Tag Archives: St. John’s

The Festival Life: Practical Journeys into the New Mysteries

Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year

“To celebrate a festival really means to unite oneself in spirit with the cosmic spirit”.  ~Rudolf Steiner

Our festival life is structured to include activities that stimulate head, hands and heart. We engage our thinking through lectures on Spiritual Science, learning, as Goethe did, what lives behind the laws of nature, engaging in creative thinking outside the box, like Einstein demonstrated, opening to insight and intuition to better solve the problems of the world. Movement and artistic endeavors motivate our will forces, creating balance and beauty, channeling creativity in a purposeful way that deepens our thoughts through action. Activities like storytelling, biography sharing, and singing consciously involve our feeling life, reducing stress, stimulating our imagination, creating connections and goodwill.

By strengthening our thinking, feeling and willing we lead more conscious lives, better able to serve the greater community -involved parents, good neighbors, mindful citizens, purposeful workers in our chosen fields of work in the world.

The Greek meaning of the word festival is “Shining Day”.

The festivals not only commemorate great historical events, cosmic truths and traditions; they are in themselves spiritual events that manifest in seasonal rhythms, and carry a significance that grows and deepens with the development of human evolution. The celebration of the festivals let us practice what Steiner calls ‘the Reverse-Ritual’ – The idea of ‘Openness to Above’.  Instead of invoking Spirit down, as in days of old, we rise to the spirit, in our thinking. We study and celebrate these ‘Shining Days’ to sustain and renew ourselves and the world.

A festival has the quality of lifting us out of the ordinary and into the mysteries and magic of the rhythm of the seasons. Throughout history, festivals have emerged from people’s connection with their spiritual life and their search for the meaning of human existence.

“Through various festivals and rituals we acknowledge and celebrate our connection to and our responsibility toward each other and the world.” Celebrating festivals can bring us consciously to what we all experience instinctively in our daily lives, the changing cycles of the seasons and of life itself.  ~excerpted from Festivals by Marilyn Pelryme.

“Celebrating festivals illuminates our life on earth with spiritual meaning and shows us the significance of our human existence in the universe. We human beings stand between the two worlds uniting them in ourselves. We are the crossing point where the upper circle representing the heavens flows into the lower one belonging to the earth.”  ~Evelyn Frances Derry

Some Upcoming Festivals at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, Il. 60618 

Michaelmas 2015: Sept. 27, 6:30pm – 11:30pm

All Souls:  Nov. 8, 2015, 2pm – 4pm

Holy Nights 2015 -2106: Sunday Dec. 27- Wed. Dec. 30, 7pm – 9pm…Thursday Dec. 31 – NYE – 7pm – 1am…Jan. 1-5 7pm – 9pm

Holy Week 2016: March 20th – Palm Sunday 2pm – 4pm…March 21-26th – 7pm – 9pm…March 27th Easter Sunday – 2pm – 4pm

Pentecost: Sunday May 15, 2pm – 4pm

St. John’s: Sunday June 19, 2016 – 2pm – 4pm

Michaelmas 2016: Sunday Sept. 25th – 2pm – 4pm

I look forward to exploring these cycles with you

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Insight – Conscience

Beloved Friends –

While Michael wants us to develop a consciousness of the human being in relation to the supersensible,

Uriel wants us to wake up towards an inner conscience.

From Rudolf Steiner we know that Uriel’s intelligence governs all planetary and zodiac activity in the cosmos, and that in Uriel’s thinking, world thinking is embedded. His gaze is stern, making us aware of our faults and misdeeds, of our karmic debt to humanity and the earth. Uriel asks us to develop a ‘historic conscience’…

 

 “Uriel, ruling guardian of summer heights,

You with the all-penetrating gaze.

From your eyes stream forth

The light of the resting stars,

Of the wandering moon,

Of fire flaming powers of lightning.

You watch and judge the reapers of the harvest,

Of us, man on earth, usurpers of the light.

You, Archangel Uriel, conscience of the world,

Wisest among all angels”.

~ From Uriel, a St. John’s Hymn By Wilfried Hammacher,

Translated by Truus Geraets

 

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Eurythmy with Alison Biagi

Friday June 26th

(with the possibility of more sessions if there is interest?)

 

11am – 12:30pm

 

We will work with seasonal poetry, and some forms and indications from the ‘Calendar of the Soul’ as given by Steiner.

 

$12.00 for individual classes, but no one who has the will to do eurythmy will be turned away for lack of funds.

 

For more information contact Alison  (312) 543-6136

 

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Friday June 26th 2015, 7:30pm – 9:30pm

A Special St. John’s Open House at the Branch

 

Featuring: A legacy bestowed by Magda Lissau and Don Smith: 

A treasure trove of Books from their personal library.

 

All donations to benefit Arcturus and The Rudolf Steiner Branch

 

*Improvisational Music with Debbie Barford and friends

 

*Group Eurythmy with Alison Biagi,

 

*Gods Eye Crafting

 

Cellestial Event – 2015 – Impetus to the Spirit

Greetings on this New Moon in Gemini –

Throughout the month of June 2015, the two brightest planets in the night sky, Venus and Jupiter, converge.

The show starts in the West each night at twilight. http://earthsky.org/space/dont-miss-jaw-dropping-venusjupiter-encounter#.VYAekLP9KQw.twitter

 

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Eurythmy with Alison 

Friday June 19th…with the possibility of more sessions if there is interest ?

11am – 12:30pm

We will work with seasonal poetry, and some forms and indications from the ‘Calendar of the Soul’ as given by Steiner.

$12.00 for individual classes, but no one who has the will to do eurythmy will be turned away for lack of funds.

For more information contact Alison (312) 543-6136

 

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In the Summer-Tide, through ‘the great window of heaven’ we experience an interaction between humanity and the sun forces,  assisting us to develop an awareness of our ego. The summertime union between the sun and earth is actually a reunion between  the divine gods of the spiritual sun & their offspring, humankind.

We can contemplate this dynamic & bring it to life in our soul most strongly at this time.

 

Tuesday June 23rd – St. John’s Eve –7:30pm – 10pm

Bon-Fire Social Gathering

Pot-luck Dinner at the Home of Hazel & Chuck Ginsberg

 

Please Bring Food & Drink to Share in Community

RSVP by June 22 RudolfSteinerChicago@gmail.com

to receive address, important parking instructions & directions.

 

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Friday June 26th 2015, 7:30pm – 9:30pm

A Special St. John’s Open House at the Branch

 

Featuring: A legacy bestowed by Magda Lissau and Don Smith:

A treasure trove of Books from their personal library.

All sales to benefit Arcturus and The Rudolf Steiner Branch

 

Improvisational Music with Debbie Barford and friends

Group Eurythmy, Sun Wheel Craft

 

$10 donation & Snacks to Share Encouraged

(but no one will be turned away for lack of Cake or Cash!)