Tu’ B’Shvat

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Kela Loplu

Here is today’s I Think Speech’ Podcast

The occult Knapp in 2020 | Tree of life art, Consciousness art, Occult
Mikael Benaane

If we learn, in nature, to receive the soul element together with sense perception, then we shall have the Christ relationship to outer nature. This Christ relationship to outer nature will be something like a kind of spiritual breathing process… When we make our way through the world with an awareness that together with everything we see, everything we hear, there is soul and there is spirit flowing into us, and with the awareness that at the same time soul is flowing from us out into the world, then we shall have gained the awareness needed by humankind for the future.” ~Rudolf Steiner (GA 194)

The Cadeusus / The Tree of Life | Symbols, Ancient symbols, Sacred geometry

29 January 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: Mercury is heading southwest in his retrograde dance. The solar system’s smallest planet is high in the west at sunset next to the the Wolf Moon.

Image result for full february moon painting

Snow Moon all aglow
Hunger Moon watch us grow
Wolf Moon howling low
Quickening Moon help us know

~hag

It’ time to celebrate Tu B’Shvat – the “New Year for the Trees ” which occurs every year around the Full Quickening/ Wolf Moon, which signals the Cross Quarter between Winter Solstice & Spring Equinox. This is when the sap begins to rise.

Kabbalists have used the tree as a metaphor to understand the relationship between the spiritual & physical worlds. Spiritual Science tells us that the human being is a reversed plant. Our head is the root. The higher spiritual realms are where these roots come from, which then ultimately manifests their influence through branches & leaves – our heart & lungs & limbs, our thinking, feeling & willing in the world.

In the 16th century, the Kabbalists compiled a Tu B’Shvat “Seder*,” similar to the Seder for Passover. It involves enjoying the fruits of the tree, & discusses philosophical & Kabbalistic concepts, like the idea that by eating with the highest intention we can repair the ‘fall’. The ‘sin’ against the Tree of Knowledge was that Adam & Eve ate its fruit before it was ripe.

Paul Rubens

So, what is it about waiting (perhaps, wading) that transforms knowledge from hurtful to healthy? Do we have faith that the spring will come & everything will grow & ripen in its season?

Through conscious eating, we have a daily opportunity to correct a part of our soul, so deep & intrinsic that it reaches back into the Garden of Eden.

Image result for tu bishvat 7 species

The custom on Tu B’Shvat is to eat fruits from the seven species for which the Earth is praised: “…a land of wheat and barley and (grape) vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and (date) honey” (Deut. 8:8).

On Tu B’Shvat, it is also customary to eat a “new fruit” something we have not yet tasted this year.

Image result for tu bishvat 7 species

This festival lets us ask: Am I getting the spiritual food I need, to truly live with grace, or is my tree being blown down by the forces of information overload & rampant materialism?

Am I part of a strong community, providing a warm & nurturing environment? Or am I cast into the pale bleak anonymity of urban life & cyberspace?

Am I looking to future generations knowing that I am providing them with the proper foundations for their lives?

Image result for tu bishvat 7 species

The word “Shvat” is also related to the Hebrew word for a staff or rod. A staff can be used as a symbol of power; or as a cane to lean on. This is an underlying theme of the month.

So as we open our thinking, feeling & willing to align with the rising sap, in gratitude for the fruits of life; we can use this time to focus on the idea of consciously using our daily behavior as a medium for spirituality.

Tu B'Shevat Seder: Honest Ritual | Food, Seder, Cheese board

*Tu B’Shvat seder

PREPARATIONS: lots of fruit, including: The seven species:

Figs, Dates, Pomegranates, Olives, Grapes(or raisins) wheat = Challah bread and        barley, various nuts with the shells (walnuts, almonds, pistachios, coconut), and fruits with peels (oranges, pomegranates, avocado) Other fruits with edible seeds (e.g. blueberries) Other fruits with inedible pits (e.g. peaches, plums) Wine or grape juice, both white and red. Charity box

THE SEDER BEGINS

The leader asks: Why do we celebrate the New Year for the trees on Tu B’Shvat?

All say: Since the Holy Temple was destroyed, farmers could no longer bring the First Fruits (Bikkurim) as an offering. So on Tu B’Shvat we offer the “fruit of our lips,” in praise for all the fruit trees in the world.

A participant says: Tu Bishvat marks a new period for taking tithes, a portion of which is given to the poor. Therefore: “When a person is privileged to eat in the presence of Love, they must show appreciation by giving charity to the poor and feeding them, just as The Source in Her bounty feeds them.” (“Zohar” – Parshat Trumah) At this point it is appropriate to pass around a ‘pushka’ to collect tzedakah. After the seder, the money should be donated to a worthy cause.

A participant says: The Mishnah in Tractate Rosh Hashana says that Tu B’Shvat is New Year for the TREE (singular). This reference to a singular tree alludes to “The Tree” — the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. “And The Divine said: ‘Let the earth put forth grass, herb-yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit of its kind.’ ‘Fruit tree’ means the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which put forth blossoms and fruit. ‘Bearing fruit’ is the tzaddik, the basis of the world. ‘Of its kind’ means all the human beings who have in them the spirit of holiness, which is the blossom of that tree. This is the covenant of holiness, the covenant of peace — and the faithful enter into that kind and do not depart from it. The Tzaddik generates, and the tree conceives and brings forth fruit of its kind.” (“Zohar” – Bereishit 33a)

Meditation: “One should intend that they are eating at the celestial table, in the Garden of Eden before the Divine Presence.” (“Raishit Chochma” — Shar HaKedusha)

Take a few moments and think deeply about being in the company of The Divine… sitting at the table of The One… experiencing the sublime spiritual pleasure of a relationship with the Creator Herself.

A participant says: humanity’s name — “Adam” — is derived from the word Earth, adama. And Eve = “a living being’. While humanity is at once the pinnacle of creation, we are also dependent on the earth for our most basic needs. The Torah, refers to the human being as a “tree of the field” (Deut. 20:19). Our sages learn from this verse a prohibition against any needless destruction. In other words, fruit trees serve as the archetype for our relationship and responsibility to our environment. It was through a mistake in eating unripe fruit that caused Adam and Eve’s exile from the Garden of Eden. Eating fruit is a metaphor for our interaction with this world. Correct usage leads to a perfected world and spiritual bliss. Misuse can lead to destruction and spiritual degradation. The seder of Tu B’Shvat is our opportunity to rectify the past iniquity and return once again to our rightful place within the Garden.

All say: Adam and Eve by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil created consequences. To get back to wholeness we eat our fruit today with pure intentions, as if from the Tree of Life.

A participant says: In the Talmud, Rabbi Abbun said: “Each life form, especially fruit, is entrusted to a specific angel”. By saying a blessing over a fruit, we empower that angel to reproduce more of that fruit. The Talmud says that someone who eats and doesn’t say a blessing is considered a thief. Why? Because every aspect of God’s creation is inherently holy. A blessing re-infuses the world with holiness. Eating without a blessing, however, lowers the level of holiness in the world without replacing the loss — and is regarded as theft.

A participant says: The Baal Shem Tov, was once visiting the home of Rabbi Yaakov Koppel. When Rabbi Yaakov danced in front of his Shabbos table for an hour, the Baal Shem Tov asked to explain this unusual custom. Rabbi Yaakov replied: “Before I taste physical food, I absorb the food’s spiritual essence. In doing so, I become so excited that I sing and dance!”

The leader says: Everything in the physical world is a metaphor for a deeper spiritual concept.

Eating is to the body, what knowledge is to the soul. When we eat, we internalize the good part of the food — and through that we grow and develop. Similarly, when we learn a new piece of information, we must “chew it over,” digest it, and integrate it into our very being. Only then can we truly grow in wisdom and spirituality.

GRAIN PRODUCTS

Now comes the part we’ve been waiting for: drinking wine and enjoying other delicacies! Wheat and barley are the first two of the seven species. “A land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olives and honey” (Deut. 8:8).

The leader says: Before saying the blessing, let us pause and reflect on our good fortune. A blessing is a “thank-you note” to our Creator. The sages say: “Who is the wealthy person? The one who is happy with what they have.” The more we appreciate our gifts, the more sincere is our thanks, and the more sublime is our pleasure. Recite the blessing on the bread: “Baruch Ata Adon-ai, Elohai-nu, Melech HaOlam ha-motzie lechem min ha-aretz.” “Blessed are you, Creator of the Universe, who fashions bread from the Earth.”

Meditation: Savor each bite of the cake or bread. Appreciate that The Divine loves us and created everything for our good.

FRUIT – On Tu B’Shvat, we eat the fruit by which The Divine praises the Earth. As the verse says: “The trees have borne their fruit, fig tree and vine have yielded their strength. Children be happy & rejoice”.

The order of eating will be: olives, dates, grapes, figs, pomegranates.

“Baruch Ata Adod-nai Elohai-nu Melech HaOlam boray pri ha-aitz.” “Blessed are you Creator of the Universe, Who creates the fruit of the tree.”

If there is a seasonal fruit at the table which you have not yet tasted this season, say the following additional blessing before eating the fruit: “Baruch Ata Ado-noi, Elohai-nu Melech HaOlam, sheh-he-che-yanu vi-kee-yimanu vi-hee-gee-yanu laz-man ha-zeh.” “Blessed are You Creator of the Universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.”

Take each fruit one by one, as the appropriate paragraph below is recited. Enjoy the many unique flavors and textures. Reflect on the reality that the Creator of time and space wants us to take pleasure in everything that is in the world.

Participants take turns saying the following paragraphs:

Olives: “The Divine called your name ‘a green olive tree, nice and beautiful fruit.’” (Jeremiah 11:16)

“Your children shall be like olive plants around your table.” (Psalms 123:3)

The Sages taught: “Just as olive oil brings light into the world, so do the people bring light into the world.” (Midrash — Shir HaShirim Raba 1:2) & so may it be

Dates: “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree” (Psalms 92:13). The righteous are fruitful and sweet, just like a date palm. “Your stature is like a palm tree” (Song of Songs 7:8). “No part of the palm tree is wasted. The dates are for eating; the Lulav branches are for waving in praise on Sukkot; the dried thatch is for roofing; the fibers are for ropes; the leaves are for sieves; and the trunk is for house beams. So too, every one us is needed

Grapes: “Just as a vine has large and small clusters and the large ones hang lower, so too the people: Whoever labors in Torah and is greater in Torah, seems lower than his fellow [due to his humility].” (Midrash – Vayikra Raba 36:2)

Figs: Rabbi Yochanan said: “What is the meaning of ‘He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit’? (Proverbs 27:18) Why is the Torah compared to a fruit tree? Figs on a tree do not ripen all at once, but a little each day. Therefore, the longer one searches in the tree, the more figs he finds. So too with Torah: The more one studies, the more knowledge and wisdom one finds.” (Talmud – Eruvin 54a)

Pomegranates: “Let us get up early to the vineyards. Let us see if the vine has flowered, if the grape blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates have budded. There I will give you my love.”

“If the pomegranates have budded.” These are the little children who are like the many seeds of a pomegranate.” (Midrash – Shir HaShirim Rabba 6:11)

For discussion: Rami Bar Yechezkel once came to Bnei Brak and saw goats grazing under a fig tree. Honey was dripping from the figs and milk from the goats — and they became intermingled. He said: “Behold, a land flowing with milk and honey!” (Talmud – Ketubot 111b) Share a story or experience where life flowed with the sweetness of milk & honey.

WINE: At the Tu B’Shvat seder, it is traditional to drink four cups of wine, similar to the Passover Seder.

      First Cup – pure white

      Second Cup – pale pink (white with a drop of red wine)

      Third Cup – darker pink (with more red added)

      Fourth Cup – almost totally red (with only a drop of white)

A participant says: White wine represents nature in potential. Red wine represents nature in full bloom. On this day, we begin to leave the winter behind and move into a period of renewal and the fullness of life. It is stated in the Zohar: “Wine has two colors — white and red. White is from the right side [of kindness]; red from the left side [of strength and judgment].”

As we progress from white to red, we move from potential to actuality. We are able to appreciate The Divine discernment as well as kindness. We see The Divine design and goodness in the world with increasing clarity.

A participant says: “Wine rejoices the heart of man.” This refers to the wine of Torah. Yayin (Hebrew for wine) equals 70, the numerical value of Sod, meaning “secret.” [Wine represents the hidden aspects of the Torah.] (“Zohar” — Parshat Pinchas).

A participant says: The Talmudic section dealing with agriculture is called “trust in The Divine.” When a farmer plants a seed, trust in The Divine gives him the strength to survive the winter. On Tu B’Shvat we begin  to see that trust rewarded. Similarly, when we plant a seed for personal growth, it requires trust and patience to survive the ‘cold,’ before we see the fruits of our labor.

We will now drink four cups of wine (or grape juice) in conjunction with four different categories of fruit. Each of these pairs correspond to each of the four spiritual realms (from lowest to highest):

      action — asiah

      formation — yetzirah

      creation — briah

      emanation of pure Spirit — atzilut

Each level becomes more spiritual and connected to the Creator. As we eat, we elevate the fruits — and ourselves — through the various levels, rising higher and higher.

A participant says: The Almighty said: “Although wine can be a source of trouble in this world, in the future I shall make it only a source of joy, as it says: ‘And it shall come to pass on that day, that the mountains will drip with sweet wine’ (Yoel 3:18).” (Midrash – Vayikra Raba 12:5)

Pour the first cup of wine (all white):

All say the following blessing, and then drink from the wine

“Baruch Ata Adon-ai Elohai-nu Melech HaOlam boray pri ha-gafen.” “Blessed are Creator of the Universe who creates the fruit of the vine.”

Slow down and really enjoy the taste of the wine. The most prestigious universities offer courses in wine tasting. There’s a lot to appreciate in life. Be a connoisseur!

The leader says: We now eat fruits with inedible shells or peels. For example: nuts, pomegranate, oranges, avocado. The edible part of the fruit corresponds to perfection and purity, while the inedible is connected to deficiency and impurity. This is parallel to the realm of action (asiah), the lowest of the spiritual worlds — a world which is enveloped by materialism, just as the fruit is enveloped in its peel/shell.

A participant says: Rabbi Tarfon compared people to a pile of walnuts. If one walnut is removed, each and every nut in the pile is shaken and disturbed. So too, when a single person is in distress, every other person is shaken. (Midrash – Shir HaShirim Raba 6:11)

A participant says: “As it is the virtue of a nut to be closed in from all sides, so too the Heavenly Chariot which goes out of the Garden of Eden is hidden on all sides. And just as the four sections of a walnut are untied at one side and separated on the other, so are all parts of the Heavenly Chariot united in perfect union — and yet each part fulfills a specific purpose.” (“Zohar” – Shmot 15b)

Meditation: As you toss away the peels and shells, see one of your bad character traits (anger, impatience, etc.) being tossed away. In your mind’s eye, picture the bad trait as the shell. Then, as you toss it away, feel the trait leaving you. That’s not the real you. The real you is the fruit… delicious and nourishing. See the trait going into the compost to release that energy & create a fertile loom for your true fruit.

CUPS 2, 3,4 – Drink the second cup — pale pink (white with a drop of red).

The leader says: We now eat fruits with inedible pits. For example: dates, olives, peaches, plums, cherries. This stage is comparable to the realm of formation (yetzirah). The edible parts of the fruit represent holiness. Pits represent impurities which have penetrated the holiness. As the color of the wine begins to gets darker, we can start to see potential turn into reality. The inedible part has now moved from the outside to the inside of the fruit. This is an advancement toward purity. In addition, the inedible part is no longer waste; it is a seed with potential to grow.

Meditation: Imagine one of your bad traits as this seed. Really see it. Then, see that trait growing and developing into something great. This trait no longer holds you back, but propels you forward. Many great people have turned their faults into assets. You too can become great.

Drink the third cup of wine (dark pink).

The leader says: Now we eat fruits that are completely edible: blueberries. This is the realm of creation (briah), the highest level in the created world. (The three lower worlds — asiyah, yetzirah, and briah — are referred to as ma’aseh bereishit, “the act of creation.”)

Meditation: Things are coming close to their full potential. Even the seeds are now edible. They not only have future potential, but are also delicious and ready to eat right now. Think about an area of life you would like to improve. Picture your ideal self. Realize the real you. Now, for the rest of Tu B’Shvat, actually be that person. Act as if you’re already there. The experience can be transformational.

Drink the fourth cup (red with a drop of white).

The leader says: We now taste the fruit on the table with the best fragrance. This is comparable to the realm of pure Spirit (atzilut). This level is called the ma’aseh merkava, “the act of the Chariot.” The prophet Ezekiel saw a Chariot in his vision relating to the mysteries of creation.

A participant says: In Leviticus 23:40, the Etrog is described as pri aitz hadar — “fruit of the majestic tree.” The Etrog is the most spiritual of all trees, as it’s fruit and bark both have fine taste and smell.

On Tu B’Shvat, it is fitting to pray for a beautiful Etrog during the coming Sukkot.

A participant says: The sense of smell is the purest and most elevated. It is through the nose that The Creator invested Adam with a soul, as it says, “The Divine breathed into man’s nostrils a breath of life” (Genesis 2:7). Since there is no perceptible physical matter to smell, it is the most spiritual of the five senses. Burning the fragrant incense was designated as the holiest act of the Jewish year — performed by the Kohen Gadol in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur.

CONCLUSION – The leader says: Eating 12 different fruits is significant, since this corresponds to the 12 different arrangements of the four-letter ineffable Name of The Divine. Upon eating the 12th fruit, we recite the verse: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit each person under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Micah 4:3-4)

After-blessing: After enjoying all the wonderful pleasures that The Divine has given us, we complete the process with a meaningful, heartfelt thanks to the Creator.

Let’s all go around a say what we are grateful for.

A participant says: “Rabbi Abba taught: There is no greater indication of the impending redemption than that which the verse (Ezekiel 36:8) states: “And you, mountains, you shall give forth your branches and you shall bear your fruit for all people, & love will come.” (Talmud – Sanhedrin 98a)

Conclusion: And so with that we come to the end of the Tu B’Shvat seder. We have only touched the surface of the true meaning of the holiday and of the significance of trees and fruit in The Divine creation. That is the beauty of the wheel of the year. Each turn of the wheel we celebrate the same holidays, yet each year we grow and develop many new insights.

The rest of the evening is spent singing and dancing. Next year in a whole & peaceful World!

Blessed Be…

***

Candlemas – St. Mary's Episcopal Church

‘Tree of Life’ Feast & ‘Candlemas’ Festival 2 February 2021 – 5:30-7pm
In the Schreinerei of the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4248 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago


The RSB Festivals Committee invites you to celebrate the Cross-quarter between Winter Solstice & Spring Equinox, called by some: Groundhogs Day, Brigid’s Day
or Imbolc – the lambing season, The Feast of the Purification of Mary, & Tu’B’Shavat*- the “New Year for the Trees”.

All are invited to a Potluck consisting of fruits & nuts & seeds-the gifts of the trees. And then Nancy Melvin will facilitate a beeswax candle making workshop – a Candlemas tradition.

The Seven Species Quilt Blocks Machine Embroidery Designs set for 5x5 hoop  | Embroidery design sets, Machine embroidery quilts, Free machine  embroidery designs

*Tu B’Shvat offers a unique opportunity for insight into life & personal growth. Throughout the centuries, Kabbalists have used the tree as a metaphor to understand the One relationship to the spiritual & physical worlds. The higher spiritual realms are roots that ultimately manifest their influence through branches & leaves in the lower realms. In the 16th century, the Kabbalists compiled a Tu B’Shvat “Seder,” somewhat similar to the Seder for Passover. It involves enjoying the fruits & discussing philosophical & Kabbalistic concepts associated with the ‘Tree of Life’. Among other things, the Seder is a great way to appreciate the bounty that we so often take for granted, & to develop a good & generous eye for the world around us.

Suggestions for this special POTLUCK: lots of fruit! including: The seven species:
Figs, Dates, Pomegranates, Olives, Grapes (or raisins) wheat (Challah bread) &
Barley. Various nuts with the shells (walnuts, almonds, pistachios, coconut),
and fruits with peels (oranges, pomegranates, avocado)
Other fruits with edible seeds (e.g. blueberries)
Other fruits with inedible pits (e.g. peaches, plums)

Donations Welcome http://donate.rschicago.org/

For more info. contact Events & Festivals Coordinator Hazel Archer-Ginsberg hag@rschicago.org

47 thoughts on “Tu’ B’Shvat

  1. Hi Hazel,

    Stephen Clarke had mentioned something that reminded me to look back to last year at the time of Saint John’s Tide, around June 24th. So, I went looking for it because it had many important comments that he would be interested in, and they were gone. Here it is:
    https://reverseritual.com/2020/06/page/2/

    The comments are gone, but as you might remember we were discussing the Saint John Imagination and wherein the Archangel Uriel, Archangel of Earth, was invoking the wisdom of the Mothers from the Underworld. I think Stephen relates to this idea very much, and why a renewal of the Saturn Mysteries could be redeemed in our very time. Sadly, Stephen was not part of our song back then, and didn’t get to hear this, but the recent efforts to honor the native Americans could persuade him to see that we European descendants are on the side of the natives who were the victims of genocide. We see it, and maybe even from a difference source, i.e., ancient India, c .2000 years ago.

    Here is the main lecture on Saint John’s Imagination from Summer 2020, and it floods me now with memories of talking to Stephen about the European extinction of the native Americans, and how Steiner advocated it somehow. According to Stephen, if I remember it correctly from some 9/10 years ago, unless and until we European advocates of Steiner’s anthroposophy admit the error of such a genocide, and apologize for it, and maybe especially for Steiner’s callous disregard for the demise of these natives due to evolutionary progression, we will never see or experience the real meaning of the Saturn Mysteries beheld by the descendants of the Toltecs. Maybe he has changed his opinion over the years, but this lecture is worth giving much consideration for its content. Uriel is kind of the unknown archangel in the swirl of the other seven, yet his domain is Earth, and Steiner does a splendid job in describing him in 1923. So, could Steiner really be an advocate for evolutionary genocide just so that the Europeans could occupy America for their own personal aims? Come on. Rudolf Steiner was the most outspoken critic of America when the Europeans were occupying it. Remember, he saw the nemesis in Woodrow Wilson, and suffered for it ever since. Just look at his photographs since 1917. He clearly goes on the downside.

    https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA229/English/RSP1968/19231012p01.html

    1. Hello, Steve. With regard to your tentative characterization of my views on Steiner vis-a-vis the Native Americans, there is too much to examine to go into there but I will post, FYI, some of his references to them. You and the other readers here can process them on your own.
      Endnote #15 to me Mex Mys article:
      Steiner, variously: The Mission of Folk Souls, GA121, Lecture 6: “The American Indians died out, not because of European persecutions, but because they were destined to succumb to those forces which hastened their extinction.”, Past Incarnations of the Peoples of Today, GA203: “. . . these Indian peoples who were gradually exterminated by the colonists from Europe”, “. . . those exterminated Indian peoples . . .”, GA192, p. 310: “. . . . these American Indians, who were wiped out . . .”, The Soul’s Progress through Repeated Earth Lives, GA202: “. . . those people who were conquered and exterminated after the discovery of America . . .”, and the diagram from Menschheitsentwickelung und Christus-Erkenntnis, GA100, p. 245, where the evolution is shown ascending from protozoa to Apes through [Red] Indians to Aryans:

      [this site does snot seem to accept images]

      and: Vom Leben des Menschen und der Erde: “The white race is the race of the future, the spiritually creative race.” The main question here is not whether Steiner said or meant such problematical statements, but to what extent anthroposophists have adopted these opinions as their own and apply them to their view of the world, specifically to the general matter of whether the spiritual identity of the West is worthy of consideration.
      The one contribution of the two recently translated lectures belonging to GA 171 is Steiner’s reversion, even within the context of his otherwise remarkable revelations about affairs in Mesoamerica, to his rote meme of “primitive atavistic clairvoyance”: “We have shewn how, in a state of decadence, this Atlantean civilisation still lived on amongst those peoples who were re-discovered in Europe through the re-discovery of America.” (lecture #10 of Oct. 7, 1916).

      Needless to say (?) the indigenous population has not been wiped out! So: was Steiner right or was he wrong?

      1. This map seems to be indicative of the situation of tribal diversity at the time approximately when the European colonization began.

        https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/06/24/tribal_nation_map_custom-973eefab3541e8d2c23056100549ac543e59beee-s1300-c85.jpg

        Of course, as your citations indicate, Steiner nowhere seems dismayed and apologetic about would appear to be a heinous crime of intentional genocide conducted on the ground of these people’s own rightful territorial possession, and it is awful to think about the apparent injustice. But, what if this map is also presenting an evolutionary consequence seen as the eventual outcome of many thousands of years without the presence of other cultures? Remember, the other four sub-races, including the Primal Semites [future Jupiterians] all went to the East, and therefore, race development passed over into soul-cultural development. Today, the presence of mixed-blood demographics is astounding, and the true mark of universal humanity.

        So, with particular notation to Steiner’s comment from GA 121, lecture 6, there is some evidence here that these tribes, once a unitary people guided by the Great Atlantean Spirit had begun to degenerate by the very forces of individuation as an evolutionary imperative. Lacking cultural diversity, they began to divide and sub-divide as tribes, each with its own territorial boundaries held sacred. Were they on the way to their own extinction without the intervention of another culture from the East? As you say, the important thing is that these indigenous people are alive today because all the sub-races are essential to maintain the integrity of spiritual evolution. Anthropomorphism is the planetary goal of Earth, and All are required for it.

  2. Hi Hazel,

    I had written a comment about the possible nature of the three classes that Steiner might have had in mind, and you responded with, “say more about pneumatosophy?”
    Then you gave a great lecture from May 1923, GA 224, which I will read again. Thanks.

    Here was my original comment:
    https://reverseritual.com/tu-bshvat/#comment-19065

    Rudolf Steiner gave a very unique lecture-course which covered the three years, 1909, 1910, 1911, and the three months of October, November, December. As such, it describes over these three years the totality of the whole Spiritual-Scientific Enterprise, and coming several years before his revealing the threefold Soul members in 1917’s “Riddles of the Soul”, which he advertised extensively that year around the occurrences described in GA 177.

    Yet, this course is still largely ignored today, and maybe for certain obvious reasons. Here it is:

    https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA115/English/AP1971/WisMan_index.html

    Pneumatosophy represents the innermost core of the human being, and what we are striving for today, and that is full Ego consciousness; the Christ-likeness. And that is all about the future as we live into it. Psychosophy is about the present state of affairs, and wherein self-creative activity is the host, such as your excellent blog and its aims. Steiner noted an important transition from Anthroposophy to Psychosophy with his penultimate lecture from GA 186, 20 December 1918. I tried to convey something of its importance on Jeremy’s blog but it went right over people’s heads. I could possibly retrieve it for anybody interested, but I really don’t want to write it out again.

    Anthroposophy, which concerns the Body, just as Psychosophy concerns the Soul, and Pneumatosophy concerns the Spirit, is largely of the past, and why Steiner was always referring to the past cultural epochs, and how they relate to the present, and even the earlier spheres of ancient Moon, Sun, and Saturn. This was his mission in presenting Anthroposophical Spiritual Science between 1900 and 1925. 1913 was the midpoint, when he laid the foundation stone of the Johannesbau on 20 September 1913.

    In the transition from 1918 to 1919, a new era developed. Steiner went from advocating spiritual formations in space over time, to social formations in time over space. Thus began his great psychosophical work in developing the various practical endeavors under the auspices of the threefolding objectives seen in society, education, medicine, curative healing, and nearly every other conceptual field willing to listen to this scheme.

    And so you see, with GA 115 he was giving the compass as early as 1909 for the whole entire work, and he knew he would not be able to complete it. He knew his destiny, fate, and demise much too soon. Yet, who today even thinks of this whole scope?

    Thanks Hazel for asking a very important question. Who even asks questions anymore? Dialectics hasn’t even got a rack to hang its hat on anymore. Kind regards.

    The seminal lecture to read is GA 186, 20 December 1918. Everything changed after that one. All of 1919 was about the practical measures, beginning with “Goetheanism and Human Transformation”, GA 188.

    1. Our Thursday Study Group worked with Riddles of the Soul, a true follow up to Philosophy of Freedom.
      love this: ‘Steiner went from advocating spiritual formations in space over time, to social formations in time over space’

  3. I wanted to comment briefly on Christophorus vs. Phosphorus, and where Hazel comments to Maverick ‘s remark concerning the physical phantom. Indeed, there are two very insightful places where Rudolf Steiner describes Lucifer’s relationship to physical light due to the presence of phosphorus, and Christ as the true Lucifer, bearing the Christophoric nature of Adam Kadmon, or the Second Adam.

    Lecture 10 of GA 136 is all about this, as well as the nature of comets:

    https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA136/English/SBC1981/19120414p01.html

    Then, in the first lecture of GA 113, “East in the Light of the West”, we have this:

    “Therefore we must clearly recognise that we have not only the task of understanding the star of Lucifer, as it shone throughout human evolution till the precious stone fell out of Lucifer’s crown, but that we have to receive this precious stone in its transformed character as the Holy Grail, that we must understand the Cross in the star; we must know that we have to understand the luminous wisdom which shone in the world during primeval ages, and which we deeply revere as the wisdom of pre-Christian times. To this we must indeed look up in full devotion, and add to it that which could be given to the world through the mission of the Cross. Not the least fraction of pre-Christian wisdom, of the light of the East, must be lost to us. We look up to Phosphoros, the Light-bearer; and indeed we revere this Light-bearer as the being through which alone we learn to understand the whole of the deep, inner meaning of the Christ; but side by side with Phosphoros we see Christophoros, the Christ-bearer, and we try to conceive of the mission of Anthroposophy in such a way that it only can be fulfilled if the symbols of these two worlds really ‘unite themselves in love.’ If this is our conception of the mission of Anthroposophy, Lucifer will guide us to the safety of a luminous spiritual life, and the Christ will guide us to the inner warmth of the soul which trusts and believes that that will come about which may be called the birth of the Eternal out of the Temporal.”

    https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA113/English/RSPC1940/19090823p01.html

    1. That’s an amazing excerpt Steve – thank you for pointing it out. “the birth of the Eternal from the Temporal” certainly fits with Hazel’s earlier post, that the “everlasting gospel” could be “become God”. First time I’ve heard of combining Phosphorus with Christophorus – will be giving that some more thought during meditation. It’s during meditation that the pineal gland relies on the body’s supply of phosphorus, which I’m told is more plentiful in women. If you’ve ever seen the glowing dolphins around California, the phosphorus in their spines makes it seem as though they’re glowing – they reflect any available light. Christ did say He was the light of the world, as long as he was in it, and transferred that to his followers (Matt.5:14).

  4. Hi Hazel,

    You mention an important passage from Steiner’s 6th lecture to GA 194 at the outset of your discourse herein:

    “If we learn, in nature, to receive the soul element together with sense perception, then we shall have the Christ relationship to outer nature. This Christ relationship to outer nature will be something like a kind of spiritual breathing process.”

    Then, you go in depth into your Tu B’Shvat celebration, which is a Jewish festival which is akin to our Groundhog Day of February 2nd. And yet, just look at all the differences between these two events. The Jewish festival of Tu B’Shvat is vigorous and dynamic as a celebration of the trees, and all that comes from the produce of the vine, and the crops of the grain, and yet what do they admire in this very event? We here in America acknowledge a simple event in which the first cross-quarter day is recognized as to six more weeks of winter, or an early entry into spring. Alas, in nearly all cases, it is six more weeks of winter!

    Yet, and this may prove to be controversial, we live in the security of the Christ Impulse working in the world, and the Jews with their very precise celebration of ‘TBS’, are still waiting and hoping for what has already taken place. How to make them understand is a real objective working in the world.

    Good to hear from Stephen Clarke, who is likely interested in the current posts on Native
    American culture. Thanks Hazel for posting the diagrams.

    1. Good to hear from you, too, Steve. But I missed those Native posts. ? Can you advise? Also I can’t find your fb page, if you have one. Let me know what you’re up to these days! I think I’ve mellowed out some . . ., maybe.

      1. Hi Stephen. I don’t believe that Hazel saves comments from earlier days, but my remarks on the Native Americans are the same as those from yesterday on the “Spiritual America” thread. So, hopefully you have or can read them over.

        I am not on FB, but have spent six years working on the Anthropopper blog of Jeremy Smith. https://anthropopper.com/
        and two years here with Hazel’s wonderful site allowing commentary. I noticed something in a comment you just made today that reminded me of the same made some, what, maybe 9/10 years ago on my forum. It makes me smile again to hear. You said that Kabbalah is the armature for Rudolf Steiner’s Spiritual Science, and I find that again to be so interesting. Interesting, though, that Steiner’s take on Kabbalah runs to some 400 volumes.

        Maybe it would be better to call it the “Pink Elephant” in the room 🙂
        Does Kabbalah refer much to the symbolism of the Sun? I only have an article on Jewish Mysticism to refer to. Glad to be talking to you again.

        1. Comments remain after each post

          The Esoteric Christianity of Rosicrucianism, the of which Anthroposophy is the modern equivalent, works with the Kabbalistic concepts, recognizing in Tiphareth the middle sphere the Christic Sun impulse of beauty.

        2. Dear Steve: yes, good on all this. But “400 vols.” on kabbalah? This is big news for me, unless you agree that by far and way the larger part of Steiner’s output can be derived from kabbalah literature without recourse to supersensible perception, clairvoyance or reading the akashic records. His specific references to kabbalah as such can be counted on the fingers of one hand and are sketchy in the extreme. I’ll bet you that if notes for a Third Class ever come to light they will deal with kabbalah. But, hey, that’s all a hundred years ago and time marches on! At this point its a matter for antiquarians and researches into the history of occultism. IMHO. Regardless, good to find you on line again.

        3. Steve: Kab has tons on Sun symbolism. If i find something pithy I’ll pass it on. Where too, digitally?

          1. Does Kabbalah refer to, or predict the Christ Event as the fulcrum of earth evolution, and the nature of the Mystery of Golgotha? Of course, Rudolf Steiner made this the central focus of his work. The 400 volumes are the explanations of all the symbolism, and this is where the discipline of study comes in. Whatever the 2nd and 3rd class are, or might be, schooling will still be very important. I see Anthroposophy as 1st Class, of course, Psychosophy as 2nd Class, and Pneumatosophy as 3rd Class, but RS did not have the requisite time to give all three. His plan was to live until 1933, when he would be 72 years old, but his karma was cut short by eight years. He had the three classes in mind already as early as 1909, when he gave the unique course of lectures that covered the three years of 1909, 1910, and 1911. GA 115 comprises the threefolding of the entire spiritual-scientific enterprise in terms of:
            Anthroposophy, Psychosophy, Pneumatosophy.
            They also secretly draw attention to the three pre-earthly deeds of Christ.

            1. Steve, on kabbalah: K is not a predictive system in the usual sense. It’s a map and it does a “if you do ‘x’, ‘y’ will happen” kind of thing. And if you follow the Middle Pillar, it does describe that path from the Father to the Earth and back; Christ went this way and so do we all sooner or later, hopefully.

  5. I also found today’s post a fascinating resource that I’ll return to repeatedly. Thanks so much for sharing the wisdom in the Tu B’Shvat ceremony.

    The progression in the wines intrigued me, from potential to highest emanation of pure Spirit – had me thinking of Jesus’ first miracle at Cana, changing the water to wine, and the headmaster’s comment of how unusual it was to save the best wine till last; the norm was to serve the best first. Such a fitting sign to begin His ministry, that a “wine” of the highest spiritual emanation was being served at the end of the ceremony.

    Also, here’s a thought on your question about waiting: “So, what is it about waiting (perhaps, wading) that transforms knowledge from hurtful to healthy? ” Edgar Cayce had a unique insight – in this 3-dimensional existence on Earth, he said that we can consider the 3 dimensions of Time, Space and Patience. As far as I know, I’ve not heard anyone else refer to Patience as a dimension. He had a lot to say about the subject, but it seems to relate to this very important concept that Jesus taught, that it’s through patience that we “possess” our soul: “In your patience possess ye your souls.” (Luke 21:19). To possess is to be aware that we have a soul (there are many in our world who don’t have this necessary quality of patience, and hence aren’t aware that they have a soul). They’ve never learned or understood the continuity of life that’s part and parcel of reincarnation. All they see when asking themselves “Who am I?” is the physical being staring at them in the mirror, and aren’t aware that it’s what’s living inside that shell that’s eternal. So this idea of waiting, or patience, is a very important quality.

    Again, thanks Hazel for all these insights you’ve shared today. Really made my day!

      1. Steve Hale sent me a lecture link today (https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA131/English/RSP1973/19111010p01.html) that contains this interesting insight, not on Patience, but on what people see when they look into the mirror:
        “Read what is said in Occult Science. Out of that path of evolution in which his physical, etheric and astral bodies were still invisible, man was thrown down into denser matter, and was compelled under the influence of Lucifer to take this denser matter into himself. If the Lucifer force had not been introduced into our astral body and Ego, this dense materiality would not have become as visible as it has become. Hence we have to represent man as an invisible being, made visible in matter only through forces which entered into him under the influence of Lucifer. Through this influence external substances and forces are drawn into the domain of the Phantom and permeate it. As when we pour a coloured fluid into a transparent glass, so that the glass looks coloured, so we can imagine that the Lucifer influence poured forces into the human Phantom, with the result that man was adapted for taking in on Earth the requisite substances and forces which make his Form visible. Otherwise his physical body would have remained always invisible.

        The alchemists always insisted that the human body really consists of the same substance that constitutes the perfectly transparent, crystal-clear ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. The physical body is itself entirely transparent, and it is the Lucifer forces in man which have brought him to a non-transparent state and placed him before us so that he is opaque and tangible. Hence you will understand that man has become a being who takes up external substances and forces of the Earth, which are given off again at death, only because Lucifer tempted him, and certain forces were poured into his astral body. It follows that because the Ego entered into connection with the physical, etheric and astral bodies under the influence of Lucifer, man became what he is on earth and otherwise would not have been — the bearer of a visible, earthly organism.”
        A great explanation of our density which, combined with the force of gravity, keep us Earthbound – otherwise, we’d probably be free to fly.

        1. Yes, a blessing & a curse as they say. I rember reading the same thing about the stars, that because of Lucifer they became visible. This being brings us the gift of beauty & art.
          And it what we do that makes our countenance bright or dark…And of course it is our duty to become pure spirit once again with consciousness

          1. I agree; isn’t that what it means that we’re to “spiritualize” our bodies? To make that gradual return to that transparent state we once knew, to make ourselves less dense – less of self and more spiritual. Our original thought-form still lives inside this sheath – we call it our soul – it’s the spiritual part of ourselves that’s gone through many “incarnations”, or life experiences, and the purpose of all those experiences has been to restore us to our original estate.

            1. Yes, this is the journey, From Spirit to Matter & Matter to Spirit. And as you say to purify our soul forces this is the work

              1. My sense of this is different, Hazel. There is a long-standing tradition in western esotericism, not always taught or appreciated, that the process is spirit to matter and then to spirit + matter – for a full incarnation process, in the process everything in the world is repaired to balance. but this involves a reconciliation with the UnderWorld counterpart/Consort of the Cosmic realms. the Hebrew hexagram (?) indicates the cosmic heirosgamos of it. the Four Elements are the core intersection of all the worlds, kabbalistically. I do think this is the case for our evolution. This also leads into a new appreciation of Western [sic!] spirituality, the indigenous kind already here for eaons. It is bound with the Land.

    1. Your thoughts on Patience are profound, Les. A few thoughts that come to mind:
      If Time and Space are the two dimensions that have to be left behind to get off the Wheel of Fortune (same as the Buddhist Wheel) and past the first threshold, patience is a very effective way to annihilate Time. Thus patience also seem to be a constant or a prerequisite in all practices of meditation! In this sense patience is not a ‘waiting patiently’ for something in the future, but a resting in the flowing moment.
      In this regard I am also thinking of something that came to me recently: “How do you approach a wild animal?” Answer: “You don’t. You wait for it to come to you.”

      1. I’m in accord with Hazel, that patience is an active quality. A man named J. Everett Irion, who’s no longer with us, gave this outline for the three dimensions:
        Space: a manifest idea
        Time: the understanding of a manifest idea
        Patience: the understanding of the purpose of a manifest idea.
        So, in the case of the wild animal’s approach, I’d say that our mind is capable of the awareness of each of these dimensions as they relate to the animal. I like the thought of resting in the flowing moment, because it combines the peace of rest with activity – the life forces are certainly flowing in meditation, and through telepathy can transcend the merely physical realm to produce effects such as healing, visions, spiritual communications, etc.

      2. Does the Wheel of Fortune mention anything about a fourth dimension? The reason I ask is that afterwards this thought came, that not only are our minds capable of the awareness of the 3 dimensions mentioned previously, but they’re also capable of producing a 4th-dimensional idea, like a reflex or resultant idea, in response to circumstances. So again with the wild animal, the mind processes the 3 dimensions, and then comes up with its own idea in response? Hope you can make some sense of this.

  6. “The ‘sin’ against the Tree of Knowledge was that Adam & Eve ate its fruit before it was ripe” – wow, very profound.

    1. On the podcast I take a line from a song by Tori Amos I think that says something to the effect that babies are always putting things that don’t belong in their mouths!

  7. Great stuff today, the Tu B’Shvat “Seder* is profound! Also I like the Lightning Flash as superimposed on the Caduceus; I’ve not seen this before and it makes perfect sense. Kabbalah is woefully under-appreciated in anthroposophy even tho it is the armature for most of it.

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