The Darkness is coming…
But never fear…
The darkness is coming…
But the light is near…
The darkness is coming…
The darkness is here…

The Hag goes to seed & becomes bone…a rich black loom containing the seed of our own rebirth. Let us release ourselves from the outer world for a sacred moment to celebrate the dark; where the inner life is honored & nurtured by the many Marys within…

The future is a line arcing out in front of us. The past is a line extending behind. But space is curved. So somewhere the future meets the past, & the circle is joined in wholeness. And guess what, we call that, the Now – The place, in time & space, where we can meet ourselves wherever we go. We even meet ourselves when we greet each other. & so we share this present together, this gift of now, unwrapping it together in the spirit of Peace, Love & Wisdom…

Knowing…That as the wheel turns the Sun Returns

~hag

***

18 December 2-19 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Last-quarter Moon (exact at 10:57 pm CST. Bella Luna rises around midnight shining in the head of Virgo, under Leo.

***

International Migrants Day

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

“History is the essence of innumerable biographies.” ~Thomas Carlyle, “On History” (1830)

1271 – Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” officially marking the start of the Yuan dynasty of Mongolia & China

1803 – Deathday of Johann Gottfried Herder, German philosopher, theologian, & poet – associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, & Weimar Classicism.

1829 – Deathday of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, biologist, & academic – an early proponent of the idea that evolution occurred & proceeded in accordance with natural laws. He gave the term biology a broader meaning by coining the term for special sciences, chemistry, meteorology, geology, & botany-zoology

1863 – Birthday of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Rudolf Steiner has some very interesting things to say about his assassination  

1865 – US Secretary of State William Seward proclaims the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery throughout the USA

1878 – Birthday of Joseph Stalin, 4th Premier of the Soviet Union

1879 – Birthday of Paul Klee, Swiss-German painter & educator

1958 – Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched

1966 – Saturn’s moon Epimetheus is discovered by astronomer Richard Walker

1972 –President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will engage North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, a series of Christmas bombings, after peace talks collapsed with North Vietnam on the 13th

1973 –Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev & Pyotr Klimuk, is launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union

1990 – International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers & Members of Their Families is adopted.

1999 – NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments

2006 – United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections

***

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~I’ve known that tempting feast of death when
While darkness filled the mind, the heart cried out –
Let us listen & hear…
I know when the eye of truth is plucked
From the head, only the blood
Of rage remains –
Can we make the change
To heal the Comforter?
Come & call forth with me
A bright secret veiled in black cloth –
A heart-light beyond heaven
Which is the light within
Re-kindled through sacrifice…
~hag

***

Hung with the white veils of winter, the Sun daily wanes. Soon the centaur of Sagittarius will hand the reigns over to the scorpion – a catalyst for the transformation into the longest night of the Winter Solstice. In this time of the dark before the dawn, the image of the centaur stands before us like the forces of gravity seeking to pull the human being down. It speaks to the danger inherent in this final chapter of Advent, reflecting Herod’s fearful animal instinct to preserve himself by the killing the innocents. This evil act precedes the birth of the light.

Yet ancient myths tell of the hidden wisdom of the centaur. They speak of the struggle of the hero to overcome the bondage of the animalistic drive. It is the eternal drama that plays out in the depths of the human soul.  

Inspired by this struggle Goethe has his character Faust carried thru the night on the back of Chiron the centaur, past the turbulent waters of the Peneios, to seek out the secluded sanctuary of wise Manto, who is to show Faust the way to Helena, the lost archetypal image of the divine feminine. Faust praises Chiron as a doctor & tutor.

The riddle of this strange contradiction of the centaur – the wildness & wisdom living so close together, is rooted in the tragedy of human incarnation. On the way to becoming human we had to be bound to the forces of our animal nature which have attached us for so long to the lower materiality, until we can find our way to liberation. The truth hidden behind the consumerism of Christmas, the mystery of the incarnation of Christ holds the key to this healing of the human being.  

“O, thou slumber’s turning,  O, thou sorrow’s ending!” ~Christian Morgenstern

Peace

~~Hazel Archer Ginsberg

***

Holy Nights 2019-2020 – The New Mysteries of the ‘Christmas Conference’ Renewed! Dear Friends – Join us this year for an Extra Ordinary Holy Nights. We will gather at the Branch from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm CST to attend a new initiative with folks from around the world; ‘May Human Beings Hear It: An Online Holy Nights Gathering hosted by ASA friends around the country’. Laura Scappaticci, Angela Foster.  

Here is the link with info. for this free Zoom Call gathering.  

Here is the Link to Register

Then from 7:30pm – 8:30pm CST we will take up our own study of the ‘Laying of the Foundation Stone’ from The Christmas Conference 1923/1924. (There are copies of ‘The Red Book’ in the Library)

Most Nights are from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm CST except:
24 Dec. Zoom Call at NOON CST (no meeting at the branch)
*26 Dec. The Rudolf Steiner Branch is Hosting this Nation-wide event. Meet in the Upper Room at 6 pm CST.
*28 Dec. Olaf Åsteson practice 3 pm – 5 pm CST – Performance at 7 pm CST.

1st Holy Night: Tuesday 24 December 2019 – Christmas Eve, Adam & Eve’s Day (no meeting at the branch) Zoom call at NOON CST – A Goethean Conversation

2nd Holy Night: Wednesday 25 December 2019 – Christmas Day. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. 1st hour hosted by ‘The Sophia Holding Group’. Our study: Rudolf Steiner’ Opening Lecture. pg. 43

*3rd Holy Night: Thursday 26 December 2019 – Boxing Day – Feast of St. Steven. 1st hour hosted by us the Rudolf Steiner Branch, Chicago: “The Vast & Holy Night” a liminal performance of spoken word & eurythmy honoring the dark from which the light is born. Our study: The Laying of the Foundation Stone of the General Anthroposophical Society through Rudolf Steiner. Pg. 68

4th Holy Night: Friday 27 December 2019 – Feast of St. John -1st hour hosted by Mary Stewart Adams. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting pg. 98

*5th Holy Night: Saturday 28 December 2019 – The Dream Song of Olaf Åsteson with Debbie Barford & Mary Tom 3pm – 5pm practice 7 pm – 9 pm performance. Come gather to work with the Legend of Olaf Åsteson in the afternoon to be part of the community ensemble 3pm – 5pm with a dinner break returning for the performance open to all from 7 pm – 9 pm.  $10 Donation Encouraged. Contact Debra Barford for more info.

or Zoom Call: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm hosted by The Dallas Maitreya Branch. Lisa Dalton

6th Holy Night: Sunday 29 December 2019 – 1st hour hosted by The Rockford TN. Group. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 110 William Rogers

7th Holy Night: Monday 30 December 2019 – 1st hour hosted by The Eastern Regional Council. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 138

***

– NYE–The 13th Hidden Night Tuesday 31 December 2019-2020
7:30 pm – 1 am – $20 + Potluck Food & Drink to Share
Live Music & Folk Dancing with Jutta & the Hi-Dukes ™ 8 -9:30pm
Biography Playshop
Spacial Dynamics & the Loving Kindness Meditation with Deborah Rogers
Cut Away & Call in – A Ritual of Renewal
Seeking the Holy Grail Within – with Hazel Archer Ginsberg
Lead (Wax) Casting Divination for the NY
More TBA…

***

8th Holy Night: Wednesday 1 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by Tess Parker & The Youth. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 183

9th Holy Night: Thursday 2 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by The Western Regional Council. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 192

10th Holy Night: Friday 3 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by The Portland Branch. Our study: Continuation of the Foundation Meeting. pg. 204

11th Holy Night: Saturday 4 January 2020 – 1st hour hosted by Brian Gray. Our study: The Envy of the Gods – the Envy of Human Beings, Looking back to the burning of the Goetheanum, by Rudolf Steiner. Pg. 231

*12th Holy Night: Sunday 5 January 2020 – Epiphany, ‘Three Kings’ – 1st hour hosted by The Central Regional Council. Alberto Loya, Marianne Fieber, Lisa Dalton, Hazel Archer Ginsberg. Our Study: On the Right Entry into the Spiritual World – The responsibility Incumbent on us, by Rudolf Steiner. Pg. 260

for more info. contact Festivals Coordinator Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

***

The Christian Community in North America

Winter Youth Conference 2020

THE COURAGE TO LOVE THE WORLD THAT WE’RE IN

For young people ages 14-19 – January 17 – 20, 2020 MLK weekend in Washington DC

WHAT DO YOU LOVE? -WHAT IS IN NEED OF YOUR LOVE? 

Rev. Carol Kelly, Rev. Paul Newton, Anna Silber, Samuel Parker, Ultra-Violet Archer, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

fee $300 (Financial assistance available) 

Register at: www.ChristianCommunity.com/2020-mlk-signup

contact Rev. Carol Kelly carolkelly.cc@gmail.com

full flyer: Christian community DC2020

***

30 Jan. – 2 Feb. 2020 Prep-makers conference at Michael Fields Institute

Fellowship of Preparation Makers Gathering

BD 501 and 508 – Tools to bring the cosmic light into the earth.

January 30^th  – February 2^nd, 2020 

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, N8030 Townline Rd, East Troy, WI

The mission of the Fellowship of Preparation Makers is to ensure that good quality biodynamic preparations are available now and into the future throughout North America.

Schedule:

Thursday, January 30th

10—10:30 am   Registration for Chromatogram Intensive

10:30am   Chromatogram Intensive – All levels welcome. Presenter: Ryann Herring

12 —1pm  Lunch on your own

1-3pm  Chromatogram Intensive

3—5pm  Registration and Social Time

5-6:30pm  Supper

7-8:30pm   Welcome from Perry Brown, and Candlemas Festival with Hazel Archer Ginsberg

Friday, January 31st

7:30-8:30am   Registration, Breakfast and Social Time

8:30– 10 am   History of Fellowship of Prep Makers, and Introductions.

10-10:30am  Morning Break

10:30–12:30pm  Why Biodynamics? Presenter: Mac Mead

12:30-1:45pm Lunch

2-3:30pm  How the cosmic works in the earth? Presenter: Hugh Courtney

3:30-4pm Afternoon Break

4-6pm  Different ways to make and use BD501 & BD508. Practical hands on session with Marjory House and Lloyd Nelson

6-7:30 pm Supper

7:30-9pm  The Journey of a Prep Maker,  A history circle, Facilitator: Brian Wickert

Saturday, February 1st

7:30-8:30 Registration, Breakfast and Social Time

8:30-10am  History of Silica on Man’s Evolution (Lamuria to today) Presenter: Mac Mead

10-10:30am  Morning break

10:30– 12pm  Silica and the Human Presenter: Dr. Mark Kamsler

12-1:30pm Lunch

1:30-3pm  Interpretation of Chromatograms  Presenter: Ryann Herring

3-3:30pm  Afternoon Break

3:30-5pm  Kolisko Institute  Presenter: Dr. Mark Kamsler

5-7pm  Supper

7-8:30pm  Quality Comparison of BD501 & 508  Show and tell how you make and use the preps. Facilitator: Wali Via

8:30 pm  Evening Social/Brew City Drifters

Sunday, February 2nd

7:30-8:30 am  Breakfast & Social Time

8:30-10am  Round Table Discussion: Peppering for Pests and Weeds Panel: Mac Mead and Hugh Courtney

10-1-:30  Morning Break

10:30– Noon  Fellowship presentations, evaluations and closing circle.

Noon  Lunch

Registration and Lodging

Full Conference Fee $250

Single Day $125

Single Talk $25

Single Meal $15

Chromatogram Intensive $25

Homestays Available

Airport pickup from MKE available

REGISTER ONLINE HERE

Questions:
Allison Pratt-Szeliga
apszeliga@michaelfields.org
262-642-3303×107

Home stay  and airport transportation arrangements will be handled by:
Petra Zinniker
petrazinniker@gmail.com
262-581-7574

We will work to provide home stays for everyone who requests one. Some homes will be free and others may have a cost. Please contact Petra with your requests. Home stays will be reserved on a first come first served basis.

Local accommodations are also listed below:
Quality Inn & Suites (1.8 miles away)
2921 O’Leary Ln, East Troy, WI 53120•(262) 684-2183

Alpine Valley Resort (1.6 miles away)
W2501 Co Rd D, Elkhorn, WI 53121•(262) 642-7374

BD 501 and 508 preps for quality comparison:
If you have them, please bring or send BD 501 and BD 508 preps for quality comparison and closing ceremony.
Preps can be mailed to Petra Zinniker, N 7399 Bowers Rd, Elkhorn, WI 53121

Presenters:

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Mac Mead 

Hugh Courtney 

Marjory House 

Lloyd Nelson

Dr Kamsler

Ryan Herring 

Wali Via

Sponsors: Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Demeter, Biodynamic Association

***

The Central Regional Council and the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology present: View this email in your browser

Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology — an Easter-Tide RetreatMaundy Thursday 9 April 2020 Noon thru Easter Sunday at 3 pm Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL AAP:James A. Dyson, M.D., Roberta Nelson, Ph.D., and David Tresemer, Ph.D. with Susan Overhauser, Ph.D.CRC:Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa DaltonEurythmist: Mary RuudActivities:Art-ActsStar WisdomThe Karma ExercisesExperiential PAGEANT on Holy Saturday: ‘Know Thyself’Easter Sunrise SongtrailOptional service at the Christian CommunityCommunal meals and time for ConversationLectures:‘Living into Karma through the Senses’‘How to find the Self in a Sea of Karma’‘Unfolding the Enigma of the Saturn Path’‘The Gesture of Karma’‘Christ as Lord of Karma — how do I access this in terms of my personal psychology?’(Program subject to change) $125 Conference fee includes 1 meal a dayFor more information and to register, contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@peoplepc.com

***

Festivals for the Dead. Then & Now. Renew, or Create Your Own Tradition.

with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year. Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Trans-denominational Minister, ‘Anthroposopher’, working as the Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, The Traveling Speakers Program, & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.