Roadtrippers Return

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Greetings friends – I am just now returning from a family road-trip – a kind of second honeymoon. CG & I, with UVA, who was 1 & a half & still nursing, eloped to Berkley Springs, West Virginia 20 years ago. This time for our anniversary, on the way, we stopped off for a 2 day hike in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The forest was teeming with life forces, its ravines, & waterfalls breath-giving.

Working with the biodynamic preps over the years I ‘met’ Abby Porter online years ago, & wonder of wonders, Abby happens to live in Berkeley Springs – an  art-filled oasis nestled in the West Virginia mountains. She was the one who actually suggested we come back for our 20th anniversary. So we finally got to meet in person. Abby knows everyone; she acted as our personal tour guide, taking us to all the highlights in the sweet historic spa town.

A fountainhead of warm mineral waters frequented by Native Americans long before Europeans arrived in the New World, are at the heart of the mountain spa community. The waters flow at a constant 74°F from the base of Warm Springs Ridge. You can still drink freely & fill your jugs at the public tap; & everyone – young & old, rich & poor, comes to wade in the ancient stone pools.

Berkeley Spring, West Virginia | West virginia mountains, Travel spot,  Berkeley springs

In the little museum next to the bath house you can see a map of the ‘Medicine Springs’ drawn by Thomas Jefferson’s father in 1747.

George Washington first visited in 1748 when he was 16, & made the area his favorite getaway. 

We also hiked in Cacapon State Park down the road, sitting in the shadows of the highest peak in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. Cacapon is a Shawnee Indian word meaning – you guessed it – ‘medicine waters’.

In the evenings we would make sure to be somewhere so I could participate in the rehearsals lead by Barbara Renold for the reading of the Russian Epic initiated by our Elderberries friends in honor of Sergei O. Prokofieff’s birthday.

The Best Travel Guide to Sandusky, Ohio

On the way home we spent some time exploring Sandusky Ohio, with its river famous for trout fishing, & the beautiful bay next to Lake Erie. Sandusky is derived from the Wyandot word saundustee, meaning ‘cold water’.

What a glorious land America is – So diverse & beautiful – Mother Nature in all her variations, there to remind us of the spirit behind all life.

We were on the road traveling home on Sergei’s birthday anniversary so sadly I couldn’t be in Chicago for the amazing tribute that our Elderberries friends created. The wifi was iffy in the mountains – I was in a panic – but at a truck stop I was able to get a good signal & since I played the part of ‘Dark Night’ – a Spiritual Being seeking to lure Ilya to sleep, it was reasonable to be a disembodied voice that wafted in during the reading. I thought I had found the perfect spot in the busy food court, but just as I was speaking my lines 2 guys came by talking loudly & another fellow wheeling a bin created some strange sound effects…O well…I did what I could…I was just grateful to be part of the effort, since the work of Sergei Olegovitch Prokofieff has played a significant part on my Anthroposophical path.

I have written about Sergei often, he was the 1st to confirm my connection with the New Isis.

His dedication to the School of Spiritual Science birthed in me a true knowing. A group of us meets every Friday to study ‘The Esoteric Path through the 19 Class Lessons.’ This work is a key that unlocks the mystery of the Michael School, bringing into focus the connection between the 2 streams in the life of Christ, & of the sacrifice that opens us to the Etheric Christ now.

Sergei’s work has deepened for me the living reality of the ‘New Mysteries’, illuminating the relationship of the Christ-Sophia in this Michael age, with Rudolf Steiner & Christian Rosenkreutz, which we as human beings are called to explore & develop. “The Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation – A Esoteric Study of the Festivals” is my vademecum – my calling, my life’s work.

“The Occult Significance of Forgiveness” changed my life (I am of course still striving here) And the massive work “May Human Beings Hear It” which convinced me to dedicate myself to the Foundation Stone Meditation, has kept me involved in the Anthroposophical Society, when the human failings & karmic knots would have driven me away; pointing up the living reality of the Christmas Conference, which I feel a personal & collective responsibility to fulfill.

My heart spills over with gratitude for this true initiate, this true anthroposopher, this true human being, who continues to be my mentor from across the Threshold.

“Anthroposophia seeks to become a new group-soul for that part of humankind which is united within the General Anthroposophical Society founded by Rudolf Steiner at the Christmas Conference of 1923-24, thereby representing a kind of archetype for the whole of future evolution & at the same time initiating that universally human process which Rudolf Steiner described in the following words: ‘When people gather together in voluntary associations, they group themselves around focal points. The feelings that stream together at such a focal point now gives Beings the opportunity to work as a kind of group-soul, though in a completely different sense from the former unconscious group-souls. All previous group-souls were beings who made man unfree. These New Beings, however, are wholly compatible with the freedom & preservation of human individuality’.

Anthroposophia would seek to become the 1st of these Beings in our time. However, whether this is possible depends not on this Being alone, but also on human beings.

Thus by uniting with one another in the General Anthroposophical Society out of a love for Anthroposophia & a wish to serve her as a real, living Being, anthroposophist’s throughout the world have the task of together creating on Earth something akin to an all embracing soul-chalice into which this supersensible Being, the youngest member of the heavenly Sophia, can descend. And this means none other than the beginning of the incarnation of the heavenly Sophia on Earth. (This will come about in the 7th epoch, but of which we must prepare now)

Only from this grandiose perspective can we really understand the inner significance of the deed wrought by Rudolf Steiner at the Christmas Conference, a deed which represents the high-point & culmination of the entire 21 year development of the anthroposophical movement (1902-23) – a ‘Turning Point of Time’ – For it signified the birth on Earth of her ego in the sheaths of the General Anthroposophical Society. In this way the foundation was laid, or-one could say-the possibility created, for the further working of Anthroposophia in the midst as a New Group-Soul.” ~Sergei O. Prokofieff, “The Heavenly Sophia and the Being Anthroposophia”

May we take up this task to give birth to Anthroposophia, this Being of Human Wisdom, within ourselves, to serve the highest good in all worlds.

Thank you dear Sergei for your continued inspiration. 

~hag

29 July 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: On this evening of the Jupiter – Mars opposition, Mars passes Regulus in conjunction in the northwest after sunset.  Venus is to their upper left.

also: The Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capracornids are both lighting up the night sky this week.

Bellene McSullen

RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler
THE ENTHUSIASM OF THE YEAR
(Last week, on July 22nd, the sun entered the sign of Leo
whose eurythmy gesture is Enthusiasm)
The Soul Ground’s Fruit
v16
My foresight is commanding me
to harbour inwardly the spirit’s gift
that its divine fruit, ripening
in ground of soul, bring who I am
the heaven’s harvest.

I date the verses so that Christmas is always verse 38,
which means that v17 is always in the week of July 31st,
including Lammas, August 1st, in 6 years out of 7,
but not when July 31st is on a Saturday as in this year
and Lammas Day is the Sunday of the following week;
but it is also celebrated for 3 days from July 31st to
August 2nd and this can still be the Lammas verse.
LAMMAS
The Bread
v17
The Cosmic Word
I’ve had the grace to lead
through senses’ gates to soul ground speaks:
Imagine in your spirit depths my world expanse
to find in future Me in you.

the mirror verse
ADVENT III
The Wine
v36
The Cosmic Word,
mysteriously urging to be heard,
is speaking in my depths of being:
Inspire your life’s endeavour
with spirit light of mine
to sacrifice yourself through Me.

The myth of Bylina

15 thoughts on “Roadtrippers Return

  1. So glad you are back Hazel. I didn’t realize you were so connected to SOP. ME TOO!! I find his work fabulous and I believe Steiner helped him from the spiritual world. Sometimes, it is almost palpable in some places. I too have benefitted from SOP’s book – working through the 19 Class Lessons….Amazing…I too, have 4 copies of the Cycle of the Year and 2 of the 4 are underlined, bookmarked and worn well….! Hugs to you HAG!

    1. Yes, I see it too, that Steiner was working with him. His offerings are so intimate & every word has meaning.
      I am the same way underlining & dog earing so much.
      Thanks for sharing
      xox

  2. Hi Hazel,

    Possibly you remember that we have had some prior discussions about the Being Anthroposophia. I was looking at Prokofieff’s book, which has certainly been influential for you here:

    https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Heavenly_Sophia_and_the_Being_Anthro.html?id=V86LXvkonQUC

    What stands out, of course, is that Prokofieff leaves entirely out of account what Rudolf Steiner actually describes in GA 258, lectures 7 & 8, about this ‘Living Being of Anthroposophia’. This is where he describes the phenomenon most distinctly. Prokofieff, on the other hand, would have more than ten years stand between February 3 ,1913, and December 25, 1923. Thus, Proky leaves the most seminal presentation entirely out of account. Now, why would he do that?

    https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA258/English/RSP1993/19230616p01.html

    You see, in this course from June 1923, given some six months after the fire, and six months before the CC of 1923, Steiner wants to convey a katharsis, of sorts. And so, he kind of meanders through the history of what first began in 1902, and got expelled ten years later, and then really began to flap its wings, c. 1913.

    So, here it is from the midpoint of 1923. Steiner really only first reveals the so-called, “living being of anthroposophia who walks among us” here in lecture seven. He goes on to say more precisely that She will have to remain until the small membership in the AS reaches a million, and than She can cross the threshold. Well, obviously, that appears to be a long way off. Proky would have Her want to become another human incarnation. This is the last thing She would ever want.

    Yet, why would Prokofieff leave this seminal central material entirely out of account? Did he not know that the fire that started the year, and ended with the CC of 1923, also had this midpoint revelation? This is where we really hear about this lady dedicated to anthroposophy.

    Good to have you back Hazel. You prove that patience is a virtue.

    1. SOP left that out because that is not really the point. It is not what we must center on at this time. And to bring it up feels like it a condemnation of what SOP has brought forth from Anthroposophia.

      You site the lecture by Steiner, but again it has a context that shows a progression. We have not yet achieved the connection we must form with the Being Anthroposophia, so why focus on an aspect that cannot be truly understood until we have taken this being into our soul forces completely…

      “Anthroposophists today must not think that they have only the same commitments which future anthroposophists will have when they exist by the million rather than the thousand. When limited numbers are active in the vanguard of a movement they have to show commitment of a much higher order. It means that they are obliged to show greater courage, greater energy, greater patience, greater tolerance and, above all, greater truthfulness in every respect. And in our present third stage a situation arose which specifically tested our truthfulness and seriousness. It related in a certain sense to the subject matter discussed at one point in the lectures to theologians. [ Note 5 ] Irrespective of the fact that individual anthroposophists exist, a feeling should have developed, and must develop, among them that Anthroposophia exists as a separate being, who moves about among us, as it were, towards whom we carry a responsibility in every moment of our lives. Anthroposophia is actually an invisible person who walks among visible people and towards whom we must show the greatest responsibility for as long as we are a small group. Anthroposophia is someone who must be understood as an invisible person, as someone with a real existence, who should be consulted in the individual actions of our lives.

      Thus, if connections form between people — friendships, cliques and so on — at a time when the group of anthroposophists is still small, it is all the more necessary to consult and to be able to justify all one’s actions before this invisible person.

      This will, of course, apply less and less as anthroposophy spreads. But as long as it remains the property of a small group of people, it is necessary for every action to follow from consultation with the person Anthroposophia. That Anthroposophia should be seen as a living being is an essential condition of its existence. It will only be allowed to die when its group of supporters has expanded immeasurably. What we require, then, is a deeply serious commitment to the invisible person I have just spoken about. That commitment has to grow with every passing day. If it does so, there can be no doubt that everything we do will begin and proceed in the right way…”

      1. Exactly, Hazel. This is the seminal place where Steiner indicates the future responsibility, which is now. This is where he first defines the Being Anthroposophia. Yet, in waking up this morning, I realized that I had left something out of my earlier remark. Beginning on page 20, Prokofieff indicates the two places where Steiner speaks of “anthroposophia, i.e., February 3, 1913, and December 25, 1923.

        Then, I realized that the next several pages contain Prokofieff’s own description of what Steiner had said in lecture 7 of GA 258! Yet, he writes as if it comes from the well of his own inspiration. This is troublesome to me. That chapter should have placed GA 258, lecture 7, front and center in the origin, nature, and future function of the Being Anthroposophia. Now, I am not accusing Prokofieff of anything, but it was an interesting observation.

        We have also had important discussions of how this all relates to the New Isis, which correlates to Prokofieff’s “Heavenly Sophia”. I had not seen this book until last night, and wanted to touch base on it. I can readily see how important it has been for you. Yet, and likely you will agree, waiting until the seventh epoch for the descent of the New Isis is completely unacceptable. Steiner gave the necessary proposal in lecture two of GA 202. This is what we are working toward.

        1. SOP Is one who is always describing how important it is to attach Rudolf Steiner’s name to his work. What I love about his writing is that he takes what Steiner says to heart & puts in thru his purified thinking to share with us.

          I agree that time has accelerated & that is why so many are wanting with work to unveil the New Isis. Anthroposophia is the 1st step to that. We must live into this being & this being must live into us. NOW. And that is why SOP’s writings are so important; he takes the scant indications from Steiner, who was not able to say more in his time since the membership was not ready for it, just like his teaching on karma, & help us embody her wisdom

      2. Hi, Hazel and Steve. This is an interesting discussion here. Anthroposophia, a living being, an invisible person. What kind of connection do we have with such a being? Is it a being like Minerva or Athena, as in, goddess of Wisdom? Or more of a Gaia being? Christ is in the Etheric, but could Anthroposophia be considered permeating the Etheric (ie. what makes plants, plants, and not minerals).

        1. Happy Birthday Kyle…May this next spin around the Sun bring you ever closer to your highest destiny…

          For me Anthroposophia is the human part of the great being we call The New Isis – this larger essence envelops like a Pleroma many other Spiritual Beings – the consort, if you will, of the Christ.
          And if we do our part to consciously work with & embody Anthroposophia as individuals then we can be worthy to be part of the New Group Soul of Humanity when the New Isis joins with the Christ in the 7th epoch thru our striving…

          Sorry I can’t go into more today, somehow I can’t be on the computer right now…
          With you in spirit
          Xox
          ~hag

          1. Thank you for the birthday wishes, Hazel!

            This is very interesting. When you say ‘pleroma’, I can’t help but think of the building of the Temple. Anthroposphia being the ‘human’ part of that, it’s quite a visual to behold.

            I can only refer again to the concept of Gaia, as it is what I am more familiar with. It’s as though there is the forest, and the speaker of the forest is a giant anthropomorphised tree, speaking on behalf of the forest. I am not sure if this is a proper analogy, but it is the only thing I can think of where there could be an example of this found in our physical/material plane.

            Thank you again, for that. I think I have a better idea of it now.

          2. Rudolf Steiner spoke often about the initiation of Brunetto Latini, and especially toward the end of his own life. Latini was the mentor and guardian of Dante Aligheri, who was born in 1265. They both were ambassadors for Italy, which might be of interest to you. Here is likely the first place that Rudolf Steiner spoke about what Brunetto Latini experienced on his return to Florence, Italy, after an ambassadorial trip abroad. He was so shocked that he experience a kind of extreme “jet lag” that took him outside of his body.

            https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/BruLat_index.html

            He identifies the Goddess Natura here, and it is very much like your own perceptions of Gaia within the forests of an old quaint mountain village. Steiner would continue to refer to Brunetto Latini right up through GA 238. Hazel has indicated the frequent remarks from “True and False Paths in Spiritual Investigations”, which cite Latini often.

            1. We had a running joke when we were reading the 82 Karmic Relationships lectures, every time Steiner mentioned Brunetto Latini,which he often did, we would all say his name out loud with an Italian accent.

              The reference here is to the Goddess Natura, most certainly related to Gaia, but of course very different from Anthroposphia who has a human aspect.

  3. Welcome back, roadtrippers. Lovely story and pictures. Hope you felt refreshed and rejuvenated, ready for what lies ahead.

    1. It always feels like I need a vacation from the vacation after returning…so much to catch up on & all that…And yes, these sojourns have a way of Enlightening & ripening. Thanks for your blessing…xox

  4. Your every word came right into the center of my heart, today. So glad for you and family for your road tripping and grateful for your holy perspective of the places.

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