Dear Sisters & Brothers – In our present world crisis it is essential to align ourselves with the Being of Michael to enable us to overcome all that is of the ‘dragon ‘rearing its many heads in our time. We can come to know this mighty Time Spirit by taking into our hearts earnest wisdom-filled thoughts concerning the countenance that this being holds. If we do this we will soon see the light of wisdom mount into fiery flames of will – that empower us to fulfill the tasks that are incumbent upon us.
During Harvest season these energies firing up our will are especially available & are strongest when joined in a community effort. In concert with friends & co-creators, we can work with Michael/Christ at this crucial time, when the Mystery of Evil unfolds together with the Reappearance of Christ in the Etheric.
Mi-cha-el is a Hebrew name consisting of three separate words – the word Mi, pronounced My, means “Who?” cha, pronounced kai, means “like” or “as.” And El pronounced “L”, is the abbreviated form of Elohim – the name of God in the plural – the 7 Spirits of Form or the creator gods referred to in Genesis: “In the beginning God [Elohim] created heaven and earth…” Put these three word-syllables together & we get Mi-cha-el: “Who is like God?” This name prods our ordinary thinking – providing an opportunity to penetrate beyond the surface – to pose important questions. Facts are dead if they are not stepping-stones to more penetrating questions which allow further answers.
The very essence of Michael is not a proper noun but a verb – a deed. What if we applied this kind of spiritual questioning to all of our striving toward knowledge? Who, or what, is the essence behind the Word? What is it that we seek in all of our ‘questing’ for wisdom & knowledge? The ‘Holy Grail’ is to uphold the wisdom of god – to know the spiritual foundation of things.
Rudolf Steiner reminds us that “Every idea we hold that does not become an ideal slays a power within us.” Instead of slaying the dragon in us, this kind of lazy thinking slays the Michael power within us. But when our thoughts rise to the ideal, they have a force that is useful & eternal, imbued with will – fired with an indomitable force. These thoughts rise up to God.
Michael as Time Spirit is cosmopolitan – universal – a role model to prepare us for the collective culture of the future that began with the Christ event, blossoming in the future with ‘Philadelphia’ – the culture of ‘brotherly love’ which leads us into the ideal community of the New Jerusalem – where we are the 10th hierarchy – the universal human being – co-creator in the cosmos.
What is universal goes completely beyond groups, beyond divisions – to the One -to the All as One – the Christ within us. This divine spark that we have in common with all of humanity is universal. Until we can embrace all, accept all, love all—as Christ shows us—we have not arrived at universal individualism. As students of the Michaelic intelligence we are called to mirror the highest in the other.
Anyone who striving to do the ‘Great Work’ on the path of personal development & spiritual research knows that it is an arduous, lonely path – And ironically it is often in community where the most suffering & pain is triggered, offering our deepest sorrow as well as our biggest opportunities for growth.
From a broad evolutionary perspective we can understand that every soul is on ‘the path’. Can we recognize & feel the cry of the spirit, the seeking soul within the annoying person on the street, our family members, or co-workers? Can we have compassion for others & for ourselves in our various conditions of soul &spirit sickness? Can we see beyond the soul sicknesses, to meet the hungering individual who is, in their own way, seeking for a fulfillment that only the spirit can bring?
This is how we can work with Michael; then we are a co-worker learning to mirror the highest in the other – striving to hold the countenance of Christ – this is what we come to understand in the school of Michael. When we are recognized by another on the level of spirit, we naturally awaken to our latent potential & connect more readily with our unique life-purposes.
Can we trust that no matter where a fellow human being is on their journey that we can acknowledge the Christ within them? Or do we hold the individuals around us captive to their past? Do we unconsciously cast judgment on them? We have seen them fail perhaps countless times. Is there a subtle condemning in us when we speak to them or of them to others?
How about those who ascribe to a different social philosophy or support a different political party – do we judge them as inferior for their beliefs & unworthy of our help or support? Do we think of them as evil – never able to progress or change? If so, we are aligning ourselves with the adversary of our own soul’s progress as well as theirs.
Can we forgive them & ourselves, & step up to be the person in their life that helps them see their true potential? Are we living up to our own? If we are able to do this, then we are working with Michael as a mirror to the divine nature within others. What a beautiful harvest that will bring to the world.
Let this season enkindle in us a renewed hope, an unshakeable faith, a sure strength – endowing us with the spiritual will of Michael-Sophia. In the name of Christ, we can stand fast in freedom – to sure up the practical reality that Spiritual Science offers as a world view.
~hag
Meeting the Dragon with our 4-Fold Being
Our Annual Michaelmas Festival
Leading thoughts with Rev Jeana Lee,
Collaborative sculptural creation, & transformation with Rev Victoria Capon.
(Bring your found objects to help build the dragon!)
September 28th, 2021
Potluck at 5:30 pm in the Branch Schreinerei –
Please bring a dish to share
Talk at 7pm in the Upper Room
Our inspiration can come to life through our collaboration
at the Rudolf Steiner Branch – 4249 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
REGISTRATION CLOSES OCTOBER 1ST
- 1st make sure you are registered at https://www.anthroposophy.org/fallconference and have indicated that you will be attending in person at the RSBranch Chicago.
- Then Register by October 1st with the Chicago Branch using PayPal (this requires that you have a PayPal account of your own).
OR
- Register and write a check and it mail by October 1st to: Rudolf Steiner Branch, Attn: Jenny Doty 4249 N Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60618
OR
- Register and contact jenny.meyer17@gmail.com to make alternative payment arrangements.
In order to know how much food to order REGISTRATION ENDS OCT. 1ST
Details for the in-person conference:
- $75 will cover the expenses for facilities, 3 lunches and 3 dinners, snacks, and printing.
You will enjoy a pre-AGM dinner on Thursday Oct. 7 Doors open at 5 pm.
Lunch and Dinner on Fri. and Sat.
and Lunch post-conference on Sunday.
As well as Snacks/Coffee-Tea during the breaks.
- $40 will cover only the bare expenses – no meals
- Be a Master Builder Patron for $100 or more, to help pay for the tech costs!
For those who are longing for a deep dive: The Applied Anthroposophy Course (AAC) brings transformative online content into the alchemy of individual and group inner work. The mission is to explore the urgent issues of our time through the lens of spiritual philosophy, awakening meaning, inner reflection, and outer action.
I will be facilitating one of the Chrysalis Groups: ‘The Cycle of the Year as a Path of Initiation into the New Mysteries’ –
The Royal Art of community awaits your participation.
See you there
~hag
Hi Hazel,
I like how you express Michael as being a cosmopolitan spirit, and this is likely so. According to Steiner’s Michael Letters, this kind of participation has been going on since the 9th century. Thus, by now, he is involved in every initiative that the world of human thinking and being can imagine. Yet, the world does not know Michael. The world receives Michael rather unconsciously today, and maybe a little more into the subconscious, where high ideals arise, but otherwise Michael is the domain of Anthroposophy alone.
So, here we are. Thus, Anthroposophy equates to recognizing Michael in full consciousness. Yet, there is a seminal moment that is still not even remotely understood by anthroposophists today. It is where Michael Himself makes the sacrifice after casting the dark spirits down to earth after winning the War in Heaven in 1879.
The first lecture here describes it, and the other three help to elaborate it. It was a sacrifice that can be equated to the Mystery of Golgotha itself. Thus, this is how the Michael-Christ connection was first formed.
https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA223/English/AP1946/MiSoul_index.html
Michael makes it possible, and we have had this discussion before. It is the human etheric body that needs to be protected from the descent of the dark spirits who have been defeated. So, Michael impresses His Image upon the human etheric body. This is what saves us in order to experience the Etheric Christ in the 20th century. Michael, who made it possible.
Such a great message for us today. I can imagine that Michael sometimes is aghast at how dull we humans are – how is it that we don’t fall on our faces before such a majestic Elohim? We are evolving in our consciousness, but it seems to happen so slowly.
Interesting that the Philadelphia you mention is the sixth “church” spoken of in the Revelation. What seems synchronistic is that Steiner said that we’re now living in the age of the sixth trumpet sounding, the age in which the “locust people” appear, and one-third of humanity perishes. That’s two sixes – what could the other six represent?
Have also heard of Michael described as “Lord of the Way”, perhaps due to his close relationship with Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, the Life. He prepares the way for the Way, and he’s done this in our times through Rudolf Steiner. As you mention, this isn’t an easy path, but then it wasn’t for Christ either. Christ exemplified for us the opposite type of kingdom – where the greatest serve the least, the elder serves the younger. The “little child” shall lead us. It’s not surprising to see that sort of opposite – “anthroposophy” – coming under attack.