Shriven

In honor of Ita Wegman’s Birthday which this year falls tomorrow on Ash Wednesday: THE ADMISSION RITUAL FOR LEADERSHIP IN THE MICHAEL SCHOOL ~ Peter Selg

When Ita Wegman wrote to Albert Steffen on August 21, 1925, five months after Rudolf Steiner’s death, about her relationship with the First Class of the School for Spiritual Science, she mentions a Rose Cross given to her by Rudolf Steiner: ‘Before his illness the Doctor gave me a Cross with small rubies set in roses, which he used to wear on a red ribbon around his neck. He put it on me with his own hands after we had performed a ritual act‘. Rudolf Steiner’s Rose Cross can be found as part of Ita Wegman’s estate. A few years later, on April 25, 1930, Ita Wegman spoke about the circumstances of the handing over of the cross, the preceding ‘ritual act’, and their connection with the First Class during the Executive Council meeting with the general secretaries and delegates of the General Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum: ‘I also received his cross directly. He took it from his neck and put it on me with his own hands, saying: ‘From this moment we will be there together for the Michael School’.

This meant that Rudolf Steiner, after performing the ritual act, and through the ritual of handing over the cross, admitted Ita Wegman to the Michael School as co – leader with joint responsibility. There is sufficient reason to believe that Rudolf Steiner performed the ritual act and the passing on of the cross at the beginning of September 1924 (after his return from England) in his studio.

In all the Class Lessons Steiner held from September 6 onward, he emphasized Ita Wegman’s special co-responsibility for the mantras of the ritual lessons and for the esoteric school.

People who were admitted to the First Class in September 1924 were ritually introduced by Steiner and Wegman together: ‘Admissions took place in the studio. I had to stand next to the Doctor; members were shown into the studio by Dr. Wachsmuth. Dr. Steiner would ask applicants a few questions, and if they were to be admitted, Dr. Steiner would speak the following words: ‘If you are willing to remain faithful to the Michael School, take my hand. Take also Frau Dr. Wegman’s hand, who will lead the Michael School together with me‘. (Ita Wegman )

Among the class members who were admitted in September 1924 was Wolfgang Moldenhauer, who described the admission procedure in exactly the same way in a letter to Kurt Franz David‘On November 5, 1924, I was admitted to the First Class by R. St. After the handshake and troth, he asked me to take the hand of Frau Dr. Wegman who sat next to him as co – leader of the class’.

In notes she took of an internal lecture, Ita Wegman wrote a brief summary about the changes in the affairs of the First Class in the late Sumner of 1924‘To me, he {Rudolf Steiner} said that the people should know now that the class was the Michael School in spiritual world. Of that school he was the leader and I was his assistant. It was my task to guard the mantras. Any member who wanted to pass a mantra on to another member had to consult me or him. This was an esoteric act, the beginning of a newly – to – be – introduced esotericism. At the same time it was arranged that during the admission procedure, applicants would hear the words: ‘This is the Michael School, which is led by me and Frau Wegman’.

Since from that time the first ritual elements (the ‘signs and seal of Michael‘) were introduced into the lessons.

The unpublished minutes of an Executive Council meeting of November 29, 1930, reveal that a document about the performed ritual act was in Ita Wegman’s possession. During the crisis of the Executive Council and the Society, Ita Wegman was forced again to confirm to her colleagues that Rudolf Steiner had indeed conferred joint responsibility for the class (nobody apart from Elizabeth Vreede believed her).

The ‘papers’ recording the ritual act, or aspects of that act, form part of a comprehensive collection of mantras and esoteric exercises in Rudolf Steiner’s handwriting, which she had received from him. The collection was preserved in full by the priest Emanuel Zeylmans van Emmichoven, and was published in 2009. It includes a text in Rudolf Steiner’s and Ita Wegman’s handwriting, covering several sheets. The text focuses on the Rose Cross and its transfer, culminating in the actual handing over: and contains ritual elements of a ritual antiphony between two people. Emmanuel van Emmichoven wrote: “Because Ita Wegman wrote down Rudolf Steiner’s oral instructions, it is possible for us to place the text, right into its individual images and personal statements before our souls‘. The text includes an evening and a morning meditation for Ita Wegman, both culminating in the meeting with a ‘priest figure’ and the handing over of a Rose Cross. The mantric verses are associated with the esoteric training of the First Class, and end with a blessing on the meditating person who receives the Rose Cross from the priest figure — the ‘spirit guide’.

The evening meditation exercise for Ita Wegman begins with the review of the experiences of the day. (‘imagine an experience of the day in reverse order’ ) This is followed by exact instructions given by Rudolf Steiner, taken down in her handwriting: a breathing exercise that is to be repeated seven times; an IAO exercise: and then the Rose Cross imagination. The imagination was linked to a mantra referring to the spiritual human form, and was to be meditated in relation to that form (focusing on heart and limb organization)

Primal Powers hold me
Spirits of fire free me
Spirits of light illumine me
So that I reach toward spirit life
So that I feel beings of soul
So that I traverse uncertainties
So that I stand above the abyss.”

In meditating accordingly, the Rose Cross imagination will convey strength and support to the human being from the third hierarchy (in the region of the heart), so that inner certainly can be gained for meeting the tasks and dangers of humanity with confidence.

The process of strengthening, affirmation, and empowerment (or encouragement) was to be followed by further deepened concentration — full inner immersion into the Christ Mystery with the mantra:

In me let Christ live
And change my breath
And warm the course of my blood
And shine into my soul being.”

Rudolf Steiner’s transcript of the evening meditation ends with the instructions: ‘Maintain inner poise’In the margin of the page Steiner had added a square bracket: ‘White robe. Red belt and pendant. Red headband. I: Ave frater {Hale thee, brother}. He: rosae et aureae {of the rosy and golden}. I: crucis {cross}. He: Benedictus deus qui dedit nobis signum {Blessed be God who gave us the sign}’.

What Steiner had written down and passed on to Ita Wegman was obviously a summary, which served as a reminder. He would have specified the inner process to her verbally in much more detail. According to Wegman’s notes, the ‘Rose Cross’ had to be retrieved from the heart of the meditating person, where it had previously been ‘placed‘ after the Christ meditation. The Rose Cross had to be created, or reproduced, mantrically and internalized during the exercise. After the Rose Cross had been ‘retrieved” from the heart, it had to be carried imaginatively up a mountain, ‘step by step’. On the mountain peak an encounter should take place in the imagination with a figure {‘person‘} in priestly ritual vestment (with white robe, red stole, red band around the neck, and red belt: the colours of Christian Rosenkreutz, white and red, in the “Chymical Wedding’).

Ita Wegman wrote about that meeting: “One has to hand the Rose Cross over to that person with the words: Ave frater and sense the others response: Rosae and aureae. With devotion one answers: Crucis. The other speaks: Benedictus deus qui dedit nobis signum’. After the imaginative experience of such a meeting; that is, the joint, antiphonal speaking of the words: ‘Hail thee, Brother of the Rosy and Golden Cross’: The blessing of God through the priestly figure; and the handing over to that figure of the Rose Cross that has been carried up, the meditating person turns back. Then the imagination that one leaves the other again. After that, allow a sense of calm to enter into the soul. Empty the mind“. The Rose Cross remains on the mountain.

As a reminder for the morning meditation Rudolf Steiner wrote simply:

Imagination on the mountain. Being received. Holding up the Rose Cross.
‘May my head condense the spirit of worlds
Extracting for me the living light of thoughts
May my throat parch the breath of soul
Infusing it with spirit word meaning
Live in my heart, you, my spirit guide
There to unite me with you
That I move live weave in spirit soul life.

Ita Wegman added more details to her notes: Imagine in the morning: That one has climbed up the mountain again; that one meets the same person in the same robe; that the figure gives back the Rose Cross given to him {her} on the previous evening. Imagination to be meditated, kneeling down:

  1. May my head condense the spirit of worlds
    Extracting for me the living light of thoughts
  2. May my throat parch the breath of soul
    Infusing it with spirit word meaning.
  3. Live in my heart, you, my spirit guide
    There to unite with me with you
    That I move live weave in spirit soul life!
  4. Feel the head — the thinking — like a stone
  5. The throat like a parched plant
  6. Concentration on the heart while meditating the above.
    Now meditate that the person gives back the Rose Cross and places the right hand on top of the left; then both hands on the forehead, speaking the words:
    ‘Benedictus deus qui dedit nobis signum’
    Empty the mind again.

The meditation of the pupil climbing the mountain again, which is carried out while kneeling, culminates in the spiritual union with the priestly figure in the heart, the human organ of destiny. (‘Live in my heart, you, my spirit guide, there to unite me with you‘) After that, as Ita Wegman’s notes suggest, the ‘spirit guide‘ returns the Rose Cross to the pupil, with a blessing and laying of hands on the pupils forehead.

~hag

The same motif of assistance and union appeared at the end of another mantric verse that Rudolf Steiner had already given to Ita Wegman in September 1923, a year before the ritual of the First Class, asking her to meditate it every evening:

Ever shining supreme light;
To you I entrust my soul.
May the light of my soul weave
With the weaving light of worlds.
As light I feel,
Light in the smallest point;
Light that widens boundlessly.
Pure transparent light am I.
I seize hold of the spirit world
At the end of my soul of light,
I hold the spirit world
With my arms of light;
I sense your presence,
You want to carry me
To worlds of light and spirit.”
~’Rudolf Steiner and Christian Rosenkreutz’

21 February 2023 – “Speaking with the Stars”

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 

TODAY is Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Carnival, .

The word shrove is a past-tense form of shrive “to take confession.” 

The day before Ash Wednesday is the last day to use up rich ingredients that should be avoided during the Lenten season, including sugar, eggs, and fats. Throw in a bit of flour, and what’ve you got? Pancakes! It has become a tradition in many places, especially in Europe, to make pancakes on the day before Ash Wednesday. In fact, in some communities, the people are called to confession by the ringing of a bell which some people call “the pancake bell.”

Fat Tuesday, which in French is Mardi Gras, a last chance for overindulgence.

The word carnival — comes from the Latin caro “flesh, meat” and levare “to remove, to raise.”

The Categories of Aristotle – a process of contraction…
Is there a path to expansion…..?

PUBLIC LECTURE AND EURYTHMY WORKSHOP WITH CLAUDIA FONTANA

Friday 24 March 2023 – Lecture 7 pm CT – 8:30 pm – Purchase tickets at the door or pay online
$12

Saturday 25 March 2023 – Workshop – 9 am CT– (10:30 am 1/2 hour break – 11 am) 12:30 pm CT CT– Purchase tickets at the door or pay online $50

The Categories of AristotleA process of contraction…exploring a path to expansion

Does one have to be a philosopher of great erudition to approach Aristotle’s gift to humanity……his Categories?

Perhaps , YES! But an initial acquaintance with them can lead out of the confinement of the intellectual concept to an experience of expansion supported by Eurythmy.

In the evening lecture Claudia will introduce the life of the Categories before they became concepts – Bringing the symbols in a sequence of sounds  (called the Evolutionary Sequence ) out of their conceptual form, to life, supported by Eurythmy and examples of poetry.

During the workshop we will enter into the movement of the poetry presented  during the lecture. This will be accessible to Eurythmists as well as to anyone interested in the life of language, poetry and our alphabet.

at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of The Anthroposophical Society
4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60618 (map)
https://www.rschicago.org/happenings/calendar 
www.rschicago.org/donate

For more info contact Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Claudia Fontana saw a Eurythmy performance when still a teenager. Unbeknownst to her at the time, that performance was the gate to her destiny path. Soon thereafter she studied Eurythmy in Vienna and subsequently spent fourteen years as a performer with the Dornach, London and Stuttgart Eurythmeum ensembles. Teaching became the next challenge which she happily met in the United States, Europe. Before Covid, she spent seven years teaching all levels in Thailand, Malaysia and China. She resides in Ann Arbor, MI still performing and teaching.

Mary Magdalene & the Women at the Tomb – A Festival of Resurrection

with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg,

Song-Circle with Velsum, 

Eurythmy – & an artistic break out session

Holy Saturday 8 April 2023

1 pm – 3pm CT hybrid event in-person at the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago & on zoom

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7050174041

Meeting ID: 705 017 4041

For more Info. contact Hag@RSChicago.org Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618 (map)
www.rschicago.org/donate

PRESENTS:

The Mystery of Ascension with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

This course is available on Zoom. You will be emailed a Zoom link closer to the time of the class. The course will be recorded and you will receive a link to watch it. Go to the Infinity Foundation web site to enroll

Course Number 231154 / Zoom
Date: Thursday, May 11
Time 7:00 – 8:30 PM CST
Cost $33/23 payment 10 days in advance

Gerald Shepherd

When we tune into the Cycle of the Seasons, we experience that as the Earth breathes out in the Springtime, the beings of nature reach upwards towards the heights. The longing of the human soul also strives to meet this mood of ascension, which attunes all life to the cosmic expanses.

Together we will gain insights in how to rise up to our Higher Self by participating in this harmonizing spring-dialogue between the worlds.

This reconnection between heaven & earth was prefigured in the story of Jacob’s ladder from the Old Testament. Through his dream of the ‘stairway to heaven’, Jacob gave us a prophecy in the picture of a golden ladder on which choirs of Angels traverse between the ‘Above & Below’. The Mystery of the Ascension of Christ, 40 days after the Resurrection at Easter, fulfilled Jacob’s Prophecy. Christ as the Being of Love became the living bridge connecting us to the eternal.

Through this workshop we will learn how humanity will also be transfigured in the fullness of time. The company of the Angelic Hierarchies wait for us, their younger siblings, to ascend, first of all in our thinking, to meet them in fellowship, as they work all the while by our sides.

Nancy Poer

~Vitae Sophia~A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor 

with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Velsum Voices & Eurythmy

Saturday 27 May 2023 a Hybrid event in person* & on zoom

We are called to redeem the ether spheres to create an Ecclesia, a chalice for The Sophia. Then the spirit flame can spread out to become what Steiner called a “World Whitsun”, which began in earnest at the Christmas Conference. The Whitsun Festival highlights one of the greatest challenges of being human: placing our individual gifts, in right relationship within the social realm. This challenge is especially strong now during this ‘pandemic’. Our groups striving to know Spiritual Science must work together as a community, to have the possibility to create a new culture where a sacrament is possible in every encounter. Our individual strength is enhanced by weaving our gifts together, kindling our social world in conscious community.

Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83663366670?pwd=L292UzlOR1pkZjBXSWpxK1B2b0o1dz09 Meeting ID: 836 6336 6670 / Passcode: 397593

For more Info. contact Hag@RSChicago.org Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator
*Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618 (mapwww.rschicago.org/donate


Find a collection of the many RECORDINGS of Presentations, Programs & Festivals HERE

31 thoughts on “Shriven

  1. Hi Hazel,

    I am reminded of Ash Wednesday in 2001, which occurred on February 28th that year. My coworker and I were outside and she was offered a lifesaver, and she politely said, “no, I can’t take it. This is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and I am fasting”.

    So, what you write here about Fat Tuesday is awesome:

    “The day before Ash Wednesday is the last day to use up rich ingredients that should be avoided during the Lenten season, including sugar, eggs, and fats. Throw in a bit of flour, and what’ve you got? Pancakes! It has become a tradition in many places, especially in Europe, to make pancakes on the day before Ash Wednesday. In fact, in some communities, the people are called to confession by the ringing of a bell which some people call “the pancake bell.”

    So, I mean, this is a good reminder that we Christians have a ritual which is very similar to the Jewish lead-up to their own Passover. In other words, remove the leaven for the sacrifice of “fasting”. My coworker opened my eyes that day, and you do to, some 22 years later. The Lenten Season leads to Palm Sunday, which is April 2 this year. Thanks for the astute reminder that these 40 days are very significant for a kind of consciousness-building. With 2023 being the centennial of 1923, I think you know what I mean. If we could ever link the two Passovers, we would really be onto something.

    Personally, I think that both Wegman and Unger were screwed. They possessed defining qualities for the future. Yet, they had enemies.

      1. Indeed, but does it further us along? Now, 22 years ago, when I heard it was Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent, I wondered about the meaning and significance of Ash Wednesday. Being an anthroposophist, and student of esoteric Christianity, it was revealed relatively soon that Ash Wednesday is the secret celebration of the raising of Lazarus! This is even confirmed in the Gospel of John, chapter 11, although it is somewhat veiled. After Lazarus is raised from the dead, and there are depictions of him brushing dust off his burial gown, Christ takes the disciples to the wilderness area for a period of solitude and rest. They go to the city of Ephraim at the same time that the Jewish faithful are going up to Jerusalem for the purification ritual before the Passover. Then, after this interlude, Christ and the disciples return to Bethany six days before the Passover, which begins chapter 12 of John. They witness something about Lazarus, and realize why they had been prepared in Ephraim. The discipleship has been infinitely expanded.

        1. According to Joshua 24:33, Phinehas (the incarnation after Adam Cadmon, before Elijah) owned land in the mountains of Ephraim, where he buried his father – Eleazar the son of Aaron

          1. 3 While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. 4 But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? 5 For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. 6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. 9 Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” Mark 14

            1. The raising of Lazarus to become the Disciple Whom the Lord Loved is not something generally recognized by bible scholars. Just as Ash Wednesday goes unnoticed as to its true and occult meaning, scholars have tended to see Lazarus, and the so-called “Beloved Disciple”, as separate people. And, that is why these scholars have been perplexed for over a hundred years by what the Gospel of John says in chapter 18:

              12 So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, 13 and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.

              15 Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, 16 but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.
              John 18

              Bible scholars have been totally perplexed about the identity of a disciple known to the high priest. Yet, there can be only one. If Lazarus and the “Beloved Disciple” had been properly linked from the beginning, then this would not be a mystery today. The reason that this disciple is known to the high priest is that he is the son of Simon the Pharisee, who lived near Jerusalem, in Bethany, and who loved to entertain the Council members. Bethany is where Mary was first identified as the sinning woman who anoints the Christ while her father, Simon, wonders why Christ doesn’t see her sin. Of course, Christ saw it all the time, and she is forgiven. Simon had also a son.

              1. Those of us here are not so much concerned with what the materialistic ‘scholars’ are blind about. My Anthroposophical/Christian Community sources & resources as well as my own discerning intuition guide me. I try to be open minded.

                Yes, it is Lazarus-John who was the ‘rich young ruler’ is also the other ‘disciple’ known to the high priest, who enters with Jesus into the court of the high priest.
                We don’t need to get caught up in thinking that there were just 12 disciples. Yes, the 12 represented the zodiac & were reincarnated from the 5 sons of Mattathias, & the 7 sons of the Maccabean widow. But there were many who could be called disciples, including as it says in the Gospel of John chapter 18, Lazarus-John; but also Martha & Mary Magdalene who is called ‘the apostle of the apostles’- to name but 3 important ones. I can’t see that Simon the Pharisee was their father, who had died. And we also know many other women were driving the ministry of Christ Jesus.

              2. It is good to have perspective about these matters. Yes, Lazarus is the disciple known to the high priest, and this was confirmed with the return to Bethany six days before the Passover, when Lazarus is seen as sitting at the table with Christ. Thus, Lazarus becomes the Disciple Whom the Lord Loved. You see, I also have a discerning eye that works with intuition, inspiration, and imagination. Rounding things out with the modern viewpoint is no different than Steiner’s own tactic of drawing attention to what modern scholars of the intellect believe, and how much of it opposed to anthroposophy and its findings.

              3. From what is said in the Gospels quoted below, Lazarus was loved by Christ before that, he didn’t ‘become’ the disciple whom the Lord loved, he always was.
                His deed as Cain transformed thru Christ’s love.

              4. Indeed, Christ loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Why? Because they graciously accepted Him into their home several times when He was around Jerusalem. As well, and most importantly, all were chosen to participate in their way in an initiation. For Lazarus was to be the very first to be raised based on Fire and the Holy Spirit. Christ had been working to prepare this moment for a long time. Having been a disciple of John the Baptist, who was baptizing near Bethany when his cousin Jesus appeared, Lazarus readily chose to be one of the first disciples of Christ, along with Andrew. Then, he progressively fell ill over the three years, and was prepared by his sisters for the “temple sleep”. Remember, they sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick”. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, He waits two more days and then goes to the place where Lazarus had been laid.

              5. This is a good point Steve — it reminds me that there’s a lesson for us from what happened in the past. I strongly believe that the etheric Christ is present with us today, and is looking for those who, like Mary, Martha and Lazarus, will welcome him into their “home”, the temple of their body. Even if they’re homeless physically speaking, he wants to be our good shepherd. According to the parable of the 99 and the 1, he’s not always with the 99 who are safe – rather, he’s out looking for the one that’s lost and in danger.

              6. I was reading in the Burning Bush about this odea of how John the Baptist was the forerunner for the physcial incarnation of Christ & that Lazaras-John was the forerunner of the etheric Christ…

              7. Thanks Hazel; I’ll give that some consideration. If it’s as you say, it’ll add some depth to the current study in the book of Revelation we’re doing, since the protaganists of that book are, of course, John (probably formerly Lazarus) and the risen, etheric Son of Man, Christ Jesus. That’d make everything we’re studying just that much more interesting.

              8. John the Baptist is the forerunner in life before the entry of Christ into Earth evolution. Lazarus is the forerunner in death before the Mystery of Golgotha. A human being had to die in order to pave the way for a God to undergo Crucifixion, and dying like a human being. This had never happened before. Gods don’t die, they simply evolve from one stage to another. But, Christ, in knowing what humanity needed at the midpoint of Earth evolution, died the sacrificial death. And, it was preceded by the death of Lazarus, who was also a forerunner, like John. These two were closer than we normally think.

              9. I also thought in terms of a god dying until I read this tonight from Steiner’s 9th lecture on the Gospel of Mark:

                The Christ is everywhere connected with a widely extended, actively working aura. This aura was present and active because He was linked with the souls of those whom He had chosen, and it remained present as long as He was linked to them. The cup had not passed away from Him; the chosen human beings had shown no comprehension. So this aura gradually withdrew from the man Jesus of Nazareth; Christ became ever more estranged from the Son of Man, Jesus of Nazareth. Toward the end of His life Jesus of Nazareth was more and more alone, and the Christ became ever more loosely connected with Him.

                Although the cosmic element was there until the moment pictured as that of the sweating of blood in Gethsemane, and Christ up to this moment was fully united with Jesus of Nazareth, now through the failure of human beings to understand this connection the link was loosened. And whereas earlier the cosmic Christ was active in the temple and drove out the money-changers, expounding mighty teachings, and nothing happened to Him, now, when Jesus of Nazareth was only loosely connected with the Christ the posse could come near Him. However, we can still see the cosmic element present, but less and less connected with the Son of Man. This is what makes the whole episode so soul-shattering! Because the threefold understanding could not be forthcoming, what did the men finally have in their hands? What could they seize, what could they condemn, what could they nail to the cross? The Son of Man! And the more they did all this, the more did the cosmic element withdraw that had entered the life of earth as a youthful impulse. It escaped them. For those who sentenced Him and carried out the judgment there remained only the Son of Man, around whom only hovered what was to come down to earth as a youthful cosmic element.

                No Gospel other than that of St. Mark tells how only the Son of Man remained, and that the cosmic element only hovered around Him. Thus in no other Gospel do we perceive the cosmic fact in relation to the Christ event expressed with such clarity, the fact that at the very moment when men who failed to understand laid their violent human hands upon the Son of Man, the cosmic element escaped them. The youthful cosmic element which from that turning point of time entered earth evolution as an impulse, escaped. All that was left was the Son of Man; and this is clearly emphasized in the Mark Gospel. Let us read the passage and find out if the Mark Gospel does indeed emphasize how, just at this moment in the unfolding of events, the cosmic acts in relation to the human.

                And Jesus spoke to them, “You have set out with swords and sticks to take me prisoner, as if I were a murderer. I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”

                And they all forsook him and fled. (Mark 14:48-50.)

                He stands alone. But what has become of the youthful, cosmic element? Think of the loneliness of this man, permeated as He was by the cosmic Christ, who now confronts the posse like a murderer. And those who should have understood Him flee! “And they all forsook Him and fled,” it says in the 50th verse. Then in verses 51 and 52:
                And there was a youth among his followers, 2 who wore a fine linen garment over his bare body, and they seized him. But he let go of the linen garment and fled naked.

                Who is this youth? Who was it who escaped here? Who is it who appears here, next to Christ Jesus, nearly unclothed, and then slips away unclothed? This is the youthful cosmic impulse, it is the Christ who slips away, who now has only a loose connection with the Son of Man. Much is contained in these 51st and 52nd verses. The new impulse retains nothing of what former times were able to wrap around man. It is the entirely naked, new cosmic impulse of earth evolution. It remains with Jesus of Nazareth, and we find it again at the beginning of the sixteenth chapter.

                And when the Sabbath was over Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices and went there to anoint him. And early in the morning on the first day of the week they came to the tomb as the sun was rising.

                And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” And when they looked up they saw that the stone was rolled away, for it was really very large.

                And as they entered the tomb they saw a youth sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white robe; and they were startled.

                But he said to them, “Do not be frightened. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified one. He has risen!” (Mark 16:1-6.)

                This is the same youth. In the whole artistic composition of the Gospels nowhere else does this youth confront us, the youth who slips away from the people at the moment when they condemn the Son of Man, who is there again when the three days are over, and who from now onward is active as the cosmic principle of the earth. Nowhere else in the Gospels — you should compare the others — except in these two passages does this youth confront us, and in such a grandiose manner. Here we have all we need in order to understand the profound meaning of just this Gospel of St. Mark, which is telling us that we have to do with a cosmic event, with a cosmic Christ. Only now do we understand why the remainder of the Mark Gospel had to be artistically composed as it was.

                It is indeed remarkable that, after this significant appearance of the youth has come twice before us, the Gospel quickly comes to an end, and all that remains are a few striking sentences. For it is scarcely possible to imagine that anything that came later could have still yielded any further enhancement. Perhaps the sublime and marvelous element could have been enhanced, but not what is soul-shattering and of significance for earth evolution. Consider again this composition of the Mark Gospel: the monologue of God; the cosmic conversation on the mountain above the earth to which the three disciples were called but did not understand; then Gethsemane, the scene on the Mount of Olives when Christ had to acknowledge that those who had been chosen could not attain to an understanding of what was about to happen; how He had to tread this path alone, how the Son of Man would suffer and be crucified. Then the world-historical loneliness of the Son of Man who is abandoned, abandoned by those He had chosen and then abandoned gradually by the cosmic principle. Thus, after we have understood the mission and significance of the youth who slips away from the eyes and hands of men, we come to understand in an especially profound manner the words, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34.) Then the reappearance of the youth, whereupon it is briefly shown how the youth is a spiritual, super-sensible being, who becomes sense-perceptible only through special circumstances, when He first shows himself to Mary Magdalene.

                https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA139/English/AP1986/19120923p01.html

              10. The secret to the fleeing youth is that he is Jesus. Having prayed three times to the Father to remove the “Cup”, Jesus says to Peter, James, and John, “It is enough. The hour is at hand”. Mark 14: 32-42. Thus, the Son of Man thinks that he is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

                In reality, the “Cup”, did in fact transfer from Jesus to Christ, as indicated here in John, chapter 18:

                10 Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. 11 So Christ said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

                This revelation to Peter sets the stage for what Peter experiences when Christ is taken into custody, and only expressed in the Gospel of Mark:

                46 They laid hands on Him and seized Him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber? 49 Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures.” 50 And they all left Him and fled.

                51 A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. 52 But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked. Mark 14

                This “young man” is the naked Jesus, having nothing but his first-born Ego, which was now freed to escape and be clothed with a white robe when the women come to the empty tomb. Yes, it was the Christ that took on the “full monty”, when he received the “Cup, and died on the Cross, bearing His own Sun Forces, which were meant to go into the interior of the Earth. This is the mystery revealed of what the Mystery of Golgotha means. Resurrection began when Christ, the Son of God, died. Jesus, the Son of Man, would be saved to live another day. He was robed in his nakedness to become the Etheric Jesus.

                How else could the disciples perceive Christ on the first day (Easter), if not for the Etheric Jesus giving them sight? That is why they were prepared at the Last Supper. This is also when Christ, after washing the feet of his disciples, including Judas, says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him”.

                Only because of this statement does Jesus pray when they get to the Garden of Gethsemane.

                https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+13&version=NASB1995

              11. Steiner’s indications from The Gospel of Mark speak differently. He calls it a “soul-Shattering” revelation. And I certainly feel this.

                Of course in other lectures Steiner goes into the fact that the passion in the garden is about Ahriman trying to take His life before the Cosmic Christ has fully penetrated into the bones of Jesus of Nazareth.

                What Steiner reveals in his Gospel of Mark commentary is that the Cosmic Christ has at that point penetrated as far as it could into the physical vessel of JC, & because the aura of the 12 cannot help hold the powerful force of the Sun God any longer the Cosmic Christ then separates off from the Son of Man & that this is why he says ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’

              12. Christ had penetrated the sheaths of Jesus at the Baptism, and this meant incorporation right down to the skeleton. Thus, in the Garden, it would be an ordeal of great suffering for Jesus to pray for the removal of the “Cup”. An Angel of the Lord comes down and helps.

                “Now, all the old initiates achieved a certain degree of mastery over their physical body as a result of the procedure to which they were subjected; but there was one capacity that no old initiation could ever bring under the dominion of the human spirit. Here we touch the fringe, as it were, of a profound secret, or mystery. In the structure of man there is one element to which the power of a pre-Christian initiation could not penetrate: the subtle physico-chemical processes in the skeleton. Strange as it may sound to you, that is the case. Previous to the Baptism of Christ Jesus there never had been a human individuality in earth evolution, either among initiates or elsewhere, with power over the chemico-physical processes in the skeleton. Through the entry of the Christ into the body of Jesus of Nazareth the egohood of Christ acquired dominion even over the skeleton. And the result was that, as a unique event, there lived upon earth a body capable of employing its forces in such way as to incorporate the form of the skeleton — that is, its spiritual form — in Earth evolution. Nothing of all that man passes through in his earth development would endure were he not able to incorporate in Earth evolution, as a law, the noble form of his skeleton, were he unable gradually to master this law of the skeleton.”

                https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA112/English/AP1948/19090703p02.html

                39 And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. 40 When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. 45 When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, 46 and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Luke 22

              13. The Cosmic Christ needed 3 years to fully penetrate the sheaths of Jesus of Nazareth, it was a gradual process.

                As we know after the Baptism JC went was tempted by Lucifer & Ahriman. The reason JC was not able to fully conquer Ahriman was that The Christ hadn’t had enough experience being in a human body, it took the 3 years.

              14. What occurred over the three years was the creation of the Cup, which represents the containment of the Sun Forces in the bodies of Jesus of Nazareth. Thus, the seven miracles all brought these forces of Christ into the etheric, astral, and finally, with the raising of Lazarus, the physical body of Jesus. It took three years to complete this process, and then Christ decided to glorify Jesus at the Last Supper, and not on the Cross of Golgotha. After Judas receives the morsel, and Satan enters him, and he goes out to do the betrayal, Christ says: “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify
                Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately”. John 13:31-32

                That is why Jesus prays three times to the Father to remove this “Cup”. It is distributed throughout the Etheric Body, Astral Body, and Physical Body. As indicated, Christ acknowledges to Peter that He has received it. He says: “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11

                Jesus is left as his own naked self, and that is why he is seen dropping the linen garment, and running off. The garment is the symbol that he had once borne the “Cup”, which has now passed to the Son of God, Who will be Crucified, and Glorified on the Cross.

                Yes, it was only when Christ heard His Name spoken for the first time by a disciple that He realized that He had always had the power to put Satan in his place. He says: “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Mark 8:33

              15. We know that the Last Supper, described in John 13, is where important indications are given to the disciples, and Jesus. Then, Christ gives His Gospel to the Disciples, as expressed in chapters 14 thru 17. Then, they go across the ravine of the Kidron into the Garden of Gethsemane. This is where Jesus prays to remove the “Cup”. Yet, John 18, does not give an account of this, but, rather, Christ wants those who have come to capture Him to know: “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” John 18.

                It seems to me that Christ is indicating here that He never meant for Peter, James, and John to receive any portion of the “Cup”, which Jesus prays three times to remove, and possibly pass over to them. Rather, it seems that a certain effect of the Last Supper had made its appearance when these three are noted as not being able to stay awake at the critical hour. This painting gives the impression that an initiation, of sorts, had occurred at the Last Supper. The disciples enter an altered state of consciousness; kind of dream-like and disoriented.

                https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Jacopo_Bassano_Last_Supper_1542.jpeg

              16. Yes, According to Steiner’s orginal COTS 23 Feb. was the day Lazarus was raised from the dead, 40 days before Good Friday/Easter, April 3/5th, according to Steiner
                A number which has a special significance, 40 days, 40 years, 40 weeks, full cycle of pregnancy, etc

              17. The Vernal Equinox is March 20, which is 27 days from February 22nd, and 13 days before the return to Bethany on April 1st, which is called, Lazarus Saturday.

                40 days from March 20th marks the second Cross-quarter day of Beltane. May Day, or the day of Purification (Katharsis). I experienced this as happening in 1980, when Mount Saint Helen came to life on the vernal equinox, and for forty days the Sun beat down on this previously dormant volcano. The element of the Earth’s interior known as the Fire-Layer was exposed, and came to the surface and Breathed out an Etherized Fire.

                This is also a forty-day event. As such, Katharsis is very real, and leads to the Etheric Christ experience.

  2. Reading your excellent comments on Ita Wegman, I’m left with the question: “If this Rose Cross was so special to her, surely she handed it on for continuation? Who is the continuer of this rite?” Any thoughts on this? Doesn’t the same question arise in you? The story doesn’t seem complete; it shouldn’t just end with her.

    1. I have also been wondering why she never passed it on to someone else…
      I believe the amulet was part of her effects found after her death…
      It’s like how Steiner never named a successor before he died…
      Was no one worthy…?

      Is anyone worthy now…?

      1. Steiner wrote a directive letter to Marie Steiner on March 20, 1925, just ten days before he died, while she was on a eurythmy tour since February 17th, and telling her that Carl Unger was to be brought into the GAS, and taken care of. He had lost his business after the failure of Der Kommende Tag in 1925. Thus, he was to be given his proper place there at Dornach. She never followed through with this directive. Ref. GA 262, letter 235

        Carl Unger was murdered less than four years later, in Nuremberg, on January 4, 1929. Likely, if he had been given the position he was entitled to, he would have lived to see his children grow up. Yes, he was all about the principles of spiritual science, and the new epistemology, but it was what was needed after the death of the very first Modern Exact Clairvoyant known to humanity. Work needed to become more refined, and intensified.

        1. Karma held sway in the history & biographies of those who were there with Steiner & who came together in the spiritual worlds…
          May their reincarnation be more fruitful…

  3. https://i0.wp.com/64.media.tumblr.com/69ecffa7e532aa7d25ed610bf4dcbe63/tumblr_pqby76qWSk1w86k5q_540.jpg?resize=421%2C348&ssl=1

    I like how the roses are arrayed. They express the Trivium and the Quadrivium, which is the division of the Law of Seven. Kyle mentioned this in relation to the Seven Liberal Arts , and this same arrangement can be seen in the seven-year developmental life cycles, as well. Inner 3 + Outer 4. 0-7, 7-14, 14-21, 21-28, 28-35, etc.

  4. Thank you Hazel, that you show also the back of that Rosy Cross. There you read the original version of the 10 letter rosicrucian Mantram, which reads EDN IJM PSSR. The transition from IJM to ICM is rarely discussed if at all.
    Then you show the cover of the 1st volume of Zeylmans biography of Ita Wegman. Many years after the first 3 volumes had appeared, then finally in 2009 a 4th volume was published which contains all the material in context to Ita s preparation (training?) to become the co-leader of the first class, co-leader together with Rudolf Steiner of course. These bits and pieces which have survived are very cryptic and open to wide interpretation if not speculation. Most of her preparation was not given in written form, of course, but from mouth to ear and we know very little about it. But still vol. 4 is a remarkable document.
    Ottmar

    1. Yes, we have to realize that much that passed between Dr. Steiner & Dr. Wegman was not written down. But these fragments prove the transfer that occured between them & RC.

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