christian esotericist attains the purification and cleansing of his astral body; he makes his astral body into the Virgin Sophia and is illuminated from above — if you wish, you may call it overshadowed — by the “Holy Spirit,” by the Cosmic, Universal Ego. And a person thus illuminated, who, in other words, according to esoteric Christianity has received the “Holy Spirit” into himself, speaks forthwith in a different manner. How does he speak? When he speaks about Saturn, Sun and Moon, about the different members of the human being, about the processes of cosmic evolution, he is not expressing his own opinion. His views do not at all come into consideration. When such a person speaks about Saturn, it is Saturn itself that is speaking through him. When he speaks about the Sun, the Spiritual Being of the Sun speaks through him. He is the instrument. His personal ego has been eclipsed, which means that at such moments it has become impersonal and it is the Cosmic Universal Ego that is using his ego as its instrument through which to speak. Therefore, in true esoteric teaching which proceeds from esoteric Christianity, one should not speak of views or opinions, for in the highest sense of the word this is incorrect; there are no such things. According to esoteric Christianity, whoever speaks with the right attitude of mind toward the world will say to himself, for instance: If I tell people that there were two horses outside, the important thing is not that one of them pleases me less than the other and that I think one is a worthless horse. The important point is that I describe the horses to the others and give the facts. In like manner, what has been observed in the spiritual worlds must be described irrespective of all personal opinions. In every spiritual- scientific system of teaching, only the series of facts must be related and this must have nothing to do with the opinions of the one who relates them.
Thus we have acquired two concepts in their spiritual significance. We have learned to know the nature of the Virgin Sophia, which is the purified astral body, and the nature of the “Holy Spirit,” the Cosmic Universal Ego, which is received by the Virgin Sophia and which can then speak out of this purified astral body. There is something else to be attained, a still higher stage, that is the ability to help someone else, the ability to give him the impulse to accomplish both of these. Men of our evolutionary epoch can receive the Virgin Sophia (the purified astral body) and the Holy Spirit (illumination) in the manner described, but only Christ Jesus could give to the earth what was necessary to accomplish this. He has implanted in the spiritual part of the earth those forces which make it possible for that to happen at all which has been described in the Christian initiation.”
These final sentences are very important. Only Christ could infuse the earth with the catalyst at the turning point of time for a truly modern form of Initiation Science. What was possible to achieve in the ancient mysteries via Katharsis and Photismos synthesized by way of the three day temple sleep, had become void by the time of Christ due to the radical contraction of the human etheric body, which could no longer tolerate the removal of even a portion of the etheric body. Thus, Christ had to invoke the Grail, and the path wherein Katharsis (Purification), and Photismos (Illumination) became related but separate processes. Parzival is the Epic that delineates this search, which can be extensive and painful. It now takes far longer than just 3-1/2 days. For me, it was fourteen years, or two connected seven year periods.
Parzival even had to seemingly start over when he failed to ask the critically important questions at the Grail Castle. Thankfully, he met the hermit Trevicent who helped him to formulate questions needed for his greater moral development. Three moral steps toward the development of character for every step in the attainment of higher knowledge. This is the 3:1 ratio that Rudolf Steiner highlighted in KoHW, page 69 of the George Metaxa edition of 1947.
Again, I explain it badly; too technical. It all comes down to helping others, which becomes the means for what even the Hierophant of the ancient mysteries relied upon. His Helpers numbered twelve. Don’t we have this as our calling in this day and age? Yet, our human frailty gets in the way at times. All we have to do is recognize it and try to do better. Christ is very close to us, and wants to be the inspiring influence in our lives. When it happens, you will never look back unless to contemplate what it took to get here. This is protected territory. Hazel knows what it took to get where she is today. We all do within the anthroposophical community if we take it seriously. As such, Reverse Ritual is a focal point of consideration today. It matters to bring down from above what still exists as a kind of ritual formation from below. 2022 can be an impending event. Seen in the scope of overcoming the pandemic of the last two years, we have China threatening America in the Pacific Ocean, which could mean replicating Japan in 1941. With Europe, it is as it is, with a continent that refuses to come into alignment for peace and the good. Yet, Christ is influencing people on an individual basis every day.
Thanks Steve. All I can say is that you’re in good company when you say you sometimes get too technical – your master teacher, Dr. Steiner, often comes across as “technical” also. In his seminal work, Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path (P. of F.), he often states things as though his intention is to confuse. I find myself constantly having to simplify what he’s written. There are some truly great teachings there, but it sometimes requires divine help to understand. An example that always comes to mind is his use of the expression “characterological disposition”. Most of us can hardly say it, let alone understand it. It has taken me a while to grasp such a term, but think it’s finally registered. So yes, you can get “technical” at times, but we sense your desire to be helpful, and with silent contemplation and patience, we can understand what you’re getting at. As for Reverse Ritual, who knows how many people have been helped through Hazel’s efforts? Just recently we heard from someone named Macushia, a name I’ve never heard, who expressed appreciation for the blog. There is such a variety of resources she presents – there’s something there for everyone’s needs. Thank you Hazel for all the effort and thought that goes into this work.
Thanks Mav. I really appreciate your willingness to look into another psyche, which is mine, in order to see something which accords to your own. You have progressed enormously in this scope of work, and it is highly regarded. My technical disposition only wants to accord to Steiner, and so I thank you for seeing it. The beat goes on with the continuing work, even if it has a new name 🙂