3 March 2018 – Astro-Weather: Today Venus, the Goddess of beauty & Mercury, the messenger of the gods stand closest together, look for them low in the bright twilight.
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1859 – The Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history.
1861 – Abolition of serfdom in Russia.
1885 – The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York.
1904 – Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first person to make a sound recording of a political document, using Thomas Edison’s phonograph cylinder.
1913 – Thousands of women march in a suffrage parade in Washington, D.C.
1931 – The United States adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem.
1938 – Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
1939 – In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India.
1991 – An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
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POD (Poem Of the Day)
~in seafoam, in swirlings
i am fish, tadpole, crocodile…
i am urge,
idea, portent of
the impossible
the moment in-between
patience & explosion…
~hag
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March is abundant with ‘Holy Days’, finding voice through many cultural expressions…
For instance Purim, which was celebrated this year on March 1st – the Full Sap Moon – is a joyful spring holiday that features a festive meal, gift-giving, costumes, & noisemakers. The word “Purim” means “lots,” & refers to Haman’s casting of lots in the story of Esther. It is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations where cross-dressing & drunkenness are encouraged. Americans sometimes refer to Purim as the Jewish Mardi Gras…
Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 am on Sunday March 11th 2018.
The 15th is the famous Ides of March; which we all know as the day Julius Caesar was warned by the soothsayers to beware – the day he was assassinated…But did you know that according to the ancient Roman calendar, the Ides of March was considered New Year’s Day, & marked the 1st day of Spring…?
The 21st also happens to be the Iranian New Year celebration, Norooz, or New Day…
This tradition has been commemorated by all the major cultures of the east…near, far & middle for centuries…
Here on this side of the world we call it the Spring or Vernal Equinox, Festival of the Trees, Ostara, Lady Day…for us it’s calculated by the solar progressions, when the Sun enters the 1st sign of fiery Aries, (which was the case 2000 years ago, but with the ‘procession of the equinox’s’, the Vernal Sun now rises in Pisces) This year it falls on March 20th 2018.
The Equinox is all about harmony & balance…that brief yet eternal time of equilibrium, when day & night are of equal length. What a perfect opportunity to tap into this celestial energy as it intersects our earthly ecliptic…a perfect opportunity to bring balance into our lives, harmony into our bodies…
Now vernal means green, right, so it’s not too farfetched to see a connection with St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th…with its emphasis on the shamrock & the wearing of the green…
St. Patrick, that once pagan boy from Wales, turned Christian priest with a vengeance, made it his mission to run the snakes out of Ireland. Of course no snake was ever native to Ireland, so we can take this as a metaphor for the ‘conversion’ of the Pagans; or a more affirming way to look at it, is to see the snake as the symbol of change, transformation & regeneration…
Fra Angelico
Another Catholic holiday also get mixed up in this ancient symbolism of Spring’s fertility…March 25th is called the ‘Annunciation of Mary’… Annunciation means announcement…so this is the day that the Angel Gabriel announced that Mary, the Christian version of The Great Mother Goddess, was pregnant; with the son of god no less; who is born of course 9 months later on Dec. 25th…How’s that for a nice little spring fertility symbol…
Holy Week starts on Palm Sunday March 25th 2018, but Easter Sunday falls on April Fools day this year!
It is fitting that March is International Women’s month, since this is the time of the rebirth of nature. It’s a gentle reminder that we give birth to the future. The future is in our hands, the hands of the midwife, the lap of the mother, the hands of the drummers for peace, the heart & soul of the Divine in each of us…
So let’s honor ourselves & thank the powers of love & light, knowing, March may march in like a lion, but it goes out like a lamb – as we re-conceive ourselves in alignment with the powers of Spring…
Peace & Blessed Bee ~hag
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The Karma Project – A Western Approach to Reincarnation & Karma –
March 7, 2018 – 7:15 pm CST (8:15 pm EST)
The Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America invites you to our FREE conversation with special guest Frederick Amrine.
Fred Amrine is Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in German Studies at the University of Michigan. A prolific author and translator of Rudolf Steiner, Fred has been an anthroposophist his entire adult life.
Steiner’s Karma lectures of 1924 are, strangely (and against usual press practices) not arranged chronologically. Moreover, two key lectures are entirely missing from the series, including Rudolf Steiner’s all-important “Last Address.”
This is very unfortunate for a number of reasons. These lectures, above all, should be read as one continuous cycle, and it is extremely important to read them in the right chronological sequence, for reasons that Fred Amrine will detail in his talk.
Option 1. Click link below if you wish to connect through your computer (a headset is recommended): https://zoom.us/j/499410574
Option 2. Call in using your telephone.
United States: (646) 558-8656 or: (669) 900-6833
Access Code: 499-410-574
Please join us – All are Welcome!
Agenda
7:15 Welcome and introductions
7:18 Verse
7:20 Introduce guest speaker
7:25 Guest Speaker: Frederick Amrine (45 minutes)
8:10 Q&A – Please state your name, location before asking a question
8:28 Close with verse
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From Necessity to Freedom – Social Sculpture & Experiential Discourse with Hazel Archer Ginsberg
Friday March 9th 2018 at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 7 pm – 9 pm
From the vaporous cleft of Mount Parnassus, & the birth place of Greek Philosophy, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, on to the Holy Grail. From Prophesy to Warning, from Fate to Karma, From Destiny to Free Will.
Through the insights of Spiritual Science, the power of Social Arts, & Story-Telling, we will journey into our soul-depths to stand before the “Daughters of Necessity” that we will transform into “Freedom Fighters” to meet our true calling; asking: ‘What is my Highest Purpose?’
$10 Love Donation
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Our Monthly Community Conversation
Friday March 23rd 2018 – 7 pm – 9 pm
Come be part of our ongoing Goethean Conversation about the future of Anthroposophy and its cultivation here in Chicago.
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The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz – Our Holy Week Study & Easter Festival
Palm Sunday, March 25th – 2 pm – 4 pm,
Holy Monday – Good Friday, March 26- 30th – 7 pm – 9 pm
Holy Saturday March 31st & Easter Sunday, April 1st 2018 – 2 pm – 4 pm
This primary Rosicrucian text provides a 7 stage initiation, which we will traverse together on each of the days of Holy Week. We will discuss the symbolism & render some of the images from the text using various artistic mediums.
Please print your own copy: http://hermetics.org/pdf/Chymical%20Wedding%20of%20Christian%20Rosenkreutz.pdf
for more info. Contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com
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Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society, 4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map) Check out our Web site! Chicago, IL (Anthroposophical Society in America)
The newly renovated (& lazured) Elderberries 3-Fold Space is currently available for rental on PEER SPACE for classes, events, meetings, retreats, art exhibits, family parties, etc…