22 July 2018 – Astro-Weather: Bella Luna shines over Antares & the Head of Scorpius this evening. Bright Vega is nearing the zenith from the East, & Arcturus is descending the western side of the sky.
Saturn shines lower left of the gibbous Moon tomorrow evening. The Moon and Saturn forms a not-quite-equilateral triangle with the Cat’s Eyes which rises higher & rotates clockwise as night grows late; the cat tilting her head & winking.
NicolasRégnier
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
El Greco
Feast Day of Mary Magdalene, sister of Martha & Lazarus; who stood beneath the cross on Golgotha, & who was the 1st to see the risen Christ…The woman initiate represents the soul in humankind, Aisha, as Moses called it. The once turbulent Mary Magdalene, whose seven demons Jesus had driven out according to the Biblical account, became his most devoted disciple. It was at the farm in Bethany, with Mary, the mother of Jesus, Lazuars, Martha & the Magdalene that Jesus liked to rest from the labors of his mission. There He freely gave his most gentle consolations & in loving conversations He spoke of the Divine Mysteries which He did not yet always confide to his disciples. Sometimes at the hour when the gold of the sunset faded among the olive branches, when twilight slipped between their delicate foliage, Jesus became thoughtful. A shadow fell over his illumined face. He thought of the hardships of his work, the wavering faith of the Apostles, the powerful enemies in the world. The Temple, Jerusalem, humankind, with its crimes & ingratitude, rolling over Him like a living mountain. Struck by the solemnity of his voice, the women held his soul. However unchangeable the serenity of Jesus might be, they understood that His spirit was as though closed in the coffin of confinement which separated him from the joys of earth. They sensed the destiny of the prophet; they felt his unshakable resolution.
Sometimes called simply the Magdalene, Mary is mentioned by name twelve times in the canonical gospels, more than any of the apostles. The Gospel of Luke 8:2-3 lists Mary as one of the women who traveled with Jesus & helped support his ministry “out of their resources”, indicating that she was wealthy. The same passage also states that seven demons had been driven out of her, a statement which is repeated in the longer ending of Mark. In all four canonical gospels, she is a witness to the crucifixion of Jesus &, in the Synoptic Gospels, she is also present at his burial. All four gospels identify her, either alone or as a member of a larger group of women, as the first witness to the empty tomb, & the first to testify to Jesus’s resurrection. For these reasons, she is known in many Christian traditions as the “apostle to the apostles”. Mary is a central figure in later apocryphal Gnostic Christian writings, including the Dialogue of the Savior, the Pistis Sophia, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, & the Gospel of Mary. These texts portray her as Jesus’s closest disciple & the only one who truly understood his teachings. In the Gnostic gospels, Mary Magdalene’s closeness to Jesus results in tension with the other disciples, particularly Simon Peter.
During the Middle Ages, Mary Magdalene was conflated in western tradition with Mary of Bethany & the unnamed “sinful woman” who anoints Jesus’s feet in Luke 7:36-50, resulting in a widespread but inaccurate belief that she was a repentant prostitute or promiscuous woman. In 1969, the identification of Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany & the “sinful woman” was removed from the General Roman Calendar, but the view of her as a former prostitute has persisted in popular culture.
Mary Magdalene is considered to be a saint by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, & Lutheran churches—with a feast day of July 22. During the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church used Mary Magdalene as a symbol of penance. Other Protestant churches honor her as a heroine of the faith. The Eastern Orthodox churches also commemorate her on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, the Orthodox equivalent of one of the Western Three Marys traditions.
Elaborate medieval legends from western Europe tell exaggerated tales of Mary Magdalene’s wealth & beauty, as well as her journey to southern France.
1099 –Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem. After the successful siege of Jerusalem in 1099, Godfrey became the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He refused the title of King, however, as he believed that the true King of Jerusalem was Christ, preferring the title of Advocate (i.e., protector or defender) of the Holy Sepulchre (Latin: Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri). He is also known as the “Baron of the Holy Sepulchre” & the “Crusader King”. Godfrey is a key figure in the theories put forth in the books The Holy Blood & the Holy Grail & The Da Vinci Code. In the Paradiso segment of his Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri sees the spirit of Godfrey, together with Roland’s, in the Heaven of Mars with the other “warriors of the faith”. Godfrey is depicted in Georg Friedrich Händel’s opera Rinaldo (1711) as Tasso’s “Goffredo”.
1499 – Battle of Dornach: The Swiss decisively defeat the army of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor & concluded the Swabian War between the Swiss & the Swabian League.
1893 – Katharine Lee Bates writes America the Beautiful after admiring the view from the top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado. At the age of 33, Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College, had taken a train trip to teach a short summer school session at Colorado College. Several of the sights on her trip inspired her, & they found their way into her poem, including the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the “White City” with its promise of the future contained within its gleaming white buildings; the wheat fields of America’s heartland Kansas, through which her train was riding & the majestic view of the Great Plains from high atop Pikes Peak. On the pinnacle of that mountain, the words of the poem started to come to her, & she wrote them down upon returning to her hotel room at the original Antlers Hotel. The poem was initially published two years later in The Congregationalist to commemorate the Fourth of July. It quickly caught the public’s fancy. Just as Bates had been inspired to write her poem, Samuel A Ward, too, was inspired. The tune came to him while he was on a ferryboat trip from Coney Island back to his home in New York City after a leisurely summer day & he immediately wrote it down. He was so anxious to capture the tune in his head, he asked fellow passenger friend Harry Martin for his shirt cuff to write the tune on.
1946 – King David Hotel bombing: A Zionist underground organisation, the Irgun, bombs the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, site of the civil administration and military headquarters for Mandatory Palestine, resulting in 491 deaths.
2013 – A series of earthquakes in Dingxi, China, kills at least 389 people & injures more than 500 others.
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O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
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How To Know, Confront, and Work with Evil
A Weekend Workshop with Rev. Bastiaan Baan
At the Christian Community, 2135 W. Wilson Chicago, Il. 60625
Saturday 4 August 2018, 10 am – 8 pm
Sunday 5 August 2018, 11:45am – 5 pm
Fee is a Sliding Scale $25 – $100
Please RSVP to Rev. Ann Burfeind
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by Grace Kahn
20 August 2018 ~MORAL MONDAY~ CHICAGO 7 pm – 9 pm
“When The Trees Melt Away In A Sun Soaked Cotton Dream”
A Going Going Gone Party for the CWS Class of 2018 – an Art Exhibit with Musical Performances from the Youth at Elderberries Chicago 4251 N. Lincoln Ave.
Illustrations by Grace Kahn, Work by Shanti Rogers, Art booth by Liz Rosu-Rosenberg
Songs from “Beyond Blue and Red” by Ultra-Violet Archer
Chance Schneider & DJ Grapefruit Effect
$10 Donation –MORE or less (Youth under 21 FREE)
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How We Will: Organizing a Bare Bones Threefold Cultural Revolution
Hosted by Urban First Aid – Art As Medicine & The Elderberries 3Fold Cafe Chicago 4251 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60618-2953, United States
31 Aug. 2018 at 12 PM to 4 Sep. 2018 at 2 PM
REGISTER for How We Will 2018
The Cultural Revolution continues! Organizing for systemic change – a separation of powers into three different spheres of action:
Culture – Economics – Political
Freedom – Kinship – Equality
2018 is a pivotal year in the United States and also around the world. We will step into organizing the three spheres particularly, through what lives already in our community and then seeking beyond to allies and partners.
Step by step organizing strategies and tools will be at the forefront of this bare bones session of How We Will – 3folding our Cultural Revolution. We will strategize together as to how to bring about a community of like-minded organizations working in agriculture, education, medicine, art and more which can open up a conversation on Rudolf Steiner’s work for a threefold consideration.
First up Kait Zielger for our How We Will: Threefolding our Cultural Revolution strategy sessions. Mid July Kait will be at the Goetheanum in Dornach where she will present her work on Theory U at the Youth Section gathering and then will co present with Gerald Haefner at YIP in September.
Elizabeth Roosevelt Weeks will co lead a conversations throughout the Labor Day weekend in Chicago: Periphery & Center – The work at Elderberries Threefold Cafe in Hollywood has specifically been around how to create a culture of selflessness where we make room to the ninth degree for the other.
Rudolf Steiner shares: ‘He who would be a true member should strive in the deepest places of his soul for inner tolerance towards his fellow-men. To understand one’s fellow-man ? even where he thinks and does things which one would not like to think and do oneself ? this should be the ideal.’
Strategizing a way forward no matter what country you live in! Nathaniel Williams and his community are working on a new form of economics in their upstate New York neighborhood and we are aiming to hear about this and to really break down into groups along the lines of the Economic, Cultural and Political spheres to find a way forward.
Tech: As tool for Revolutionwith Johannes Kronenberg
How can we tame/domesticate the recently discovered ‘wild animal’ called (digital)technology? The wild beast that eats an average of 8 hours of our time a day and makes us live in a blurry cloud. How can it truly serve us instead of the other way around? And how to find a balance between this digital fragmented cloud and ‘real life’ through the ‘Leading Thoughts’ of Rudolf Steiner’?
We will discover this and more in a dialogue-setting and hands-on building personal and collective guidelines.
Bio: Johannes Kronenberg (26) was born in The Netherlands, grew up in a Camphill community, studied and worked with fine arts and social innovation, worked as coordinator of the Dutch BYouth Section and just finished his master studies in leadership and sustainability in Sweden. In somebody else’s words he could tell you: “Strange is our situation here on Earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men.” Albert Einstein.
Next up we have our organizing community friend Kiara Nagel ! She will bring her facilitating tools to bear over the weekend and encouragement on how to keep it local first. We met Kiara through our colleagues who have been thru the amazing Youth Initiative Program out of Sweden.
BIO: Kiara Nagel is a creative strategist based in Los Angeles with 20 years of experience supporting networks of leaders and organizations to become more creative, collaborative, and engaged in their work. Kiara first became interested in harnessing the power of networks through place-based community development and youth work. Today, as a trainer, educator, speaker and facilitator, she is especially interested in how networks can help build power, create connection and foster collaboration to ensure those most affected are directly engaged in decision-making. Kiara has contributed to many local, national and international initiatives focused on social justice, culture shift, and transformational change. Kiara currently serves as faculty at Antioch University in Los Angeles and The International Youth Initiative Program (YIP) in Sweden. She is an Associate with the Center for Story-based Strategy and an Affiliate with Interaction Institute for Social Change and she holds a Masters in City Planning from the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT.
In times like this, when ALL is falling down around us, we need a full on systemic change. Our time is asking for a separation of powers where the rights gained are not just taken away at whim by whoever is ‘in charge of’ the government and depending on their own political/economic/religious ideology.
The way we are battling for our rights is putting money at the forefront versus our values. We need our values in the front first. What are our values as citizens of the United States? Do we value human beings and the earth and all living beings or do we not? It feels like the last ball has dropped and the judiciary can really no longer do it’s job as it’s the last bastion that would uphold Equality and it is so polarized along political lines that it no longer serves rather it serves the smallest percentage of human beings who are able to buy more Rights for themselves. In a Threefold system you cannot buy more Rights for yourself as there is no money in politics.
Economic system is dead. Here we would raise up a Beloved Community
Political system is dead. Here we would establish in our societal laws Equal Rights for all
Civil Society yet to be born. here we would honor Freedom of the individual.
Not about Socialism or Communism or Capitalism but a time for a fourth way which honors moving away for me me me and me and mine a 4.0 Economy – from Ego to Eco.
Our team here in Hollywood will also share the tools we have learned working with the Poor People’s Campaign around Fusion Coalitions.
More Presenters TBA so stay tuned
We will also be building out the cafe space two weeks before and two weeks after for those who can stay and help get this Elderberries 3Fold Cafe Chicago up and running!
WE NEED HOUSING!
For more info. Contact Frank Agrama
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From Necessity to Freedom – The Evolution of Human Consciousness, Social Sculpture & Experiential Discourse with Hazel Archer Ginsberg
Saturday 8 September 2018 at the Los Angeles Branch 110 Martin Alley, Pasadena, CA 91105. Workshop 10 am – 5 pm
How can I Co-Create with Destiny, to spin the thread of my life with integrity, to heal and clear the collective karma, & achieve my True Becoming?
From the vaporous cleft of Mount Parnassus, and the birth place of Greek Philosophy, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the Holy Grail – From Prophesy to Warning, from Fate to Karma, From Destiny to Free Will.
What is YOUR life Question?
10 am – Doors Open
10:30 am – Explore the legends of The Greek Moirae and the Nordic Norns, the Orphic Hymn and the Prose Poem Edda
11:30 –Song Circle – To call in and to cut away
12:15 pm – Lunch
1:30 pm – Scrying with the Sibyls – The Prophets and the Sistine Chapel…The evolving human consciousness…
2:30 pm – Socratic Questioning – You have to ask the right question to get the right answer
3:15 pm – Break
3:30pm – Once Upon A Time NOW – The new story
4 pm – Weaving Past, Present and Future
4:30 pm – Rudolf Steiner’s poem: DESTINY
5 pm – End
Hazel Archer Ginsberg, Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago, The Traveling Speakers Program, and the Central Regional Council of The Anthroposophical Society, Trans-denominational Minister and founder of ‘Reverse Ritual’ – ‘Understanding Anthroposophy Through the Rhythms of the Year’
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Poetic Imagination, Metamorphosis and the Evolution of Consciousness with Luke Fischer
Sunday 16 September 2018, 2 – 4pm
In this lecture, poet and philosopher, Dr Luke Fischer will discuss ways in which the poetry and thought of Goethe, Rilke, Barfield, and Steiner contribute to an understanding of the evolution of consciousness and of the particular significance of poetic imagination. He will also shed light on how his own poetic and philosophical writings have addressed these topics.
Poetry Reading and Piano Recital
Poet and philosopher, Luke Fischer, will share poems from his poetry collections A Personal History of Vision (UWAP Poetry, 2017) and Paths of Flight (Black Pepper, 2013). Pianist Ryan Senger will perform classical piano works.
Bio: Luke Fischer is a poet, philosopher, and writer. His books include the poetry collections A Personal History of Vision (UWAP Poetry, 2017) and Paths of Flight (Black Pepper, 2013), the monograph The Poet as Phenomenologist: Rilke and the New Poems (Bloomsbury, 2015), and the children’s book The Blue Forest (Lindisfarne Books, 2015). He has co-edited a number of works, including a special section of the Goethe Yearbook (2015) on “Goethe and Environmentalism.” He won the 2012 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize and his poems have been anthologized in the Best Australian Poems (2014, 2015, and 2017). He holds a PhD in philosophy and is an honorary associate of the University of Sydney, Australia. For more information see: www.lukefischerauthor.com
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Veil Painting Workshop with David Dozier
Friday Sept. 21, 2018, 7 -9pm
Saturday Sept. 22, 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday Sept. 23, 10 am -1pm
Workshop fee: $135.00 for RSB members, $160.00 for non-members Supply fee: $135.00*
Veil Painting is a watercolor technique special to artists working with the writings of Rudolf Steiner. Transparent watercolors are thinned far more than usual and glazed over one another on white paper to achieve subtle color washes, or ‘veils.’ The colors are never mixed anywhere but on the paper, and then only one at a time in a wash over dry colors. To avoid loss of time to stretching watercolor paper and waiting for it to dry overnight, students will use 300# cold pressed watercolor paper or heavy illustration board for wet media. We will focus on technique and work with painting motifs using Goethe’s Luster Colors (red, yellow, and blue) and Image Colors (white, black green, and peach), also exploring Goethe’s use of Characteristic Colors, Non-characteristic Colors, and Harmonious Colors in varying combinations on small panels, the Goethean color wheel on a larger panel, with space for a free painting to try and find an image out of the color itself. Supplies: All supplies will be provided for participants out of the supply fee, and will become their personal materials to take home including; brushes, paper, color, jars, rags, tape, ruler, pencil, sharpener, eraser. Participants will be completely equipped to work at home after the workshop, including colors and where to buy additional supplies when needed.
To Register Send check by September 7th to: David Dozier 1050 Columbia Ave. #3E Chicago, IL 60626
*Anyone taking the workshop that believes they already have all the tools and materials they need and wishes to avoid paying the supply fee should speak to Mr. Dozier personally at 773-627-0060, and review their tools and materials against the supply list with him by September 1st, since supplies have to ordered at least two weeks in advance.
Bio: Since 1997 David A. Dozier has taught art history, digital art, painting in oils, pastels and watercolor, black & white drawing, calligraphy and block printing at the Chicago Waldorf School, as well as drawing skills to adults in the Arcturus Rudolf Steiner Education program. He has a Master’s degree in Education (with a Certificate in Waldorf Education) from Antioch New England Graduate School, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communication from Layton School of Art and Design with academic accreditation from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI.
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MIchaelmas Festival Saturday September 29th 2018
7 pm – 9 pm at the branch
Details TBA
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AGM 2018 Friday, Oct 5 – Sunday, Oct 7 in New Orleans, Louisiana
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE!
First Grace United Methodist Church 3401 Canal Street, New Orleans (Check out their amazing history here!)
Pre-conference: Thursday, Oct 4: Living in the Branches National Branch and Group Gathering
Free event! $25 lunch/refreshments fee.
Some travel scholarships available.
Email with questions.
National Youth Conference (Wed pm, Thurs, Fri am October 3-4-5):
MY HEART’S VOCATION: Finding Ourselves within Community
Click here for Youth Conference schedule and registration!
$250 Early Bird (until September 5th), $275 Standard
$375 Sponsorship (supports financial assistance) $60 Youth
Includes Friday light reception, snacks, beverages, and Sunday light brunch! Limited financial assistance available. Email to find out more.
Conference Schedule
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE!
Thursday, October 4
9:00-3:30 First Grace Methodist Church
Living in the Branches: National Branch and Group Gathering
National Youth Conference (Details coming!)
4:00-9:00 Central Region Gathering
Friday, October 5
7:45-9:30 am – Bayou St. John Songtrail: meet under the McDonough Oak.
10:00-12:00 – Class Lesson and Conversation with Joan Sleigh
1:00 pm Opening
1:30-2:30 Keynote Conversation with Orland Bishop
2:30-2:45 Trio Sharing
2:45-3:30 Here and Now with the General Council
4:00-5:15 Concurrent Sessions (Choose on site)
Cain and Abel: Building a bridge between the Two Streams, with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Exploring Transformation Through Our Own Biography, with Janey Newton
5:30-6:15 Central Region Interactive Panel
6:30 DINNER
8:00 Momento Mori Ritual (Stay tuned for details!)
Saturday, October 6
8:00-8:45 Singing or Speech
9:00-10:00 Keynote Discussion with Joan Sleigh
10:00-10:15 Trio Sharing
10:45-12:00 Concurrent Workshops (Choose on site)
Initation of the Heart: The Fifth Gospel, with Patrick Kennedy
General Council Annual Update Session
Transforming Community – Creating the Future: Young People Discovering Their Purpose and Place, with Bart Eddy
12:00-1:30 Lunch (Table Topic Discussions)
1:30-2:30 Youth-Led Panel
3:00-4:15 Participant Research and Initiative Sharing Sessions
(Click here to submit your research/initiative sharing proposal.)
OR
3:00-4:15 Pageant Participant Preparation with Marianne Fieber-Dhara (Details at the conference!)
4:30-6:15 Concurrent Sessions (Choose on site)
Orland Bishop: The Seventh Shrine
House of Hope, with Thea Lavin
Anthroposophical Contemplative Practices in Everyday Life
6:15-7:30 DINNER
8:00-9:30 Confluence of Karma: A Pageant Of Dedicated Service
Sunday, October 7
8:00-8:30 Group Speech
8:30-8:45 Trio Sharing
8:45-10:00 Now and Next (Art, Reflection, Closing Plenum, Singing)
11:00-12:30 First Grace Church Service, or Tour of Raphael Village [link]
Lunch on your own!
Post Sessions (Included in Conference Fee)
2:00-4:00 Lisa Romero: Contemplative Practices
2:00-4:00 John Bloom and Laura Scappaticci: “So That Good May Become”–Working with the Foundation Stone
See you in New Orleans!
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE!
Schedule subject to minor changes.
Limited Financial Assistance Available.
Email community@anthroposophy.org for an application.
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Alex Grey
Our Annual ALL SOULS Festival Saturday 3 November 2018
7 pm – 9 pm at the Branch
Details TBA
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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…
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