11/11/16 – Astro-weather: Although the calendar says November, the Summer Triangle of bright stars remains prominent during the early evening hours. Look nearly overhead after darkness falls & you’ll spot Deneb, a conspicuous point of light despite being the faintest of the three luminaries. Brighter Vega lies west of Deneb & intermediate Altair appears to their south
Saturn is falling ever farther away to the lower right of Venus at dusk. Far to Venus’s upper left, Mars is drawing closer to it — very gradually.
Orion is clearing the eastern horizon by about 7pm now. High above Orion shines orange Aldebaran. Above Aldebaran is the little Pleiades cluster, the size of your fingertip at arm’s length. Far left of the Pleiades is bright Capella
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“We understand only the very smallest part of human history and of our own life if we consider it in its external aspect, I mean in that aspect which we see from the limited view-point of our earthly life between birth and death. It is impossible to comprehend the inner motives of history and life unless we turn our gaze to that spiritual background which underlies the outer, physical happenings”. Karmic Relationships, Volume IV: Lecture III
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Feast Day of Martin of Tours. Each 11/11 the younger children have a Lantern Walk to celebrate Martinmas, a festival of inner light in the outer darkness of the approaching winter. St Martin was a soldier in Rome in the 4th century. Legend says that one wintry night he met a poor beggar, half-naked & freezing. Martin removed the heavy military cloak from his shoulders &, drawing his sword, cut it in two, giving half to the beggar. That night, Christ appeared to Martin in a dream, wrapped in the same piece of cloak Martin had given the beggar, & said: “Martin has covered me with this garment.”
Martin became the patron saint of beggars, drunks & outcasts, dedicating his life to assisting pariahs. As we journey into the darkest time of the year, it is increasingly important for each of us to kindle warmth & light within our hearts, which becomes a beacon of light to the world. Martin’s cloak can remind us to share with those in need.
The gently glowing lanterns of Martinmas will give way to the candles of the advent spiral as we draw nearer to the Solstice, showing how our inner light must shine ever brighter against the cold. As nature sleeps, we must be wakeful!
Celebrating Martinmas serves as a reminder that each of us has a divine spark that we must ferry out into the world & share with others. The children hear the story of St. Martin, sing songs &, as darkness falls, venture out into the night with their lanterns walking along a path lit with glowing luminaries, carefully carrying their lanterns in a mood of quiet reverence. This symbolic act brings home the deeper truth, in the words of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism (563-483 B.C.): “There isn’t enough darkness in all the world to snuff out the light of one little candle.”
1493 – Birthday of Paracelsus, a Swiss Germanphilosopher, physician, botanist, astrologer, & general occultist. He is credited as the founder of toxicology. He is also a famous revolutionary for utilizing observations of nature, rather than referring to ancient texts, something of radical defiance during his time. Modern psychology often also credits him for being the first to note that some diseases are rooted in psychological conditions
1821 – Birthday of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian philosopher & author
1887 – August Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer & George Engel are executed as a result of the Haymarket affair. It began Tuesday May 4, 1886, as a peaceful rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour day & in reaction to the killing of several workers the previous day by the police. An unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at police as they acted to disperse the public meeting. The bomb blast & ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of seven police officers & at least four civilians; scores of others were wounded.
The Haymarket affair is generally considered significant as the origin of international May Day observances for workers. The site of the incident was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1992, & a public sculpture was dedicated there in 2004.
1904 – Birthday of Alger Hiss, American lawyer & spy
1922 – birthday of Kurt Vonnegut
1992 – The General Synod of the Church of England votes to allow women to become priests
2000 – Kaprun disaster: One hundred fifty-five skiers & snowboarders die when a cable car catches fire in an alpine tunnel in Kaprun, Austria
2012 – A strong earthquake with the magnitude 6.8 hits northern Burma, killing at least 2226 people
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My POD (Poem Of the Day)
~sharpening my pointy chin…
unbound
I am…
Together we will walk the shadowland…
From my hands the horn of plenty flows freely
The ghosts are fed, the unborn, ready…
I remind them
The Earth is an apple
Ripening in space…
Blue starlight filters thru the outstretched wings of a bird, like wind in the fire,
As our journey continues deeper into the dark
Together we carry the unending rhythm of the light…
~hag
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Saturday 12 November 2016 Closing event at the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago
Calaj.com Artists Matthew Schaefer and Janet Trierweiler Schaefer present:
“Silent Lecture” Art Exhibit & Discussion
3pm – 8pm Paintings on view (in the un-rented space next to the Branch)
6:30pm – Artist Discussion – topics may include:
Setting limits to hold the limitless.
Human systems at work.
The fallible element, how it works in art.
The steps or ritual.
The visible/invisible origin.
Finding the spiritual in art through a primitive gesture.
A cognitive transformation, instinct to intuition.
Snacks to Share Encouraged
For more info. Contact 
Hazel Archer Ginsberg
