21 June 2018 – Summer Solstice – A solstice happens when the sun’s zenith is at its furthest point from the equator. Today, it reaches its northernmost point & the Earth’s North Pole tilts directly towards the sun.

It’s also known as the northern solstice because it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere.

‘Solstice’ (Latin: ‘solstitium’) means ‘sun-stopping’. The point on the horizon where the sun appears to rise & set, stops & reverses direction after this day. On the solstice, the sun does not rise precisely in the east, but rises to the north of east & sets to the north of west, making it visible in the sky for a longer period of time.

Although the June solstice marks the first day of astronomical summer, it’s technically Mid-Summer

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Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

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(Summer Solstice/Litha poem) St. JOHN’S EVE in the tropic of cancer

Hot horns of light
Frame the dreaded Forerunner…
Wild Pan the Baptist
With wort & rue in his pouch
Locusts & raw honey on his breath,
Anoints the mistletoe
In the oak-grove.

The God has gone into the grain
The Sun is on the water
The edge of the rioting rose
Begins to melt
Its scent is heavy on the heat
Stealing the breath
From the hot mouth of God

Her infer-red ruby steams
The magnetic stains of light
To guide the Summer-Tide Soul
Into the labyrinth
Where the Oak King crests
And gives way
To the Dark Holly Twin

The hissing serpent
A round writhing egg
Christens the honey moon with mead

Awaken the gate
Meditate the laurel grail
And St. John’s spear
Under Canopus squared
A packsaddle beam
Capping an arch
As Argo sails the dipper flock
From the top of severity
To the mount of the manger

Pin a tail on the donkey
Put a fence around the goat

~hag

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“At Midsummer the earth’s soul becomes pious. The warmth that flames through the atmosphere is like a mighty sacrificial fire on the wings of which the soul soars upwards towards the sun…” ~Emil Bock

Summer Solstice comes at the precise moment when the sun’s power is at its peak. Solstice means ‘sun stands still’ since the sun rises & sets in the same spot for a few days. Here in the northern hemisphere, this is the longest day & shortest night of the year. From now on, the days will get shorter. This phenomenon is a direct result of the Earth-Sun relationship. After peaking, the Sun begins to wane, & the journey into the harvest season begins.

It has always been an important solar event throughout the evolution of humankind. The axis of Stonehenge & the Temple of the Sun in Mexico are both oriented in the direction of the Midsummer sunrise.

In even earlier times, the sun was perceived in its shinning prime & glory –giver of light & heat and life, as the effulgent force of the Feminine –a passionate aspect of the versatile Great Mother, who issues forth & supports all life.

The Solar Goddess was known in many ancient cultures & Her Priestess’ were highly regarded as healers & Psychopomps – Spiritual guides, initiating supplicants into the mysteries hidden behind the blinding light & fire of the solar disk. They used the 1st mirrors or lenses to harness the sun, to start the altar fires & to cauterize wounds for healing.

During the time of the ancient Egyptians, Sirius, the Dog Star rose on the Summer Solstice, heralding the beginning of their new year, just before the season of the Nile’s flooding.

The sun itself was deemed to be the all-seeing, all knowing, all powerful eye; but It was also known to be the “scorching eye of Ra” burning away the shadows, like a laser in the hands of a surgeon, cutting away disease, a power not to be taken (pardon the pun) lightly.

Probably the most ancient source of the Solar Force known to humanity is an Egyptian lion-headed Goddess called Sekhmet. She displays all the passion of the noonday-sun at its peak, burning away all that does not serve, rousing us to dance our true power, in the magic ritual of our transformation.

Solar energy & its radiations are said to be the cause of evolution itself, reminding us that we can take an active role in our evolutionary process by aligning ourselves with this Solar Power, plugging in directly to the source of ourselves, to the source of action & passion.

But remember, at this time of the zenith, the brightest light casts the deepest shadow.

In our time now, we strive toward a renewal of these mysteries – To transform the unbridled passions into purpose & guided action. The Summer Solstice brings our inner selves into harmony with our cosmic being, & reminds us of the Sun’s connection to The Christ – which is now united with the earth.

We lift up our hearts to meet ‘the heights & widths of the universe’, where we feel ‘Not I, but Christ in me’. To say as John the Baptist said “He must increase, but I must decrease.” We respond to the summertime call for a yearly ‘metanoia’ by reviewing our deeds, looking with courage to the errors of the past, enduring all the pain self-knowledge brings, so we can take on the tasks that will bring healing to ourselves & to the earth, & so that someday, with hearts lifted, we may say:  Yes I, and Christ in me!

Until soon

Blessings and Peace ~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

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St. John’s Festival: Cosmic Rapture Grounded in Jubilant Hearts
Art Projections & Discourse with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Sunday 24 June 2018, 2– 4 pm at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in America – Chicago

ALSO: at the Nashville Branch 3 July 2018 – 4804  Sewanne Road Nashville TN

Pot Luck Dinner: 6 pm

Festival: 7pm-9pm

Please RSVP.  Barbara Bittles

And then in Maryville, TN on Sunday 8 June 2018 (details TBA)

Come join our Initiatory Workshop to discover the New Mysteries of St. Johns-Tide.

To pass the test of Summer we will explore many questions:
 How do we stand wakefully within the sublime mysteries of the Summer-Tide, to consciously embody ‘the spiritual wisdom of the gods’?
 Who is the mysterious Archangel of Summer?
 Who is John the Baptist? What do his sayings “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” And “He must increase, but I must decrease.” really mean?
 What is the secret to healing the ‘soul-fever’ so prevalent in society today?
 What is the mystery of the Dragon-fly, & other elemental beings?
 How can we understand the ‘Cycle of the Year as Breathing Process of the Earth’?

Together we will work to strengthen our true “I”, enlivening our will forces with various social-artistic exercises: 

Singing with Ultra-Violet Archer https://itunes.apple.com/…/beyond-blue-and-red-ep/1357968825

Folk Eurythmy

Questions to the Universe

$10 Donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged
For more info. contact Hazel@ReverseRitual.com

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25 June 2018 ~MORAL MONDAY CHICAGO: 7 pm – 9 pm

“When The Trees Melt Away In A Sun Soaked Cotton Dream”

Illustrations by Grace Kahn, & Sophia Karris.

New works by Shanti Rogers, Art booth by Liz Rosu-Rosenberg

Songs from “Beyond Blue and Red” by Ultra-Violet Archer
https://itunes.apple.com/…/beyond-blue-and-red-ep/1357968825

$10 Donation – MORE or less (Youth under 21 FREE)

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Friday 29 June 2018, 7-9pm & Saturday 30 June 2018, 10am-12:30pm

 Social Life and the Renewal of the Anthroposophical Society with Robert Karp, M.Ed.

Founder and director of New Spirit Farmland, facilitating partnerships with social impact investors; also serving as executive director of the Biodynamic Association and Practical Farmers of Iowa.

Embedded in the Christmas Conference event for the renewal of the Anthroposophical Society in 1923/24 lay profound social mysteries and impulses. Realizing and embodying this potential, requires us to call forth new capacities for working with the spiritual world and with our fellow human beings in groups and in community life. The Friday talk will seek to shed light on these mysteries, and at the Saturday morning session we will practice a host of social-artistic exercises designed to help awaken and strengthen in us the capacity for spiritually conscious work in groups and in larger social organisms.

$15 more or less per session, 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…