Door of the Sun

Bert Kingly

Dear Faireyland Friends – The Solstice Doorway of Light will stand open for 3 days – So we have time & space to celebrate the Sun, giver of life – So we can think, how in each second, the Sun transforms four million tons of itself into light – Giving itself over, to become energy, that we take in with every sense impression, every meal. All life, has been feasting on the Sun’s energy stored in the form of wheat or reindeer, as each day the Sun dies & is reborn as the vitality of Earth.

Every child needs to learn this simple truth: We are the energy of the Sun! And it’s our job to organize life on earth so that every face shines with the same radiant de-light.

Can we as human beings learn that generosity is not only possible, but required? Look to the center of the solar system for our role model, a magnificent stellar bounteousness, pouring forth free energy, every day, without stop – without complaint, or the slightest hesitation. This is the way of the universe. This is the way of life. And this is the way in which each of us joins the cosmic lineage, accepting the Sun’s gift of energy, & transforming it into creative action that will enable society & all life on Earth to flourish.

Throughout time, the Solstices have been honored as power points. Twice each year we move into a window in space-time when the Sun & Earth communicate in their extremes, & energy is exchanged in a dance of light & dark – a Tipping Point in consciousness, in the service of evolution…(Unlike the Equinoxes -which are all about perfect balance-the Solstices are a Tipping Point – toward or away from The Light)

The Summer & Winter Solstices are key reference points in our solar year, marking the changing light. What would it be like to pay attention to where the light comes in to your room everyday, so bright & early now, & then watching its changing position thru-out the year? Where do the rays glance at Michaelmas time? At the Winter Solstice…?

So dearly beloved – take a moment in the next few days to Stop…with the Sun…Close your eyes…& Look Up… consciously absorbing the photonic energy generously generated by the loving heart of our central star – Tiny rays of intelligence from the Mind of the Divine, translated thru the Sun – Spiritual Beings beaming all around us, especially now…

At our current point in the long cycles of Earth-time, the Summer Solstice aligns with THE GALACTIC EDGE…of our known world…it is a time when we can tune into information ‘from a galaxy far, far away’… Could this Edge be the source of new ideas for changing life on earth…? Here we can pause, with the Sun, to open the door to this expanded consciousness…

Will you walk thru this door with me…?

The Turning of the Ages in this sense is not just the movement from epoch to epoch, a 2,500 year cycle, it is a much longer round – an approximately 26,000 year cycle, associated with the Precession of the Equinoxes.

Why am I bringing this up? Because the power of this shift from one 26,000 year cycle to another is most profoundly felt at the Solstices…

Does anyone else hear this strange music?

~hag

21 June 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”: A solstice happens when the Sun’s zenith is at its furthest point from the equator. Today, it reaches its northernmost point & the Earth’s North Pole tilts directly towards the sun.

‘Solstice’ (Latin: ‘solstitium’) means ‘sun-stopping’. The point on the horizon where the Sun appears to rise & set, sstands still & reverses direction after this day. On the solstice, the Sun does not rise precisely in the east, but rises to the north of east & sets to the north of west, making it visible in the sky for a longer period of time.

Although the June solstice marks the first day of astronomical summer, it’s technically Mid-Summer

Before or during early dawn on Wednesday morning the 22nd, look for Mars to the left of Bella Luna.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

At Midsummer the earth’s soul becomes pious. The warmth that flames through the atmosphere is like a mighty sacrificial fire on the wings of which the soul soars upwards towards the sun…” ~Emil Bock

Sea Cooke

Friday 24 June 2021 – St. Johns-Tide Bon-Fire & Prep-Stir Social Gathering
7 pm CT Pot-Luck Dinner at the Home of Hazel Archer & Chuck Ginsberg

Join Rev. Jeana Lee in a St. John’s contemplation by the fire

Please Bring Food & Drink to Share in Community

This is an offical ‘Merry Prepstir‘ synchronized application,
linking us to Biodynamic workers around the world,
so that ‘The Earth May Be Healed’.
We will be working with BD 500 Horn Manure & 501 silica 

RSVP for address & directions

The Holy Grail Study Group with the CRC
           The Mysteries of the Holy Grail: From Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation
July 6, 2022 – 7:15 pm Central (8:15 pm Eastern)

“We may describe the astral body as an egotist. This means that every path of development that aims to liberate the astral body must recognize the interests of humanity by expanding and becoming progressively wider in scope. Indeed…it must become interested in the whole earth and all humanity.”~ from Chapter 17

Focus of the July 6 meeting: Rudolf Steiner,The Mysteries of the Holy GrailChapter 16 “The Word in Chains,” excerpts from Steiner’s lecture given at Dornach on 11 March 1923 (GA 222, lecture I)
AND
Chapter 17 “Balancing the Soul,” excerpts from Steiner’s lecture given at The Hague on 26 March 1913 (GA 145, lecture VII).A transcript of the entire lecture for chapter 16 can be found on the RS Archive by clicking this link.A transcript of the entire lecture for chapter 17 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

If you have questions, please contact Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com 

Agenda for this meeting (Central Time)
7:15  Welcome and Introductions        
7:18  Verse
7:25  Study led by volunteers
Note: CRC team will ID volunteers
          Stefano – chapter 16
          Camille – chapter 17
7:50  Conversation
8:25  ID volunteers for next meeting
8:28  Close with verse
Regelio de Egusquiza

Deepening the Grail: Our Parzival Quest and Question

Workshop & Annual Meeting with The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America

Saturday 16 July 2022
In-person at the Rudolf Steiner House in
Ann Arbor & on Zoom

Join anytime between 2 pm ET – 5 pm

& then for the AGm from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm ET

NO COST for attendees 

The Parzival Quest, is calling to humanity at this time of the Consciousness Soul. Explore aspects of this Quest through art, and movement, via embodiment processes and sensing gestures in the tangible and intangible sheaths of being human. Inspired by devout anthroposophist, artist Michael Chekhov, and guided by CRC member, Chekhov master teacher Lisa Dalton.

Then stay for supper and for the Central Region’s ‘Annual Meeting’—we haven’t had one since 2019, so it’s about time to fill you in on what’s happening!

Alberto Loya is stepping down from the CRC. He’s been with the Council since 2009—thank you for your many contributions, Alberto! We look forward to sharing memories and tributes during the meeting.

And Mary Mertz who has been working with the CRC for the last year will be offically inducted onto the Council.

2:00 pm ET– Welcome, singing, Chekhov movement, biography work
3:30 – 3:45 pm ET– Break
3:45 – 5:00 pm ET – Our Parzival Quest and Question
5:00 pm ET – Be our guest for dinner
6:30 – 7:30 pm ET – AGM – We will be bidding farewell to Alberto Loya & welcoming Mary Mertz, as well as giving reports on 2020 and 2021.
 
The CRC: Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Lisa Dalton, Alberto Loya,
working with Mary Mertz 

 Please RSVP  to Mary Mertz mary.mcginnis@juno.com

If you can’t attend the workshop, we hope you can join in the
Annual Meeting.

Let us know whether you’ll be attending in person or via Zoom.
  
To inquire about accommodations at the Rudolf Steiner House,
contact Cynthia Chelius cynthia@anthroposophy.org

Zoom meeting info (please note — passcode required)
Jul 16, 2022

The zoom can be accessed from 2 pm. You are welcome to attend all or part of the workshop. The main event will be the Parzival Quest from 3:45 pm – 5 pm Eastern Time & the AGM 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm ET

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86449905249
Meeting ID: 864 4990 5249
Passcode: 923117

72 thoughts on “Door of the Sun

  1. Hi Maverick,

    In continuation of the Genesis commentary you asked:

    “Why do you think Moses was inspired to include an account of creation? After all, all the Christ follower should need is John 1. Why do you think those first chapters have been preserved – what purpose does Creator have? It’s definitely not to divide us into different camps, one believing one thing and another believing something else.”

    I think those first chapters have been preserved as a record of the truth of what has taken place in order to bring about the evolution of the earth as the fourth sphere. You see, Moses bore the etheric body of Zarathustra from the time he was three months old and having been sent down the Nile river by his beloved mother in order to save his life. Thus, his life was stamped for a great purpose in bringing the captive Hebrews out of slavery to the Egyptians, and back to the original cause of the Hebrews, as seen in Abraham. That is why Moses at 80 years of age, while existing as a shepherd, has the experience known as “the burning bush and the fire on Sinai”. He has direct intercourse with the God of Nature and the Elements, which is Jahve, or Jehova, Who is the precursor to the Christ. As such, Moses is told what he is to do in order to free the Hebrews. This is accounted in Exodus, which also gives the biography of Moses, and where he fits into the 42 generations of Abraham.

    One item of importance in these considerations is that Moses was the former student of Zarathustra, and had been taught the principle of Uncreated Time, or ‘Zeruane Akarene’. Then, he reincarnates as Moses in order to bear the etheric body of Zarathustra for the furtherance of the Hebrew culture.

    So, indeed, Genesis contains nothing but an evolutionary explanation of what must take place when God sees the need to pass over the further events to a Lord God. This seeming downfall is what has people today in disagreement. Yet, a careful study will prove that it has been perfectly organized from the beginning; a kind of ancient futurism.

    Of course, we can go on and on and dissect this and that. But, Rudolf Steiner’s Spiritual Science has worked its way as a cultural imperative since 1900 in order to make it as plain as possible within the plane-view that upholds today.

    I hope we can continue this line of thought because my perception is that you, Maverick, seem to see many issues of disagreement in Genesis. Yet, working through it closely, as I am doing right now, proves that it is completely organized from the beginning. 50 chapters, and then the Exodus of Moses.

    Steiner has done an enormous amount of work in making this all known to the rational mind, and this helps a great deal. But Genesis, as written by Moses, also stands on its own authority, and upholds itself throughout, and this is because Moses bore the etheric body of Zarathustra from birth. You see, he had been a first student of Zarathustra from back when the Ancient Persian cultural epoch took place. He also had a counterpart, which we haven’t even approached.

    1. Ancient Futurim is the phrase coined by ‘Velsum’ a musical initiative created by Ultra-Violet Archer & Lucien Dante Lazar

      1. Yes, and I believe the Creation has been planned perfectly from the beginning of time as we know it now, and the previous state of Zeruane Akarene, which is expressed so well when God rests on the seventh day and contemplates the Virgin birth. Blissful rest in duration. Thus, what is known as a Pralaya condition endures for a period until the day the Lord God creates earth and heaven. Man was Lord of the Earth until the material manifestation began under the rulership of Jahve. Krishna’s name for Jahve was Prakriti, and Purusha for God. You see, the Bible is a very unique interpretation of the Indian Samkyha system of evolution.

    2. When I look at the first 2 chapters of Genesis, I’m reminded of the evolution of my own thoughts over the years, such that I hardly recognize my earliest thoughts on reading these chapters. That tells me that over time my thoughts will evolve even further. This is why I prefer to take a “wait and see” approach to such immense topics, rather than to say “this is how it is, and nothing can change my mind on this”.

      These chapters contain so much that is foundational; they really cover a lot. I’m thinking that if I were to continue in this discussion, I’d have to narrow my focus down to one particular thought at a time. An example would be to focus on 1:26, a subject that seems to interest you, where God says “Let us make Man in our image”.

      I should have explained why I said all the follower of Christ needs is John 1 – I said that because I completely agree with Paul when he said that “we walk by faith, not by sight”. This, to me, is the glaring difference between spiritual science and natural science. Since most of us are not as clairvoyant as the ancients, or as a person of Steiner’s calibre, we rely heavily on faith. There’s nothing wrong with faith; after all, Abraham, the friend of God, is called by Paul the “father of our faith”, and I have no bones at all with being associated with the likes of Abraham. So all I need to know, as a person who has placed my trust in Christ, is that “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” That’s all I need in order to move forward with my relationship with my Creator; anything beyond that is superfluous and of interest, but doesn’t affect my relationship with the Creative Energy.

      1. That passage interests me a great deal because it is pivotal to all that comes next , and throughout all the other books of the Bible.

        26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created him.

        Abraham’s initiation in chapter 14 is important because this is where Abraham is first indicated to be a Hebrew. I remember that you noted the identity of Melchisedek as Priest of the Most High God, which in Hebrew is El Elyon. Through a process that Steiner describes in the fourth lecture of his course on the Gospel of Matthew, GA 123, Abram is bestowed with the physical brain. And thus, the Hebrew culture is born with the original intent of thinking, based on measure, weight, and number calculation only. This act sets up the chosen people of Jahve, which in Hebrew is YHWH. Abraham eventually comes to see both Gods together in the working of Creation, and dies a happy man at the age of 175, next to Sarah.

  2. Kyle, for me, the mystery of the Moon is that Jahve, the Lord God of the Old Testament, made a sacrifice by going with the Moon, and leaving the other six Elohim to be the sun-dwellers. Thus, a Sun Spirit went with the Moon in order to make the separation of the Moon possible. It is this Creative God who “formed Man from the dust of the ground, and breathed life into his nostrils in order to become a living soul”. Genesis, 2

    https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA103/English/AP1962/19080520p01.html

    “Seven principle Spirits of Light, who at the same time were the dispensing Spirits of Love, were able to evolve upon this sun. Only six of them, however, made the sun their dwelling-place and what streams down to us in the physical light of the sun contains within it the spiritual force of love from these six Spirits of Light or, as they are called in the Bible, the six Elohim. One separated from the others and took a different path for the salvation of humanity. He did not choose the sun but the moon for his abode. And this Spirit of Light, who voluntarily renounced life upon the sun and chose the moon instead, is none other than the one whom the Old Testament calls “Jahve” or “Jehova.” This Spirit of Light who chose the moon as a dwelling-place is the one who from there pours ripened wisdom down upon the earth, thus preparing the way for love. Now, let us consider for a moment this mystery which lies behind the outer facts.

    The night belongs to the moon and it belonged to the moon to a much greater degree in that ancient time when the human being was not yet able to receive the force of love in the direct rays of the sun. At that time he received the reflected force of ripened wisdom from the moonlight. This ripened wisdom streamed down upon him from the moonlight during the time of night-consciousness. Therefore, Jahve is called the Ruler of the Night who prepared humanity for the love that was later to manifest during full waking-consciousness.”

  3. I have gotten another late start on looking at these dynamic posts from “Door of the Sun”. Kind words from Hazel mean a lot to me. You see, she makes me realize how much I suffer during the summer months. I knew it from experience over many years, but she expressed it so well on Sunday, June 19th. Then, I realized what it means to be so out of alignment with the factor of equilibrium. Only an inner balance, equivocated by Christ, can help resolve this situation.

    Now, Kyle has demonstrated an important issue concerning the Sun with his post, and I had been waiting for it in order to portray this other depiction, which concerns the Moon. You see, the Moon can be as accurately depicted as the Sun in reaching the Summer Solstice. Yet, the Moon experiences certain “phases” which can be called into doubt. This is the issue that stands behind the Eighth Sphere.

    https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/moon_phases

    I like Kyle’s remarks very much because, as you can see, it gets ameliorated bit by bit by the anthro audience he is conversing with. His issues are important about the Sun not being a hot globe of gas. As well, the issue of the Moon is something we are trying to explain, as we speak. Whether this will help is an unknown factor, but the Light exists to emit its force in order to help to See. Seeing equivocates to Gnosis, which Steiner made a lifelong initiative.

    I would love to hear from everybody engaged in this essay, and its commentary. Maverick, maybe especially from you in showing so much support for the personality as it develops from astrosophy. Steiner never developed a system, but maybe you feel secure it whatever you are learning. Let’s hear about it if you want to tell. Spirit Recollection in Depths of Soul is something really possible, and even in today’s tumultuous times.

    1. Bella Luna holds so much for us. Perhaps Maverick can speak to what astrosophy says about its placement in the natal chart. How it brings moisture & succulence to the plant world – How it holds the secret fortess of the Primal Teachers – How it was once part of earth…

      Something about the Moon in the Light of Spiritual Science https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/19091209p01.html

      “…since everything that happens on earth, year in and year out, is related to the changing position of the earth relative to the sun, and is subject to the vast influence of the sun’s light and heat, it was natural to wonder whether that other heavenly luminary, the moon, might not have some importance for life on earth, and especially for human life. In the comparatively recent past, people were inclined to speak of the moon as having a fairly powerful influence on earthly life. Quite apart from the fact that it has long been customary to attribute to the moon’s attraction the so-called ebb and flow of the sea, the moon has always been regarded as affecting weather conditions on earth. Moreover, as late as the first half of the 19th century, serious scientists and doctors collated observations of how the moon in its various phases had a definite effect on certain illnesses, and even on the course of human life as a whole…

      …our earth retains relics of events which occurred under earlier conditions during its previous incarnation. And these relics are to be found in the course of the moon round the earth, as we see it today. From a spiritual-scientific point of view the moon is reckoned as part of the earth. For what is it that keeps the moon circling round the earth? It is the earth itself… Thus the orbiting moon represents simply an earlier condition of the earth. The earth itself has retained in its satellite these earlier conditions because it needs to have them shining into the present. Can we find any reason for this need?…

      …We can see, too, how man’s inner being, as he passes from one incarnation to the next, must have a rhythm corresponding to the moon’s. During earlier stages of the earth’s evolution, it was not the transitory physical that was associated with the moon, but the inner activity which was working on this physical, just as the external physical is today being worked on by the sun…

      …Thus man frees himself inwardly by making the external rhythm into an inner one. He has long since freed himself from the rhythm which connected his inner being with the moon. Hence we have emphasised that man lives through the phases of the moon inwardly, but these experiences are not caused by the moon in the sky. The course of the moon shows a similar rhythm because man has retained the rhythm inwardly, though outwardly he has made himself free and independent of it…

      …The tides correspond to an inner process in the living earth, which produces them and also the orbit of the moon. If you take the findings of Spiritual Science you will understand the true relations between moon and earth and moon and man…

      …In conclusion, I am reminded of some verses by the German lyrical poet Wilhelm Muller: we are here concerned only with the last stanza. The moon is addressed and all sorts of intimate words pass between man and moon; and then, because the soul has spoken to the moon in a wonderful way:

      This little song, an evening round,
      A wanderer sings in full moonshine;
      Those who read it by candlelight
      Will always fail to get it right,
      Childishly simple though it is.

      That is rather how we should take what Spiritual Science has to say, as shown in our treatment of the moon and its significance for human life. The song of Spiritual Science about the moon can indeed be sung only if we have some understanding of the more intimate ideas of Spiritual Science. People who try to read the song by candlelight, by which I mean the telescope, and employ photographs of the moon, for so-called research — these people will hardly understand our song. But those who are ready to go even a little way into what life can tell us in all its aspects will say to themselves: It is really not so difficult! Anyone who seeks to understand the song that Spiritual Science sings about the moon — not by the candlelight of the telescope, but by the living light of the spirit, which shines even when all sense-impressions are absent — he will find that this song about the moon, and therefore about an important aspect of life, is truly quite easy, even if not childishly easy!”

      1. Thanks for this resource you’ve given Hazel; this is valuable. I’m going to print it and keep it for future reference. I won’t say much now regarding Bella Luna, except to say that in our course, which begins tonight, we’ll be discussing the conception chart, which I’m told is significant when it comes to Moon Karma. There’s something called the “Rule of Hermes”, in which the rising sign at our birth switches places with the position of the Moon at our birth, and we’ll also be looking at something called “prenatal anticipations”, which involves events in the heavens during the time of our gestation period. These apparently can indicate something of what our soul is ready to confront in our upcoming life. I’m looking forward to this course, which will be recorded and eventually available to anyone through the Star House website.

        1. These considerations regarding the conception chart is very interesting to me. A few of my other friends have been making reference to this blueprint recently & it has peaked my attention. I may have to tune into that part of the series myself. aND OF COURSE WE WOULD ALL LOVE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU GLEAN FROM THE COURSE AS YOU GO ALONG.
          THANK YOU. oops haha capital emphasis coming from outside me by welcomed none the less…xox

      2. On re-reading this, I wondered if this paragraph may give us some insights into the model for the etheric body that Kyle mentioned, or at least part of the answer. “…Thus man frees himself inwardly by making the external rhythm into an inner one. He has long since freed himself from the rhythm which connected his inner being with the moon. Hence we have emphasised that man lives through the phases of the moon inwardly, but these experiences are not caused by the moon in the sky. The course of the moon shows a similar rhythm because man has retained the rhythm inwardly, though outwardly he has made himself free and independent of it…”

        Steiner compares the way the earth internalizes the rhythym of the moon’s orbit with the way we have also internalized what was formerly an external rhythym. That “rhythym”, now inside us, sounds like the way our etheric body is always working to keep us alive, whether we’re conscious or not. Don’t know; just a thought. Someone else can take it from here, maybe make something of it.

        1. It also points up the human journey toward freedom. Now we are not tied like the plants & animals to the external conditions & instincts.
          In another lecture Steiner talks about how the woman’s fertility cycle used to be connected with the moon & with the Spring like the animals, but now this has been freed up as well…
          Your comment makes me think how we are meant to take it further by working with Spiritual Science to free up our etheric & astral bodies thru exercises like the 6 basic & the weekday 8-fold path…

          1. If that is the case, that we’re to free up our etheric and astral bodies, the exercises that Steiner gives would be the safe way to do it. Otherwise, to do it without such exercises, there is the dangers he outlined in GA 174, Lecture 19, The Subconscious Soul Impulses and Self-Knowledge, about the freeing of our ego, etheric or astral bodies from the restraints of the adrenals, ganglia and cerebral system. Those restraints were put there when we were formed, and serve a purpose. Sometimes by accident, and sometimes through choice, people can suffer psychopathic illness if those restraints are removed.

            We’re just on a break on the opening presentation of the course – I noticed Dante Lazar is in the course, so he’ll be able to fill you in on all the goodies we glean.

            1. Yes, GA 174 as well as Steiner’s course for the Priets & the Doctors talks about this kind of mental illness – which can also be the case with ‘Saints’ BTW…

              Love Lucien…& my freind Hermes is also taking the course…I forgot who else saw it on the blog…wonderful

              1. When we consider the etheric body in the context of this particular exchange of thoughts and ideas, which is now difficult to get to because the conversation has flowed on, it could prove useful to see in Steiner’s lecture on the moon from December 1909, the precursor to his more specific indications give in October 1915, concerning the Eighth Sphere, ref. GA254, lecture 5.

                Yet, it would be useful to create a picture designed to encompass this evolutionary trend concerning the Moon and the Eighth Sphere, separated by the six years between 1909 and 1915.

                The picture I have in mind comes from the description contained in Matthew, Mark, and Luke concerning the event of the Transfiguration on the Mount, in which Christ is illuminated before His three inner disciples, Peter, James, and John. Suddenly, on either side of the Christ appears Moses and Elijah. What do they mean? How are they related? They signify a certain evolution of the human etheric body. As we know, Moses as a baby, receives the Etheric body of Zarathustra, and this influences all the events of his life. He lives into old age in order to tell the story of the past. Elijah becomes the Folk Soul of the Hebrews as a continuation of this Etheric Stream into the future, and has reincarnated as John the Baptist. His baptisms form a kind of ragged remnant of the ancient mystery ceremonies in which the etheric body is drawn out of the neophyte in order to achieve illumination in order to perceive the spiritual worlds. By the time of John, only a water-based near death experience could draw out the etheric body from the physical in order to see that the turning point of time had arrived.

                Thus, Christ incarnates at the turning point of time in order to express the present in the same way that Moses expresses the past, and Elijah-John the future. Christ is a perfect example of what He conducted over the three years of His Hour but not His Time. Moses wrote the first five books of the OT, beginning with Genesis. And Elijah-John wrote the Book of Revelation, which is of the future times that we are now living in.

                Thus, the human etheric body needs to regenerate as the means to experience the Etheric Christ. I don’t know if Kyle was alluding to this in his comments but I find this particular segment of this thread really important, and appreciate that I could contribute more to it.

              2. Yes, Christ rescued our physical body thru the deed on Golgotha so that we can also conquer death.
                And since the 2nd crucifixion by suffocation the angelic being that you speak about as having also worked thru Moses & Eli, having made a new sacrifice, opens the etheric realm for us.
                And when we do the work of Spiritual Science we can gain access to the etheric realm & have an experience of the Etheric Christ.

              3. This is very true when you say that if we do the work of spiritual science we can gain access to the etheric realm of the experience of the Etheric Christ. Yet, the Christ will appear in reality to those who have been prepared, based on Karma. Thus, some experience Christ even without a known clause involving spiritual science, like yours truly. I only know that the Event of 1980 led me to the work of Rudolf Steiner, who eventually helped solve the issue of the Holy Grail.

                Hazel, you have acknowledged recently that you have not experienced Christ in your etheric body, and even wonder about those who think they have. This sentiment is very good and timely.

              4. AT our St. John’s-tide Festival the kind of miracle conversion you speak of happened to a good friend of mine. Rev. Jeana Lee brought a bundle of tissues that she had saved from gathering up spilled ‘wine’ & dropped hosts that had been transubstantiated in the Act of Consecration of Man performed in the Christian Community Service – these sacred substances can only properly be burnt in a fire. She told us her intention & cast it in the St. John’s bonfire.

                My oldest & dearest friend from back in the NY band days (another long story) was there. And he felt the spirit come upon him in a very real way. He shouted ‘He is here.’ And he tried to explain what we would call an etheric Christ experience. He saw & felt the Christ Being amongst us in our circle, but also deep within himself personally like a great comfort. He was beyond words & ended up having to go home. When he called me the next day he says he feels completely changed. Now this friend is not an Anthroposophist, although in recent years he has been reading Steiner…So YES! These things come on us by grace…

                I myself have had moments of this grace. But because of my karma I am not always able to hold the charge in my etheric body for long…

        2. I love this round table discussion… very encouraging! A few quick thoughts – for I haven’t had much time recently to be at my computer. Maverick, how does one find out their true name in a birth chart? Did you find your name, Maverick, by those means? Does a certain vowel or consonant get assigned to a planet designated in a certain house, or how does it work?

          The Moon seems to be the most mystical and elusive celestial body in our ‘system’… and as Steve has illustrated, part of the phenomena known as the 8th sphere. I have discussed this with Steve, of course, through many e-mails. With my own observation, and anyone can see this on the given day, I’ve seen the Sun well above the horizon around 9am, and the moon is still in plain sight but it is half full. There is s clear line of sight, no obstruction from the Earth, of the Sun to the moon. Now, that doesn’t make sense to me unless there is some way to explain an optical illusion here. But what does seem to make sense in this particular setting, is that something else ‘shrouds’ the moon, making it ‘dark’. Even then, when there is a new moon, you can still see it behind this ‘shroud’. That leaves me to believe that it is not a shadow, but a veil of sorts. Now, what would that veil be? In this light, it would appear that the Moon does give off its own source of light.

          When it comes to plants, farming… the lunar cycles have an immense effect. Of course, the Sun nourishes… but the Moon gives appropriate demarcation for when to plant, and when to harvest. In the Amazon, even, people of the forest know the difference of plants (even the same species!) by the way they ‘sing’ different songs with the moonlight. Isn’t that remarkable?

          At any rate, we can see how we as humans are influenced by the Moon… but gradually we are intended to be free from this as an independent agent. Is that a safe statement to make? For myself, I’ve travelled many places, and I suppose that has an effect on my Astral body, as the Sun (and Moon) shine differently depending where you are. Now, my theory is that I may have had a natural (or Karmic) reason for gaining this type of independence… even though I find myself back where I was born! Interesting things to think about, I suppose.

          Getting back on track with what the Moon is, or how to solve this riddle, what is it really?! According to Steiner, that physical Moon is denser than any material we have here on Earth, and serves as a counterbalance… yet, the ‘real’ Moon ‘sphere’ is completely surrounding and developing the whole of Earth. If I am reading correctly – and I will go over this again – that is explained in the Third Scientific Course.

          I am very interested to hear more of what you learn, Maverick, in the Astrosophy course. I don’t know if any clear answers will be given regarding the questions I’ve posed, but that is quite fine! As you have pointed out, all ‘pictures’ of our cosmos have served different purposes. I may have helped open a window to yet another possible ‘picture’ that has yet to be imagined. If I am reading between the lines correctly (I have to say again), Goethean Science has yet to be compiled as an actual science, for even Steiner had mentioned how much of it was a series of letters, not a compendium. It may be the science we are looking for, for metamorphosis and etheric regeneration – I’ll stick my neck out to make that statement – they go hand in hand. I know Steve has alot to say about this, because this is a manner that we as humans can consciously gain nutrients (a kind of photosynthesis) from the Sun. We become ‘plant-like’, but through voluntary free action. This frees us from base unconscious instincts. In the future, we may be able to get more nutrients directly from the Sun, and our own movement, rather than consuming matter.

          1. Once again, you’ve given us lots to think about, and research. One of your points is an easy answer – you mention the Moon being more dense than any material here on Earth. From a chart they gave us in our handouts, the Earth is the denser planet of the two; in fact, it’s the densest of all the planets in our solar system. Steiner may have been making a different point than the planet’s density, perhaps?

            Earth 5.52 gm./cm.3(cubed)
            Moon 3.34 gm./cm.3(cubed)

            Didn’t Steiner say the Moon would eventually be rejoined to Earth? Or did I get that from somewhere else? I could look it up, but someone else may know the answer offhand (the course is tiring me out, that’s my excuse for not looking it up).

            Regarding the name given us at birth, I hadn’t given it much thought. I chose to use the name Maverick as an inspirational thought, so I’d like to think the idea for it came from a higher being, but can’t say for sure. The idea of being an “independent thinker” appealed to me much more than the name my parents gave me, which name I’m sure they liked, but I didn’t think it matched my personality. As a result of many incarnations, we would have had many names, but there may be a certain name that kept repeating through various incarnations that suited our many personalities we’ve had. An example might be the name John, which was quite meaningful to those acquainted with Jesus. I’m not all that familiar with eurythmy, but someone who is might be of some help as far as determining our name from our birth chart? I know they express different sounds for the planets, although they may act out the sounds rather than express them vocally. I know that the risen Christ is to give a new name to all those who are overcomers (Revelation 2:17). Perhaps this is the name that keep recurring throughout our various incarnations, such as the example I used of John?

            The rest of the subjects you raise will be interesting to see if anyone has some insight. Like I say, I could do more research, just not until the course is finished. I’ve had to put a few things off – it’s just too intense, what we’re learning. Very tired at the end of a day. It’s also been emotional at times – like today, I had a huge revelation while doing a simple exercise of connecting our bodies with the Earth and what they call our Earth point, connecting that by reaching up to our Zenith and any planets we had there. In my chart, I have the Moon and Saturn very close to my Earth point, and it hit me today that having these in my 4th house (a foundational house) confirmed all of the Karma I’ve encountered, and all of the “insufficient material” as a result of that Karma that’s been cast to Saturn for remolding and reshaping. Fortunately for me, I have the Sun, Mercury and Venus all up at my Zenith point – those benevelont planets, at least the beings behind them, have lifted me out of many life-threatening situations. My life story is really one of grace – I shouldn’t be alive, but have been given grace for reasons I’m not fully aware of, so as I said, becoming acquainted with the intricacies of one’s chart can be emotionally draining.

            1. Thanks Maverick for taking the time to engage whilst working so deeply in the Astrosophy course.

              When we think of density we need not center on the weight per say. When Steiner speaks about the Moon he says the Moon has a hardening effect, an effect that densifies spirit into matter.

              As far as naming goes, in the lectures that Steiner gives in the evening of the Christmas Conference he speaks about how the ancient human beings since they were more connected to the spiritual world would name their children according to the qualities they came in with from the stars, & that most folks these days have lost that ability. That’s why Maverick & I had to name ourselves from our own intuition.

              The birth story of my daughter was quite differant, it’s an epic tale, but in a nutshell, her name came in a dream. The 1st knowing was 3 months before I was pregnant, I had a dream that a little girl with black hair & blue eyes was standing between a wall of water & a wall of fire & that her name was Violet. Then 3 months after I was pregnant I had the same dream but this time it was an older boy with blond hair & blue eyes who had his back to me standing also between a wall of water & a wall of fire; he turned around & I knew his name was Archer. The Ultra came later when I went to see a Shaman because the baby was breech & he told me ‘Her name will be known like the Sun, but that there were forces trying to keep her out of incarnation – either her or I would die during childbirth’. At that point I was actually in the process of giving her up for adoption, which the Shaman did not know, but he said I needed to accept her as my child & work to prevent the death at birth…Long story short, she was born butt 1st on the Full Moon. All was well except that an hour later she mysteriously turned grey because she had stopped breathing. Well, she was resuscitated & now we call her Twice Born…

              1. Yes, you’re right about not focussing on the weight per se. Fascinating story about your experience with childbirth; sounds like physically her body didn’t want to enter this sphere (who can blame it – it’s not called a “mundane” sphere for nothing), but her soul decided to use the human sheath provided regardless, and entered on the second “birth”, as you call it. So helpful that you can recall the details; much more helpful than my Mom’s position of not even being able to recall my time of birth.

              2. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to come in, it was that forces were trying to keep her out.
                When she was little she used to say that she forgot one of her colors when she was coming down the rainbow bridge, so her angel took her back to get it.
                It would be interesting to compare the conception chart which could coralate to the 1st dream, the actual birth & the second birth…

            2. Maverick you may want to mention to the others in your course that today 26 June 363 is the Deathday (Murder) of Julian the Apostate, who Steiner tells us then incarnated as Astronomer Tycho Brahe

              JULIAN THE APOSTATE / HERZELEIDE/ TYCHO DE BRAHE

              1. Awesome; I’ll do that Hazel. What a blessing you are; feel honored to converse with you. Cheers.

            3. The idea of density, from my understanding, is that the physical ‘moon’ we see is not really the Moon but a counter weight (within the Moon) to counteract the wresting of mineral substances from Lucifer and Ahriman. Additionally, we can see how in tuned our physical bodies are connected to the Moon as well… being a counter act to this ‘mineral wresting’ phenomena. This is all due to Jehova, a Sun being who stayed back for the sake of humanity. If we did not have these adversarial forces wresting mineral substances from us, then we wouldn’t need a physical body.

              I think this is something that is very much overlooked in all circles of astrology, and perhaps astrosophy. I could be wrong. And that is not to say I’m bringing this contention up just to stir up the pot, but this additional piece (which Steiner has alluded to several times) seems like something that should be included in today’s modern view of our cosmos. For the Moon itself as the Third Sphere (actual Moon) has morphed into the Eighth, in a parallel way with the emergence of the Fourth (Earth). Therefor, we have the Eight (a highjacked Third) surrounding the Fourth… where the physical moon we see is not the full ‘thing’. Again, a counterweight. We would be somnambulists without it.

              Part of our task, I would gather, is to redeem the Third. Isn’t this the intention for the Moon and Sun to merge with the Earth later on? We would not be able to do it if the Eight gains more ‘power’ – if I may say so in that way.

              1. The issue between the Earth and the Moon is one of mass, not density. The Moon is less than 1/80th the mass of the Earth. This is because the Moon transferred the mineral element to the Earth. In exchange for this transfer, the Moon received the original substance of the Earth, which was an Etheric sphere, like the other planets. This exchange is what has caused the Moon to become super-hardened and densified to the extent that while it is physical, it is also not penetrable. It now serves to form the outer counterweight to the Eighth Sphere, as previously indicated.

                Receiving the mineral element constitutes the Earth’s mass, and also caused its original spherical formation to be modified into a rounded tetrahedron. The Eighth Sphere was also formed at this time, and wherein it received some of the mineral mass meant for the Earth. This has created a sphere of “densified imaginations”, as you recently pointed out. In truth, the Eighth Sphere is the remnant of the Ancient Moon, or 3rd Sphere, having passed over its relic to the Earth, or 4th Sphere. By receiving mineral substance meant for the Earth, the remnant of ‘Old Moon’ becomes the Eighth Sphere, which is how the matter-based world of outer appearances becomes the substrata of the experience of phenomena. The 12 Senses are also necessary in order to set this all up.

                So, the Eighth Sphere is not a mistake in its formation, but has a very functional purpose in giving the 12 senses something to perceive, and eventually the power to inwardly reflect the Self.

              2. Steve, I had to refer to these 12 senses. This is fascinating. As Steiner refers these to the senses of: touch, life, movement, balance, smell, taste, sight, warmth, hearing, speech, thinking, and the sense of I (GA169, Toward Imagination, lecture 3). Furthering dividing them half into day and night. Also, in relation to the 12 zodiac signs and Sun’s movement. A microcosm of the macrocosm, yet again.

                “So, the Eighth Sphere is not a mistake in its formation, but has a very functional purpose in giving the 12 senses something to perceive, and eventually the power to inwardly reflect the Self.”

                This also reminds of the concept of Ri and Ki… light and matter. We can call absolute light – good… and matter – evil. But to say all matter is evil is difficult, as it can also be penetrated by light. So then, what purpose would we need the twelve sense if there is no ‘matter’ to percieve? Surely it all serves evolutionary purposes. Here we are getting into the Manichean view.

                This might be yet another approach to view this Eighth Sphere, with its evolutionary purpose of us, as humans, acheiving Self realisation – with all that ‘that’ encompasses.

                In regards to the light of the Moon, I wanted to point out Jehova again. Isn’t Jehova a Sun being who stayed back? Would this be the explanation for why the physical moon we see is gives off its own illumination?

              3. Here’s my contribution to the twelve senses Kyle. I don’t know how they see these 12 senses in the East, but I see the 5 senses that are normally accepted by our society as being earthy senses, developed for our use in this 3-dimensional sphere, and the other 7 as being closely linked to our etheric and astral bodies, functioning through the seven endocrine glands we often refer to as chakras. I haven’t had time to do an in-depth study on this yet – hoping to get time someday – but thought I’d throw in my two cents worth.

                The fact that there are 7 “spiritual” senses corresponds to their number of temporal perfection, while the 5 correspond to what Steiner tells us was historically, in the mystery schools, the number of evil. Of course, modern numerology has all kinds of other interpretations for the number 5. I see the forces that want to pull us into earthiness promoting the use of the 5, and wanting us all not to accept the other 7, since the 7 are for us to develop and ascend to higher levels of consciousness. Steiner did us a great help by reminding us of those additional 7 senses, and others have continued to ensure we don’t forget them (Albert Soesman has a good book we’ve used).

              4. But there *is* Matter to perceive. Yet, it is an illusion (Maya). That is why materialism must end. Today’s materialism is based on technology, which is sub-earthly.

                The seventh lecture of Riddle of Humanity contains a good diagram of the 12 senses in the same order, beginning with Touch and ending in Ego.

                https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA170/English/RSP1990/19160812p01.html

                In January 1914, as part of the course, Human and Cosmic Thought, Steiner was able to correlate the 12 senses to the 12 signs of the Zodiac. As well, the 12 outlooks are found in the signs of the Zodiac. Thus,

                Cancer = Touch
                Leo = Life
                Virgo = Movement
                Libra = Balance
                Scorpio = Smell
                Sagittarius = Taste
                Capricorn = Sight
                Aquarius = Warmth -Feeling
                Pisces = Hearing
                Aries = Word
                Taurus = Thinking
                Gemini = Ego

              5. Matter to perceive, yet it is an illusion. Seems appropriate for current Americans that are incarnated now to have this… well… karma. The materialism of today has its roots here, and we can see it permeated all over the globe. This is what is incredible about Americans today (some or many?) who were once followers of Krishna in past incarnations. This spells ‘mission’ all over it. For if materialism has been massively propagated here, in would only make sense that former Krishna followers would take this on as their karma to rectify it. I am only assuming here, but seems appropriate.

            4. Yes, this lecture describes both the reason for the exit of the moon, and its eventual reentry to the earth. This is why Spiritual Science exists to illuminate our present shadowy intellects, and wherein even an artificial kingdom of replicant beings exists to mimic the human mind.

              https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA204/English/AP1987/19210513p02.html

              “Now you know that one day the moon will reunite with the earth. The point in time when this reunion of moon and earth will occur is placed by astronomers and geologists who live in abstractions, many, many thousands of years in the future; that, however, is an illusion. In reality, we are not so very far away from that point in time. As you know, humanity as such is becoming younger and younger. It is becoming more and more the case that the development of body and soul only continues up to a certain point in life. At the time of the death of the Christ when the event of Golgotha took place, mankind in general was capable of physical and soul development until age thirty-three. Today, people are able to develop only until age twenty-seven. In the fourth millennium A.D., a time will come when human beings will be capable of development only until age twenty-one. Again, in the seventh millennium, a time will come when their bodily nature will be capable of development only until the fourteenth year of life. Then, women will cease to be fertile; an entirely different form of living on earth will come about. That will be the time when the moon will again approach the earth and will be incorporated into it.”

              1. here’s a cool qoute I thought to throw in:

                Rudolf Steiner: “The human organs that come under the influence of the etheric body, and which can fall sick as a result of irregularities of the etheric body, have quite definite relationships with one another. There is for instance a certain relationship between a man’s heart and his brain which can be described in a somewhat pictorial way by saying that this mutual relationship of the heart and the brain corresponds to the relationship of the sun and the moon — the heart being the sun and the brain the moon. So we have to know, if a disturbance occurs in the heart for instance, that in so far as this is rooted in the etheric body it is bound to have an effect on the brain. Just as when something happens on the sun, an eclipse for instance, the moon is bound to be affected. It is no different, for these things have a direct connection. In occult medicine these things are also described by applying the images of the planets to the constellation of man’s organs. Thus the heart is the sun, the brain the moon, the spleen Saturn, the liver Jupiter, the gall Mars, the kidneys Venus, and the lungs Mercury. If you study the mutual relationships of the planets you have an image of the mutual relationships of man’s organs in so far as they are in the etheric body.”
                Source: November 10, 1908. GA 107

          2. Hi Kyle,

            Yes, this is a kind of round table discussion, with you encapsulating its dimensions. As such, you have the knack for considering everyone’s viewpoint, which will prove important if this conversation continues. My personal approach is to take every question and inquiry as most important for review. You have seen this in my approach to you over the last year.

            Spiritual science is something that cannot be digested in a moment of consideration. 400 volumes must mean something about what it takes to achieve an organized, systematic, and functional spiritual evolution.

            Maverick wrote an atrocity recently about Creator God, which I can’t remember, but maybe he can.

            We will see where this kind of exchange carries Us.

            1. Sorry Steve, I’m drawing a blank on that one, regarding Creator God. I don’t have the greatest memory; guess I don’t exercise it enough. Too many mistakes I’ve made in the past that I just want to move on from, I suppose.

              1. I actually like the remark, but my issue concerned your designation of the Creator. Anyway, here it is:

                https://reverseritual.com/door-of-the-sun/#comment-32264

                “it reminds me of when Creator placed the man he’d created in the garden, and one of his tasks was to name the various animals and other creatures. In a cosmic sense, this may be one of the tasks designated to the hierarchies,….”.

              2. If it’s because I referred to Creator as “he”, it’s a habit I fall back into from many years of “church”, where God is often considered male. We could use a new pronoun for “he/she”, since that’s always awkward. But if you’ll recall, I made a reference last year to a very helpful book by Mark Sameth, called simply “The Name: A History of the Dual-Gendered Hebrew Name for God”. A scholarly look at the secret that Jewish people won’t tell us, that they’ve known since antiquity that God is both male and female, one of their reasons for not wanting to pronounce the name of God – it doesn’t fit with their historical stance of the woman as chattel (property).

              3. Hi Maverick I saw this qoute today & thought of you:
                “…What Christ proclaimed to his closest disciples can be conveyed in these words: “Take a look at life on Earth; it corresponds to the life of the Cosmos.
                When you look at the Earth and the Cosmos surrounding it, what you then see is the Father; His life permeates this entire universe.
                God the Father is the God of space. But I proclaim to you that I came to you from the Sun – from the time that a person acquires only when he dies. I brought myself to you from time. If you accept Me, you will accept time itself, and you will no longer be held back, fettered in space.
                You will then find a transition from one trinity – physical, etheric and astral – to another trinity, which leads from the etheric and astral to the world of Self-Spirit, the Spirituality of the Cosmos.
                This world of Self-Spirit cannot be found in the world of the Earth, just as the physical of the Earth cannot be found in the Cosmos.
                But I bring you news of him, for I am from the Sun. ”
                Rudolf Steiner, Dornach. 04/06/1924. GA236.

              4. Thank you Hazel – this quote sends shivers up my spine, it’s so good. I’ll definitely have to read this in its entirety. It speaks to me of what I long for – to speak in Biblical terms, my return to the Father’s house (like the prodigal son). The going from one trinity to another is the awakening of, and restoration of, my Oneness with God, my Creator. As Jesus put it, we can be in Him, and He in the Father, and the Father in us. To me, this is the whole purpose of being schooled here on 3-dimensional Earth – to learn that Oneness with a higher trinity for ourselves, but also to be able to see other souls who long to return home, and to use our talents to aid them in their journey. I’ve a whole new understanding of what Jesus meant when He said in John 14, “In my Father’s house [the zodiac] there are many dwelling-places … I go to prepare a dwelling-place for you.” We have the representation of the 7 moving planets in our bodies to remind us that our home is in the zodiac, the “Father’s house”.

                Thanks for the previous quote from GA 107 also. There are so many instances where Steiner’s thoughts turn to the Cosmos. I think he must have held the Christ as his Ideal in this regard, such as this quote from Lecture 3 of The Spiritual Guidance of the Individual and Humanity: “…Christ always stood under the influence of the entire cosmos; He did not take a single step without cosmic forces working in Him.” This is something we can all aspire to follow, and I’m sure it inspired Steiner also.

              5. I contnue to marvel at that idea that “…Christ always stood under the influence of the entire cosmos; He did not take a single step without cosmic forces working in Him.”
                This is the foundation of Astrosophy

              6. Yes, it’s also what drew me to, and keeps me studying, Anthroposophy – that Steiner had the same realization as had been overshadowing me for some time, that the Christ event was the “turning point of time”. It formed the concluding remarks on our final day of the Star House course, as well. Brian was giving us some excellent instruction from his office in California; unfortunately he wasn’t able to finish some of those thoughts, as the Star House had a strict schedule, and kept interrupting him. I feel for Brian, as he was pouring out his soul to us, but Brian, gracious soul that he is, wasn’t bothered by it and was just thankful that technology was able to connect him with the rest of us. I was bothered by it, though. The course was great, all in all, and we met about 45 souls online; there were about 20 there in person as well. Hope Lucien enjoyed it as much as I did – saw him asking a few questions early on; not so much later.

              7. To live into that amazing concept that Christ is the meaning of the Earth is so awakening.

                Perhaps they will ask for feedback & you can let them know what you thought…
                Yes, Lucien found it to be too taxing at the end, but I’m sure he got a lot out of it…

              8. No, it concerns the clear evidence in Genesis for two Gods working in earth evolution. There is God, the Primal Father, creating the first six days, and resting on the seventh day. Then, a Lord God is designated who creates the earth and heaven. It is out of this Lord God that Man is formed from the dust of the ground and life breathed into his nostrils and he becomes a living soul.

                We even have this corroborated in the first verses of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was a God”. This second God is Jehova/Jahve.

                It is possible here to trace the first seven days to God the Father, and then another five days to the Lord God, Jahve. Thus, 12 days in all for the Creation, which can also be designated as the first evolutionary cycle. We can even attribute each day to a sign of the Zodiac. First seven days = Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Libra, Virgo.

                Then, the five days in the working of the Lord God = Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, Aries. Thus, the first evolutionary cycle is expressed and completed in the first three chapters of Genesis. This chapter ends with the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. The Word of the Lord God correlates to Aries.

                Thus, creative cycles run through these longer periods of 25,920 years in which the Sun moves backward, or retrograde, and traces the astral stream of evolution toward the forming of the Universal Human.

              9. It’s certainly different from my understanding of the first two chapters of Genesis, but I’m glad to see that you’re thinking of the creation events, and that you’re referencing them to the Bible, rather than to natural science. I’m sure there are as many interpretations of these first two chapters as there are human beings, so I suppose we need to find some common points rather than argue over differences. And we should be open to new revelations from Spirit.

                Why do you think Moses was inspired to include an account of creation? After all, all the Christ follower should need is John 1. Why do you think those first chapters have been preserved – what purpose does Creator have? It’s definitely not to divide us into different camps, one believing one thing and another believing something else.

                My own feeling is that they’re there for us to meditate on; to explore the many possibilities of thoughts that went through the Infinite Mind as they were creating. Proverbs 8 gives a nice picture of Father God forming the circle of the earth, with Sophia the craftswoman at his side helping to bring it into being, and delighting especially in the sons of men. I do like that picture.

              10. I agree Maverick, as I too have a very differant understanding of Genesis based on what Steiner laid out & on Christian Community Priest Emil Bock has given us in their research. I was working with it when when my daughter did her Toarh portion of the 1st chapter of Genesis “In the beginning… & while she sang it was as if the world was coming into being again. https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA122/English/APC1959/Gene59_index.html
                I also LOVE proverbs 8 – I have used it in my presentations on the Sophia…
                Thanks for the reminder to revisit that

              11. Beautiful; I can imagine how much that must have moved you hearing her singing that into being. What a blessed memory. And thanks for the reference to more Steiner lectures, although it’ll be a while before I can look at them, since the astrology course added at least another 5 books onto my reading list. Delightful way to spend the summer!

              12. I saw a manifestation of the picture given in Proverbs 8 during the course. Brian Gray, who you probably know had a heart attack just before the course began, but is functioning fine with the stent they inserted, was always busy at his desk drawing charts and writing things, while his lovely wife Mariane took care of all the details, and of Brian, so that he was free to speak and draw. Also saw it with David and Lila Tressemer, a similar type of situation. It’s a beautiful thing to observe a husband and wife working together, two people but united in their task.

              13. O our dear Brian…And yes mariane is an amzing human being, her poetry is stellar…
                And it’s true, I also know David & Lila & they are a great team…
                Give all my Love

              14. I think we can all totally agree on what Genesis is describing here. What may appear to be a creative addition concerns the correlating of the creation events to the signs of the Zodiac in the order depicted, which is my personal contribution, and admittedly so. What is beyond dispute is the scriptural evidence here that there is God Who creates Man in His Image as both male and female, i.e., androgynous, and this is completed in seven days. Then, a Lord God begins to fashion Man based on the parameters of the earth and heaven. This involves the mineralization of the earth, which we know was the function of Jahve in going to the Moon in order to prepare this separation. Once separated, the fallen Adam can be formed from the dust of the ground.

                So, the original creation of God the Father is one of Image in the Mind of God, and completed in the first seven days. Then, beginning in chapter two, scripture indicates “in the Day that the Lord God created earth and heaven”, and this is a kind of switcheroo. You see, Genesis immediately indicates that no actual material manifestation had yet taken place because rain had not yet occurred in order to grow the plants. It is all very straightforward for me, and why the first verse of John upholds it very concisely.

                I doubt that we are reading different versions of Genesis, and I also doubt that there are any substantively different interpretations of what is clearly given as a human evolution meant to take place outside the Garden of Eden for all the reasons that present experience seems to uphold of an earth evolution made quite difficult. Remember, God said in verse 27, chapter 1: “Let Us make Man in Our Image and according to Our Likeness”.

                It is the Likeness part that involves all the laws of complexification necessary for a Universal Human to arise out of the Spirits of Form. The Sun-centered model of human evolution supersedes the original Earth-centered model, and this begins with Jahve, Who is a Sun-Spirit, and associated with Christ.

    2. I’m so glad you brought up the Moon in this discussion Steve – it reminds me of how important it is when it comes to the weaving of our destiny, how the Sun and Moon work together in that weaving, the warp and the weft (woof) as Steiner so beautifully describes it in Karmic Relationships (Vol. 6,#1, Jan. 25, 1924, Berne). The Moon is mysterious to me in that its not the source of its light. This truth is wonderfully shown in human teachers as well; it’s always a challenge to decipher whether the light coming from a human teacher is from a being who has developed above our level of consciousness, or if its from one who’s been retarded in their development. It’s just recently I’ve read of these two beings from the Moon sphere influencing us, and it was in a recent release from the Anthroposophic Press called “The Spiritual Guidance of the Individual and Humanity” (Lect.3). It’s an interesting, short little book; interesting for the reason that these 3 lectures, of the 6,000 or so lectures Steiner gave, are the only lectures (with a few exceptions) which Steiner himself revised.

      Regarding my own studies in astrology, I’m a newbie to all of this. Steiner didn’t have his own system, but was instrumental in advising Elisabeth Vreede, who we see as initiating this idea of astrosophy that is really catching on. There are so many invaluable resources available for us today through organizations like the Star House. I do like to follow the evolution of the personality as it relates to astrosophy, and my go-to book for that has been the classic book by Beredene Jocelyn, “Citizens of the Cosmos”, who I just learned recently was also an astrologer after the Vreede/Steiner tradition.

      1. I have used Elizabeth Vreede’s research many times – such a powerful individuality who came in to assit Dr. Steiner in his mission.

        1. “The Moon is mysterious to me in that it’s not the source of its light.” Maybe it actually is, Maverick! Here we compare modern astronomy with Genesis on the fourth day of Creation.

          Phases of the Moon and Percent of the Moon Illuminated

          From any location on the Earth, the Moon appears to be a circular disk which, at any specific time, is illuminated to some degree by direct sunlight. Like the Earth, the Moon is a sphere which is always half illuminated by the Sun, but as the Moon orbits the Earth we get to see more or less of the illuminated half. During each lunar orbit (a lunar month), we see the Moon’s appearance change from not visibly illuminated through partially illuminated to fully illuminated, then back through partially illuminated to not illuminated again.

          https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/moon_phases

          https://aa.usno.navy.mil/graphics/Moon_phases.jpg

          14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

          https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1&version=NASB1995

          1. I suppose the way to tell would be to ask the Sun to stop shining so we could see if the Moon would continue to illuminate? It certainly sounds from the Genesis account that it may have been a light, or may at some future time be it’s own light?

  4. Perhaps my issue with the modern scientific explanation of what the Sun is, is that it takes away the magic of it (this is my feeling). I do not see they go hand in hand. What I’ve seen of the Sun, by witnessing it from various parts on this planet, doesn’t give any proof as to the natural scientific explanation of ‘what it is’. Yes, there are explanations, but with a sensation that it is not a complete or perhaps comprehensive for our current time.

    I feel very much connected with this truth, that we are the ‘energy of the Sun’, as you pointed out Hazel. The plants definitely know this, and they exude joy in receiving it. The Sun’s warmth is an act of sacrifice, and the plants are the absolute model for the ideal receiving end of it, in its fullest.

    Perhaps It is because I was born in the Summer, and just days after my birth, temperatures reached to about 100 degrees (In Leo, the Suns ‘house), why I feel so strongly about my convictions regarding the Sun. I can only guess.

    In short, I’m convinced that the Sun is much closer, and that it is also not a ball of burning gas. I also am convinced we are in a Great World system that undergoes evolutionary changes, rather than a solar system that is a tiny part of a large galaxy system that is essentially a physical explanation /model of the universe.

    Is this not the final leap from old to new? So why has this not been embraced (or at least questioned) in Astronomical circles of today?

    I feel that this magic of the Sun, and our cosmos, has much potential to be explained in a manner that is more conducive to spiritual integration than Copernican arithmetic deduction – if you will. And that is not to say it is wrong, as with the quote I shared on the Geopolitics thread from At The Gates ,that model ‘is’ right… but for a specific mission in mind and at a specific time in our history.

    This is my question. Why do we still use an older picture of our cosmos if the intended mission at hand is different? It feels as though we have one foot in the water, so to speak.

    By the way, I really love the ‘Dragonflies’ headline. They are some magnificent little fliers. 🙂

    1. Hi KJ – ha, Yes – Blessings on your Natal Return!
      I too am a Summer-time baby…It does form us doesn’t it…?
      As you say the Copernican system serves in its own way – coming in at a time when the human being needed to experience the Intellectual Soul. But now as you point out we must evolve past that, & join this with a renewed spiritual/esoteric Great World view encompassing the Universal.

      The dragonflies have been blessing me these last few days as I build up my life-forces. CG & I went swimming in the Great Inland Sea yesterday where my daughter UVA lives & they were everywhere –
      Streaming their warming strength to transform my sadness into light.
      Ahhh the glories of Summer

    2. Your comments, Kyle, certainly do get us thinking. I see that you feel strongly about this subject, and ask some great questions. The puzzle you’re dealing with is as old as man – what is behind the physical manifestation? Paul put it this way, in 2 Corinthians 4: “18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

      To your last question, about why we still use an older picture of the cosmos – what I heard on reading that was this simile – why do we look at someone’s birth chart when they’ve obviously developed beyond that point? The birth chart is like a snapshot of one point in time, while the person has moved on. A couple of things come to mind. The first is that, eternally speaking, there really is no time – rather, time and space both are gifts given to humanity for our development. The only way we could develop our “I” consciousness is through the use of time and space. So this means I’m to learn to look at the eternal truth behind the physical Sun I see. Hazel’s point that “we are the energy of the Sun” is a good one; it could also be stated that “our development as a human is the result of the energy of the Sun”.

      The second point is that the snapshot we call the birth chart is useful in our evaluation of ourselves. I can see from the snapshot what I intended to work on as a soul, and then I can evaluate whether or not the choices I’ve made are working towards that, or perhaps have even achieved it, so that I’m ready to move on to a higher level of consciousness. Looking at the evolutionary way we’ve viewed the Sun helps us to evaluate just how much we’ve changed and evolved (or devolved) as a human race through the epochs. We can see that in some ways we’ve evolved (we don’t worship the Sun itself anymore), and in some ways we’ve devolved (your point about science seeing it as just a ball of burning gas). But you’re absolutely right in striving to know what the Sun means for you, for us, at this particular moment in time, because that’s the only part that matters – what is your relationship to the Sun? to the eternal truth that lies behind the physical Sun?

      I hope my likening it to a birth chart hasn’t confused anyone; Kyle’s raised a good subject for thought and discussion, and this is just a contribution to that discussion. Much more could be said on this subject. Cheers.

      1. I often think of the Beings who ‘live’ in the Sun – like Michael; or the 2nd Hierarchy = The Exusiai – the Spirits of Form; – The Dynamis – The Spirits of Movement; & The Kyriotetes – The Spirits of Wisdom. So when I am feeling or thinking about our Day Star Sun I often picture these Beings working in the light.

        1. Me too. Lately, since looking more at astrology, I find myself relating to the beings in the zodiac and the sister planets of the Sun too. According to Steiner, Christ Jesus was in touch with the entire cosmos, all the beings there, and so he could say that the words and the works he did were not his own, but “the Father’s”. For us, we only seem to be able to manifest one or two of those beings at a time. Guess in that sense we’re like little children, longing to grow up to the stage where we too can manifest the entire cosmos, like our elder Brother.

          1. Thanks Maverick for bringing in the Christ. I have always found the connection with this Being of Love & the Sun as image of the heart a joyous mystery.

            I think about the earlier avatars associated with the Sun who set the stage for the Christ Being to enter. I love all the mythology, & the stories & biographies of those that take the Hero’s Journey.

            I was also thinking that you really can’t contemplate the Sun without the rest of the Universe – like you say all the planets & how they interact.

      2. So many thoughts on this. Yes, much to be said on this subject. I like the term ‘snapshot’. But surely this isn’t just a moment in time that passes for the individual. What comes to mind are two terms which Steiner discussed in GA63 which were used by Nakae Toju: Ri and Ki. Essentially – and I’m paraphrasing – Ri is ultimate good ‘light’ and Ki is not so much evil but ‘matter’. Perhaps then, that the moment when our ‘snapshot’ is taken is the transition from light to matter. Of course, it’s not that our ‘light’ is ever extinguished (I would hope not!), but it is encased in matter. The fascinating part of a birth chart is that it is a kind of seed blueprint. If we were a plant, then, of course the Sun is what nourishes us for the most part. I’m glad you brought this up, Maverick.

        And with Hazel describing the beings of the Sun, the warmth from it is the external/physical expression of sacrifice from higher beings, and with that… at an ever constant flow. This in itself is truly amazing.

        Now, I’m still gathering thoughts around this – and especially thanks to everyone here for the encouragement – for this is where my question pops up regarding the ‘picture’ of our cosmos for our current time. If Copernicus has a valid model in a physical sense, and Ptolemy an Astral, then what is the Etheric model? My guess is it has to do with this lemniscate, and the Earth following the Sun, but in close proximation. The Third Scientific Course: Astronomy, is peppered with this stuff. And with the ‘At The Gates’ passage, Steiner spoke of a new model emerging concerning a spiral.

        A search of a ‘lemniscate spiral’ will bring up some pretty astounding images. Even the history behind the lemniscate, one will come across Jacob Bernoulli who was heavily influenced by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. These figures come some 100 years after Copernicus. Bernoulli studied theology, but he was most interested in astronomy and mathematics.

        For the sake of dialogue, I’d rather keep this post short, for there is much to discuss! I bring up the lemniscate/spiral for this reason, is that the nature and role of the Sun seems to play a much more involved role in our Great World in which we are participating in. Then a question arises (questions perhaps), what difference does it make whether we picture our world as part of a heliocentric or geocentric model? How then does that change our own relationship to the Sun? A lemniscate spiral motion, on the hand, can imply a great deal. Take plants, for example. We see them grow outwardly, and upwardly (towards the sun) spiralling out. Even we began as a seed, and spiral outward. Everything spirals outward, and it’s as though the Sun is pulling us along. Is this, then, a basis of the notion of an Etheric picture of our cosmos/world?

        Jacob Bernoulli is quite a figure. He was interested in what is called infinitesimal geometry, and this opens up the door to some pretty fascinating stuff. Perhaps I’m looking for a needle in the haystack here, but Steiner seemed to have an interest in geometry. Just take the Dodecahedron, where Wiki states: “one unique property of it is that one can start at a corner of the surface and draw an infinite number of straight lines across the figure that return to the original point without crossing over any other corner.” That sounds very much like the infinite possibilities and configurations of birth charts.

        These all seem like clues to understanding what a new model might entail, at least this is my thinking.

        1. I love following your thinking KJ. And yes I have seen models of this spiraling Sun & it is quite compelling. I think you are on to something by pointing out that this is the etheric picture.
          We have bean plant s growing up & we can literally watch them spiral up the bamboo, it’s fascinating…

        2. This is fascinating stuff Kyle – you’re quite the thinker/intellect. Your mention of a spiralling lemniscate might be the answer to something that’s aroused my curiosity – on my evening walks, I’ve puzzled over a type of tree which, from observing the bark, it’s growth has happened in a spiral. Now, you have me wondering if the tree is following the movements of the stars and planets as its being coaxed into its upward growth?

          Perhaps the word “snapshot” isn’t the best word, because it involves light. It’s difficult to find the right word to express spiritual truths. Here’s another way of stating the meaning of a birth chart, and it has to do with our true name. The birth chart is an expression, using the consonants and vowels of the cosmic language of the gods. This thought is suggested by Steiner, and allows for more flexibility than the idea of a snapshot. I like this thought of my personality in my present incarnation being expressed as a “word”, made up of cosmic consonants and vowels, being spoken by the gods – it reminds me of when Creator placed the man he’d created in the garden, and one of his tasks was to name the various animals and other creatures. In a cosmic sense, this may be one of the tasks designated to the hierarchies, that of naming, using the language of the stars and planets, each personality of a soul as it comes into incarnation, the birth chart being our record of that? Kind of like our cosmic birth certificate, the paper birth certificate we generally use being our link to this material world?

        3. I forgot that I wanted to address your question about what difference it makes whether we use the heliocentric or geocentric models in astrology. They’re both important for different reasons. The geocentric is important for obvious reasons – that we are on the Earth, and view everything from that perspective. It’s the geocentric perspective that Zarathustra/Zoroaster used in ancient Persia, and this is the perspective that Steiner and the star men and women at the Star House prefer; it’s like returning to the roots. Modern astrology has been tainted with all kinds of “superstition and dilettantism” in Steiner’s view, and I certainly agree.

          The heliocentric is important for a different reason; while we don’t experience this perspective, YET, we certainly hope that its effects will assimilate into our consciousnesses, because the Sun is a very important “meeting place”, to use Steiner’s words from the Gospel of Mark: “The truth is that the Sun is a meeting place for hierarchies of spiritual beings, whose deeds come to expression in the warmth and the light streaming from the Sun.”

  5. A wonderful and inspiring message on this special day. Thanks for that – with all the problems in our world, we need to hear some positive information to restore our equilibrium.

      1. I like this about being expanded out to the stars at midsummer. We surrender the rather introvertive self-consciousness of midwinter for the self-surrender to the elemental forces of the Sun’s full presentation of nearly 16 hours of every 24 hour day at the summer solstice. Imaginations occur at midsummer; Intuitions occur at midwinter. Inspirations occur at the equinoxes.

        Our Earth evolution as the so-called, 4th Sphere, is unique for being that entity in which the Soul develops. Thus, we humans are developing faculties that never existed before; those of Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition. At the point where the physical body morphs into the Consciousness Soul, then Ego consciousness becomes individualized for the first time. This became possible when the Sun in Aries passed into Pisces at the first point of the vernal equinox in 1413. This transition started the process that we see today. The I AM has slowly been brought forth over the last 609 years, and so a form of ‘ethical individualism’ exists in every human soul today. Every minute accounts for something. For example, at the summer solstice, time stands still for about two weeks. It does not move, but causes the Imaginative faculty to come forth in impressive ways, as recently demonstrated in a very moving episode.

        1. Yes, thank you Steve, this is a good contemplation to bring in the soul forces in connection with the seasonal world soul cross.
          May we be open to this gift of the expansion of our imaginative cognition at this time of the great outbreath…

      2. Hi Hazel,

        I want to continue with this wonderful invitation coming this day of the Summer Solstice 2022. You obviously want to hear voices, and so please allow a continuance based on what you wrote here:

        “The Turning of the Ages in this sense is not just the movement from epoch to epoch, a 2,500 year cycle, it is a much longer round – an approximately 26,000 year cycle, associated with the Precession of the Equinoxes. Why am I bringing this up? Because the power of this shift from one 26,000 year cycle to another is most profoundly felt at the Solstices… Does anyone else hear this strange music?”

        Yes, I do very much so! You obviously have a great sense for the organized, systematic and functional spiritual evolution that Steiner took pains over many years to describe in detail. Thus, here you speak of the backward, or astral stream, in which the Earth follows the Sun in its retrograde movement. This is what Copernicus tried to explain in his third axiom, which has largely been misunderstood ever since. It is because he did not understand it himself, although he had an intuition of it coming from Nicolaus of Cusa.

        Yet, on a yearly basis, the Earth follows closely the Sun on the etheric stream,which proceeds from Pisces to Aries to Taurus to Gemini, and so forth. This constitutes the yearly round of the Sun through the signs of the Zodiac, which is the ecliptic arrangement in which the Sun presents Itself to these signs and their respective seasons, in terms of solstice and equinox. So, this is an important arrangement.

        Steiner also spoke about the seven daytime signs and the five night-time signs in his daily round over the course of 24 hours. Thus, the horizontal lemniscate, which is the nesting of the Earth, like a Robin’s nest. There is a diagram somewhere which depicts this. It causes the Sun to fall behind by 3.3 seconds a day. Thus, this movement of the Earth creates precession of the equinoxes, which is an effect of the Sun. This is very important in demonstrating the Earth-Sun relationship.

        1. Good point Steve about the etheric & astral streams of Sun & Earth – this is helpful in living into the picture of what can also occur within our own human being when we do the 6 basic essential exercises, when we think of the Earth as our bodies & the Sun as our heart

Leave a Reply to Maverick Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.