Dear friends – As you know these offerings are my attempt to explore the hidden patterns, & open secrets behind phenomenon, by connecting the dots of past, present & future, using the tool of Spiritual Science.
It was a year ago today, in the midst of experiencing the ‘Easter Paradox’, when the Cathedral of Notre Dame burst into flames. I thought to share what I wrote then, as a possible way of seeing where we are now with what was laid down in our recent past.
When my friend Robert posted these pictures of the Gargoyles of Notre Dame, my 1st thought was that now, upon the burning of the Cathedral, these gruesome protector beings are inscribed on the ethers. But then I woke up this morning thinking, what does it mean that at the same time the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem also had a fire, & wondering what was being inscribed there?
My friends, it seems to me that these burnings, are the antithesis of what occurred with the burning of the Temple of Ephesus – sacred to the Goddess Diana, along with the future image seen in the burning of the Goetheanum, the Johannasbau inspired by the Templars thru Goethe. These burnings inscribed into the ethers the potent powers of the ancient & the new mysteries, enriching the starry script, furthering & potentizing our true human evolution.
We need to remember that what is now occurring is happening during the Ecclesiastical Holy Week – between Holy Moon-day, with its cursing of the fig tree, symbol of the old clairvoyance, & the cleansing of the Temple, & Holy Mars-day, Christ’s conflict with the High Priests , & his telling of the ‘Little Apocalypse’ to his disciples (Luke 21)
Could it be that this Holy Week burning , on the 1 hand, of an important seat of the Catholic Church, during the time when a Jesuit Pope sits on the Vatican throne, & on the other hand, the 3rd holiest site in Islam – central to the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict, is a signal of the materialistic etherization of the spirit? – A fall of something spiritual – leading to the rise of the spirits of darkness…?
May we be awake to the signs of the times; ever striving to participate in the appearance of the Christ in the etheric realm.
Blessings dear ones & peace ~hag
***
POD (Poem Of the Day)
~This skin i wear is luminous imagination…
Light slants in thru the clerestory windows of my eyes,
& curls like incense thru my words…
‘…in purest love
outpours the god-hood of my soul…’
***
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
485 – Death-Day of Proclus – dubbed ‘The Successor’ – a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher. He studyed mathematics & the works of Aristotle under Olympiodorus the Elder. As a gifted student, he eventually became dissatisfied with the level of philosophical instruction available in Alexandria, & went to Athens, the pre-eminent philosophical center of the day, to study at the Neoplatonic successor of the famous Academy founded 800 years earlier (in 387 BC) by Plato; there he was taught by Plutarch of Athens, Syrianus, & Asclepigenia; he succeeded Syrianus as head of the Academy, & would in turn be succeeded on his death by Marinus of Neapolis.
He lived in Athens as a vegetarian bachelor, prosperous & generous to his friends, until the end of his life. He was not appreciated by the Christian rulers; he spent time traveling & being initiated into various mystery cults. He was also instructed in the “theurgic” Neoplatonism, as derived from the Orphic & Chaldean Oracles.
His house has been discovered recently in Athens, under the pavement of Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, south of Acropolis, opposite the theater of Dionysus. He had a great devotion to the Goddess Athena, whom he believed guided him at key moments in his life. Marinus reports that when Christians removed the statue of the Goddess from the Parthenon, a beautiful woman appeared to Proclus in a dream & announced that the “Athenian Lady” wished to stay at his home. Proclus died aged 73, & was buried near Mount Lycabettus in a tomb. It is reported that he was writing 700 lines each day.
1622 – Birthday of Thomas Vaughn, a Welsh philosopher, famous for his writings in the area of natural magic, with his book Anthroposophia Theomagica, a magico-mystical work. (Some say Rudolf Steiner got his idea for to name the AS from this treatise)
Although he did not practice medicine, Vaughan sought to apply his chemical skills to preparing medicines in the manner recommended by Paracelsus. Vaughan was also the author of tracts published under the pseudonym Eugenius Philalethes.
Vaughan was unusual amongst alchemists of the time in that he worked closely with his wife Rebecca Vaughan. He was a self-described member of the “Society of Unknown Philosophers”, & was responsible for translating into English in 1652 the Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis, an anonymous Rosicrucian manifesto first published in 1614 in Kassel.
He placed himself in the tradition of the Rosicrucian reformers of education, &of Johannes Trithemius, his teacher Libanius Gallus, and Pelagius of Majorca.
1787 – Goethe’s experience of the archetypal plant in Palermo – “Goethe narrates a conversation that once ensued between Schiller and himself after they had both attended a meeting of the Society for Nature Research in Jena. Schiller was dissatisfied with the results of the meeting. He had found there a most disintegrating method for the study of Nature and he remarked that such a method could never appeal to a layman. Goethe replied that “possibly this method was cumbersome for the initiated also and that there might well exist yet another way of portraying Nature active and living, struggling from the whole into the parts, and not severed and isolated.” And then Goethe evolved the great ideas which had arisen within him concerning the nature of plants. He drew “with many characteristic strokes, a symbolic plant” before Schiller’s eyes. This symbolic plant was intended to give expression to the essential being lying in every single plant, whatever particular form it assumes. It was intended to demonstrate the successive development of the single portions of the plant, their emergence from each other and their mutual relationship. In Palermo, 17th April, 1787, Goethe wrote these words in reference to this symbolic plant form: “There must be such a thing; if not, how could I recognise this or that structure to be a plant if all were not moulded after one pattern?” Goethe had evolved in himself the conception of a plastic, ideal form that was revealed to his spirit when he surveyed the diversity of the plant forms and observed the element common to them all.” Rudolf Steiner Goethe’s Conception of the World: Chapter I: Goethe and Schiller
1790 – Death-Day of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a renowned polymath & a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, & diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment & the history of physics for his discoveries & theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, & the Franklin stove, among other inventions. He facilitated many civic organizations, including Philadelphia’s fire department & the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution.
Benjamin Franklin, then 21, created the Junto, a group of “like minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community.” The Junto was a discussion group for issues of the day; it was modeled after English coffeehouses that Franklin knew well, & which became the center of the spread of Enlightenment ideas in Britain.
Franklin became Grand Master of the Freemasons & published the first Masonic book in the Americas, a reprint of James Anderson’s Constitutions of the Free-Masons. Franklin remained a Freemason for the rest of his life
Franklin earned the title of “The First American” for his early & indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author & spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation. Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, & opposition to authoritarianism both political & religious, with the scientific & tolerant values of the Enlightenment
Franklin became a successful newspaper editor & printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at the age of 23. He became wealthy publishing this & Poor Richard’s Almanack, which he authored under the pseudonym “Richard Saunders”. After 1767, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments & criticisms of the British policies.
He pioneered & was 1st president of The Academy & College of Philadelphia which opened in 1751 & later became the University of Pennsylvania. He organized & was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society & was elected president in 1769. Franklin became a national hero in America as an agent for several colonies when he spearheaded an effort in London to have the Parliament of Great Britain repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris & was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations. His efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing shipments of crucial munitions from France.
He was promoted to deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies in 1753, having been Philadelphia postmaster for many years,& this enabled him to set up the first national communications network. During the Revolution, he became the first US Postmaster General. He was active in community affairs & colonial & state politics, as well as national & international affairs. From 1785 to 1788, he served as governor of Pennsylvania. He argued against slavery from an economic perspective & became one of the most prominent abolitionists.
His colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, & his status as one of America’s most influential Founding Fathers have seen Franklin honored more than two centuries after his death the $100 bill.
1907 – The Ellis Island immigration center processes 11,747 people, more than on any other day.
1912 – Russian troops open fire on striking goldfield workers in northeast Siberia, killing at least 150
1961 – Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed & trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.
1969 – Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.
***
Another nice POD, Hazel, including the reference to “In purest outpoured light,” a very dear and familiar meditation.
Love the light curling like incense through your words. A poet’s gift, for sure.
Thanks Camille – Yes that was the very 1st meditation that i did on a consistent basis when i 1st stared. It has come back into my life.
Let’s be realistic for a moment. Edward de Vere died in 1604, which was one year after James VI became King of England, and wherein both Bacon and Shakespeare received a really new kind of impetus for their work. So, how could de Vere be the writer of Shakespeare when he died so soon?
Hazel, two inches of snow in Chicago in mid April must have torn your britches, and yet, here we are!! Kind regards.
ps – people should read Ramsbotham’s book, “Who Wrote Bacon:, c . 2004. It puts the notion of Edward de Vere to shame because it purports that James I was the inspirer of both Francis Bacon and William Shakespeare. Has anybody gotten their noodle around that idea?
I love that this has created a conversation!
We had snow again, But it just makes all the Spring plants hardy…
Off to the Sacred Gateway conference
wish me luck…
thanks
Hi Stephen
Your question is intriguing and adds to the mystery surrounding de Vere as author of Shakespeare. It would indeed be possible to publish works posthumously if the right conditions were met.
The notion of Bacon as the true author of Shakespeare is also very appealing in these circles, considering his links to Rosicrucianism. Please tell us more!
The photo above the info re: Thomas Vaught is of my ancestor, Edward de Vere…Thought you would want to know…http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/deverebio.htm…He is also believed by many to have written some, all…of Shakespeare’s works…VBG…
Thanks for such a wonderful Blog…I look forward to my in box more than I ever have in the past.
Sue
Yes, Casper also mentioned this. How interesting that he was your ancestor. Did you read casper’s comment?
you 2 should talk.
i will change the image, but so glad it created some dialogue…
Thanks for tuning in
Dear Sue,
Gary Goldstein’s review is beautifully concise. Edward de Vere was clearly held in high regard by some of his peers!
I would love to learn more about your connection to the Earl, and whether you are interested in the Shakespeare Authorship question? Feel free to e-mail me if you want to talk about this topic.
Take care,
Casper
Dear Hazel,
Thank you for your insightful and inspirational updates alerting us to what’s going on in the world and creatively steering us to how we can more fully live into it! This is much appreciated and I am glad to be able to share my gratitude with you from sunny Cape Town, South Africa.
The picture of Edward De Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, jumped out at me form today’s newsletter. I recently discovered the Shakespeare Authorship question and duly became convinced of Edward De Vere’s position as most likely candidate to have written the works of Shakespeare. Hence, this image is well known to me. I trust that the use of this image above the paragraph about Thomas Vaughn was a error that crept in unbeknownst to you… or maybe there is a hidden message here?!
Whatever the case may be, it was wonderful reading your letter and seeing Edward De Vere’s image! I look forward to hear what spiritual science has to say about the Edward De Vere someday. Maybe this is something you are moved to investigate in future.
Take care,
Casper
Greetings Dear Casper from Chicago, where we had 2 inches of snow today! Ah Srping in the heart-land.
Ha, I guess my mistake was a message from the spiritual world just for you, to share your spiritual investigation!
I know nothing about Edward De Vere & am interested to hear more.
Thanks for being involved & awake
xox
Ha – A!
A mystery waits to be solved…
This is a story of politics, love and art. De Vere, from ‘Veritas’ meaning truth, indicates something about what has been hidden in plain sight about the man whom many scholars agree lived the life and wrote from lived experience what is know today as the Shakespearian canon.
It turns out that the person most often attributed with penning the words of William Shakespeare, William Shaksper of Stradford Upon Avon, is not eligible to be the bard after all… The man who first shone a light in this direction published his findings 100 years ago. And many more fires have been lit ever since!
https://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/ebook-edition-of-shakespeare-identified-launched-to-commemorate-470th-birthday-of-edward-de-vere/
I ‘accidentally’ stumbled upon the mystery after watching Roland Emmerich and John Orloff’s 2011 period drama ‘Anonymous’. Allowing myself to be drawn in deeper than most into the veracity of the storyline in the screenplay, I discovered the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship, and then, I ‘stumbled upon’ the book ‘Shakespeare’s Lost Kingdom – the true history of Shakespeare and Elizabeth’ by Charles Beauclerk. My daughter’s drama teacher at Michael Oak Waldorf school (who has been producing wonderful Shakespeare plays with his Drama-teaching partner for many years) is currently relishing the book, having discovered the mystery only recently.
I leave you free to enter into this mystery on your own terms. However, I do hope to continue this conversation with you, and maybe others, in future!
Vero Nihil Verius
(Nothing is truer than truth – Edward De Vere’s motto)
In truth and with warm blessings,
Casper
Fascinating!There certainly has been a lot of intrigue around Shakespeare & his works.
Interesting that De Vere was born April 12, 1550, when did he die?
Also of note that these ‘accidents’ keep happening to bring this to your attention!
I will indeed have a peek into this mystery…
Thanks for engaging me in this treasure hunt! xox
I’m glad you also noticed that Edward de Vere was born on 12 April. If he was indeed the author of Shakespeare, this deepens the mystery, doesn’t it…