16 September 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: This is the Eve of the New Moon. Our dear Bella Luna is working unseen in the Underworld. There in the dark she gathers the wisdom of the universe which she will bring to light once again to herald the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah at sunset on 18 Sept. 2020.
High overhead tonight is Cepheus the King, Cassiopeia’s husband & Andromeda’s father. This house-shaped constellation is very viable since the Moon’s late phase & early set time are ideal for setting your sights on this celestial king.
The outer planets are central to understanding the purpose of our existence. They are the “higher octaves” of the inner planets. What does it mean that many of the outer planets are in retrograde now: Saturn, Mars, Uranus, & Pluto?
The inner planets had their turn – Venus & Mercury have just recently come out the backward loop. And Jupiter came around on 12 Sept. 2020.
When planets go into retrograde, they are delivering the human being to themselves, as if to say: We have sent our forces to you directly; now, while we go into ourselves to meditate, how will you, O Human Being, use these powers, on your own, in complete freedom? What will you do with the gifts you’ve received? We, the gods, look forward to what you will do. We champion your evolution – which will affect the evolution of the whole cosmos.
Dear friends, we are reminded again & again that our current events, in all their forms, are the gift of opportunity. When we take action to bestow on our free choices the forces that the Spiritual Beings of the Wandering & Fixed Stars are sending us, we are putting those gifts to work.
This calls for developing world-awareness & self-awareness, otherwise we won’t be able to open these treasures that have been gracefully donated to us.
Can we see a ‘retrograde’ as a prospect rather than a problem?
Mercury requires us to be agile in our association of ideas, & purposeful in our communication skills – Bringing Clarity & Healing to our thinking…Our lungs are the special gift of the ‘Messenger of the gods’ ruled by quicksilver.
Venus wonders at how we are regarding the aesthetic appreciation she imparts to us, & how we relate to human relationship, especially the ideal of love…Venus reminds us that we need only look within the human organism to find beauty & symmetry, for she rules our kidneys; & copper, the metal sacred to her, can bring balance to that organ…
And with Mars, resting NOW in retrograde, we can remember that in ancient Roman religion & myth, Mars is not only the god of war, he is also an agricultural guardian, son of Jupiter – father of Romulus & Remus. In this time of retrograde can we contemplate how are we are cultivating courage & creativity in our speech & active willing? Mars gives us gall – our gallbladder. May we forge his gift of iron into a Michaelic sword of Valor.
Jupiter is now asking us: What are you doing with the capability for global-visioning, & the ordaining wisdom I bestow on you? This benevolent King – the planet of expansion, rules the liver, our largest organ, & the metal: tin.
Saturn says: What are you doing with your introspection, depth & loyalty? Where is your warm interest; & what is your investigative approach to the origin & purpose of things? Are we willing to do ‘The Great Work’ of transforming lead into gold? That’s what our lymphatic system does on the physical level.
Sky god Uranus, ruler of the ‘higher mind’ asks: How are you unstable, impulsive, & undisciplined? Can you foster innovation & invention; produce genius from eccentricity – to harness technology, electricity, etc. – to avert calamity…? He works thru Zinc, the metal of magical revelation.
Neptune, god of the fresh water & the sea, invites us to the wedding – ‘Nuptiae’ from the Latin meaning: “marriage of Heaven and Earth.” Often described as ‘The Mystic’ – Neptune is associated with our endocrine glands: thyroid, pituitary & adrenals – all of which are considered to possess highly mystical properties. Also connected to the metal cobalt.
From Pluto: How are you relating to your deepest secrets? Are you fortifying your immune system, which is ruled by this god of the underworld? Plato knew him as the: “giver of spiritual wealth; an agent in the beneficent cycle of death & rebirth meriting worship”. Plutonium, is the heaviest primordial element, associated with radiation & the nuclear age, Can we redeem it?
These last 2 Beings outside the sacred 7, rule our cultural organs, which we all share. Can we approach the 9-fold nature of the human being by contemplating all 9 wandering stars? Can we use these insights to take up the evolutionary task presented to us now in the form of our current trials?
The still small voice & the mighty roar all sing in the Harmony of the Spheres.
Are you listening? What is your response?
~hag
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My POD (Poem Of the Day)
~In the grey twilight, no figs ripened,
No honey dripped from patient trees, no fragrant boughs soothed…
In that place of hidden things
I was made of nothing
The stone was wet & cold
The thick sky loomed
& bid me enter further
~hag
***
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1732– In Campo Maior, Portugal, a storm hits the Armory & a violent explosion ensues, killing two thirds of its inhabitants over 30,000 people!
1893 – Settlers make a land run for prime land in the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma
1908 – The General Motors Corporation is founded.
1920 – The Wall Street bombing: A bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front of the J. P. Morgan building in New York City killing 38 & injuring 400. The bombing was never solved, although investigators & historians believe it was carried out by Galleanists (Italian anarchists), a group responsible for a series of bombings the previous year. The attack was related to postwar social unrest, labor struggles, & anti-capitalist agitation in the United States
1922 – Founding of the Christian Community in Dornach by Rudolf Steiner. The celebration of the first Act of Consecration of Man (the Christian Community Mass) constituted the birth of The Christian Community on the 16th September 1922 in Dornach, Switzerland. It was guided into being through the immeasurable & selfless help of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, whose science of the spirit – Anthroposophy, has become a central source of renewal in the most varied fields of life. Waldorf Education, Eurythmy, Bio-dynamic Agriculture, The Camphill Movement for the care of people with special needs, Anthroposophical Medicine, etc. all bear witness to this.
Dr Steiner’s assistance came in response to earnest questions from a group of German Lutheran theologians, including the eminent Berlin minister Dr. Friedrich Rittelmeyer, seeking appropriate Christian forms & content for the religious life of our time.
The Christian Community is not the ‘anthroposophists’ church’, although it is the only Christian church whose priests recognize the wisdom of Anthroposophy as a decisive aid for the broadening & renewal of the religious life in our time.
The Christian Community is an international movement with approximately 350 congregations in 27 countries. Each congregation is financially independent & is carried by voluntary contributions & donations from members and friends. Supporting the work of the congregations on an international level is The Foundation of the Christian Community made up of priests & lay-people. The priesthood has at its center a group called the Circle of Seven who stand responsible for all the priestly work world-wide. At the center of this Circle of Seven stands the Erzoberlenker, currently Rev. Vicke von Behr.
Here in Chicago we are blessed to have the Lenker for North America, Craig Wiggins.
After taking root mainly in Europe until WWII, The Christian Community then spread to the other continents. The first North American congregation was founded in New York City in 1948. Since that time, it has expanded to 14 communities throughout North America served by one or more full time priests.
1947 – Typhoon Kathleen hits Saitama, Tokyo, at least 1,930 killed
1961 – The United States National Hurricane Research Project drops eight cylinders of silver iodide into the eyewall of Hurricane Esther. Wind speed reduces by 10%, giving rise to Project Stormfury
1961 – Typhoon Nancy, with possibly the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, makes landfall in Osaka, Japan, killing 173 people
1977 – Deathday of Maria Callas, Greek operatic soprano
1978 – The 7.4 Mw earthquake affects the city of Tabas, Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 15,000 people were killed
1987 – The Montreal Protocol is signed to protect the ozone layer from depletion
2004 – Hurricane Ivan makes landfall in Gulf Shores, Alabama as a Category 3 hurricane, killing 124
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The Central Regional Council Invites ALL to our Michaelmas Festival: ‘Courage Born of Wisdom’ – Wednesday 23 September 2020 –On ZOOM – 7:15 pm CDT – 8:30 pm
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82070460900
1st CRC performs a telling of a tale from ancient Chaldea where EA gives birth to Marduk, precursor to Michael.
then “Wisdom Built herself a house*”…7 members of the various sections of the Anthroposophical Society will stand as Wisdom’s 7 Pillars to share how Courage was born from Wisdom leading to their work in the world.
Pedagogical Section –Michael Holdrege
Youth Section – Stephan Ambrose
Medical Section –Drs. Molly & Quentin McMullen
Eurythmy – Barbara Richardson
Social Science Section – Doug Wylie
BioDynamic Agriculture – Rand Carter
Three-Folding – Dorothy Hinkle-Uhlig
with Original songs by Lucien Dante Lazar!
& a closing about the connection between Michael, The Christ & Anthroposophia!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82070460900
Meeting ID: 820 7046 0900
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Meeting ID: 820 7046 0900
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kclU2SSTF
If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu
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Michaelmas 2020: Joan d’Arc – PURIFYING FIRE: The Power behind the Will –Date: Saturday 26 Sept. 2020
*PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE: Doors open at 9 am for Potluck Breakfast, Coffee, Bagels & Fruit provided. Donations Encouraged.
Festival: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Leave for Zinniker Farm Prep Day* (details below)
In-Person at: Elderberries Biodynamic Outpost & Cultural Hub in Chicago – The ‘Have Seeds House’ in LA – The Arc in Atlanta
& Online https://zoom.us/j/97955920156 Meeting ID: 979 5592 0156
Schedule:
Lucien Dante Lazar– Ring the Iron Bell – Welcome (10 minutes)
Group Singing: Michaelmas Time Song (5 Minutes)
Angela Foster – 1. Social Sculpture Decopodge: The Purifying Fire (for those joining on zoom supplies needed: votive or prayer candle, tissue paper, magazines, glue)
2. Leading Thoughts, & ‘Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc – Preface’ (20 minutes)
Mary Spalding – ‘Courage Dear Hearts’ Biography of Jeanne d’Arc (10 minutes)
Copper Rod Eurythmy: (10 minutes)
Dottie Zold & Frank Agrama – A Michaelic Will: Joan of Arc, Sophie Scholl, Saint Odilie and Jesus of Nazareth. (20 minutes) ‘We are dealing here with a superhuman entity, a being who lived in the spiritual world and heard humanity crying out in misery, calling out to the spiritual worlds for help. This being prepared to receive the Christ Being.’ ‘Humanity cried out in pain and torment, and its cries rose up to that spirit being, who responded by seeking permission from the Sun Spirit to become imbued with Christ.’
Frank Agrama and Dottie Zold, of Elderberries and Have Seeds community, will look at the biographies of these individuals who developed the quality and capacity to work out of ‘a culture of selflessness’ in their community, and the impact this had on the world as young people becoming. We can understand these individuals’ path of sacrifice, as a reflection of the archetype of Jesus of Nazareth, during his growing and seeking years as spoken of in Rudolf Steiner’s Fifth Gospel.
‘Michael is a being of Strength, Courage and Will. He is Sun spirit. He wishes to be regarded.’
Group Singing: Firmly on the Earth I Stand (5 minutes)
Biography Work in Break out Groups – Sharing a story of courage from our lives: Each person takes 3 minutes to tell their tale. (15 minutes)
Harvest from the break out groups – Large Group Sharing (5-10 minutes)
‘The Passage’ by Lucian Dante Lazar (15 minutes)
Impressions, Q’s from the piece – Large Group Sharing (5-10 minutes)
The Mars / Saturn Square (10 minutes)
Everyone takes a turn Ringing the IRON, Rudolf Steiner’s ‘Verse for the Michaelic Age’ given at his ‘Last Address’ (5 minutes)
Group 1: Springing from Powers of the Sun,
Radiant Spirit-powers, blessing all Worlds!
For Michael’s garment of rays
We are predestined by Thought Divine.
Group 2: Michael, the Christ-messenger, reveals in us
Bearing humankind aloft — the sacred Will of Worlds.
You, radiant Beings of Ether-Worlds,
Bear the Christ-Word to human beings.
Group 1: Thus shall the Heralds of Christ appear
To our thirstily waiting souls.
Your Word of Light shines forth to us
In the cosmic age of the Spirit-Human.
Group 2: We, disciples who would know the spirit,
Follow Michael’s beckoning Wisdom,
To take the Word of Love, Willed by Worlds,
Into our highest aims of soul-work; actively!
12:30 pm – Goodbye – Thank you – Off to Zinniker Farm –
*From Petra Zinniker: Our fall preparation making will take place on September 26th at 1:30pm, here at the farm. We will be making 3 preparations this year: Horn manure, Chamomile and Dandelion preparations, and have a potluck dinner with a campfire afterwards.
*Please bring a dish to pass and a lawn chair for the potluck*
Please RSVP! Space is limited. Although this is an outdoor event we want to make sure everyone can find the space they need. Dress for the weather!
Petra Zinniker – Zinniker Farm N7399 Bowers Rd. Elkhorn, WI 53121 zinnikerfarm@gmail.com – zinnikerfarm.com
Saturday, 9/26 @9:30 am – 12:30 pm
https://zoom.us/j/97955920156 Meeting ID: 979 5592 0156
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Tuesday, September 29 MICHAELMAS ‘Talisman for Courage’ Art Workshop with Victoria Martin 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
MICHAELMAS ‘Talisman for Courage’ Art Workshop in person at the Rudolf Steiner Chicago Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago. 6:30-8:30 PM Facilitated by Victoria Martin
RSVP – viccimartin@gmail.com 312-961-3380
6:30 (sunset) Doors open: orientation. Tea, nuts, and fruit are served
7 PM sharp Visual lecture and demonstration
7:15 PM –8:00 PM workshop – Pastels on flat canvas good for 100+ years (archival materials)
8:00– 8:30 PM discussion – We will learn all about symbols of The Michaelmas: Wings, Iron Meteorites/Stars, Scales of Judgment, Sword of Justice, and the Serpent/Dragon. There will be a wide selection of easy to render visual images in any/all of these 5 categories at each workstation. We will use a black charcoal pencil and the colors red, gold, and turquoise archival pastels on raw canvas size 11” x 11” this Talisman will be suitable for mounting on stretchers or framing (no glass needed).
Limited to 10 participants $15 tuition + $5 materials = $20, or pay what you will. Observers and guests are welcome at no charge, but please bring tree nuts, greens, fruit, or other paleo snacks.
Everyone: wear something RED: Michael’s color!
Hi Hazel,
This is another one of your awesome posts, which are awesome because they leave me with the certitude of your knowing. For example, Rosh Hashana on the 18th. This coincides this year with New Moon on the 17th, and yet what is the real issue? It is the denial of Christ by the Jews for some two thousand years now, and even again this year. Rosh Hashana 2020.
Then, you present Cepheus, King of Old Ethiopia, which was a real surprise to me, but maybe not to you. Ah, Cepheus, yes, king of the old world, who after his death was installed as a constellation in the northern hemisphere. As such, he took on the complete form of a bull. He married and had a family and eventually gained a son-in-law. I know that we have had this conversation, it seems. Yet, what hasn’t been told is this. After the death of Cepheus, Old Ethiopia, which refers to the remains of the Lemurian Epoch, drifted westward and became the northeastern region of the African continent. This is how it is now known that the ancestry of mankind is traceable to Ethiopia; the cradle of the world of human anthropology.
Yet, Cepheus was honored as a kind of father of this old world of Lemuria, and was sent directly up into the starry world and made a constellation with the idea of making him a family man; a householder. Thus, he sacrificed, as every true householder does. He sacrificed his blood to the courage of the sun-hero, Perseus, who saved his daughter, Andromeda. This is what had to take place before the feet to head development of Universal Human began. The archetypal Bull had to be slain in order for a New Man, in the image of the Sun hero, could arise.
Now, this archetype is given some note in the four gospels, and especially in the Gospel of St. John. You see, we are still in the John season, right up until September 23rd, and then we can really entertain the ideas contained in “Michaelmas and the Soul Forces of Man”, which are largely about the sacrifice of the Mithras bull. The Heart of the Matter.
In John, chapter 1, it is noted by the eyewitness writer of this gospel, that the first two followers of Christ go rather directly to the brother of Andrew, who is Simon. He has just been given the baptism of John, and Christ in seeing this says:
Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts
35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cepheus” (which is translated Peter).
So, Cepheus reincarnates as Peter, who had a family and lived as a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee in Capernaum, not far from his original home of Bethsaida to the east.
Steiner speaks very intimately of Peter’s avowal of Christ, and its source in Cepheus, here in the 11th lecture of the Gospel of St. Matthew. Not to be missed in the overall appraisal.
What a deep unveiling of these truths with connections that ray out & illuminate our understanding!
I hope so, Hazel. It is interesting that the Jewish New Year seems to occur in relation to the event of the New Moon in September, which this year occurs on September 17th. So, the Jewish New Year is an event that is related to the autumnal equinox. Of course, this varies from year to year. Last year, Rosh Hashanah began on Sunday, September 29.
Now, as we know, the Christian New Year occurs some twelve days after the winter solstice, and has no reference to the phase of the moon. Thus, January 1 becomes our New Year. We make it very simple because it is based on the birth of the Nathan Jesus child, which is a fact that the Jews still do not recognize to this very day. So, their calculation of New Year is based on a moon phase, and you will find this with their other festivals, e.g., Yom Kappur, Sukoth, Hannukah, and Passover. It is all ceremonial, and without any real evolutionary content. And this is why this culture of the Jewish community remains behind, which means static and non-advancing. They refuse to accept the fact of Christ, which is the very Messiah which all of the prophets of the Old Testament spoke of. According to Peter, successor of Christ, these prophets were murdered by the Jewish hierarchy. So, you see how he sealed his fate. Yet, he was the subject of a miracle, which Acts of the Apostles, chapter 12 describes.
Thus, Rosh Hashanah 2020 is “same old, same old”. It will seemingly never change. Not until a new incentive is given worldwide. And what is that? A new revelation coming from above. The realm of the Spirit-Selfhood is descending, as we speak. It is looking particularly to meet those who have been practicing the upward striving of the Reverse Ritual, which you so often have emphasized in your postings. “As above, So below.” This is the clarion call.
Rosh Hashanah is connected with the Autumn Equinox, & the harvest, which is a universal event, just like the Christ event is universal, & thru that cosmic & earthly deed evolution has indeed changed. The harvest continues. The theme of recognizing the ‘head of the year’ with the autumn time is very Michaelic. To call for a new beginning when nature appears to be dying is a resurrection impulse.
If Michaelmas was celebrated as a moving festival, like Easter, rather than a fixed date of September 29th, this would bring forth an incentive to recognize its importance as a resurrection impulse in the same manner as Easter. They are so much connected events. Easter is justifyingly related to Full Moon because this phase of the moon signifies ascent, and the Vernal Equinox is the beginning of Spring. The Autumnal Equinox is the reverse; the beginning of Fall, and the descent of nature back into the Earth. So, it would seem reasonable to calculate Michaelmas based on the New Moon, similar in its way to how Rosh Hashanah is determined.
At any rate, Michaelmas has got to become more well known as a vital celebration. Your work, and supporters help this a lot.