The Power of Naming – not to put something or someone in a box, but to reveal its essence – to unlock its power – which allows transformation to occur.
We all know the Fairy Tale Rumpelstiltskin, a German folk story collected by the Brothers Grimm. This morality tale has an important message for us today.
Rudolf Steiner speaks of fairy tales as esoteric truths that were cultivated centuries ago in the silence of Rosicrucian mystery centers of initiation, & then brought to the public in pictorial form, as food for soul development.
The tale tells that in order to appear superior, a miller lies to the king, vainly bragging him that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The greedy king abducts the maid & imprisons her in a tower room filled with straw & a spinning wheel, demanding that she spin the straw into gold by morning or he will cut off her head.
When she has given up all hope – an imp appears, & spins the straw into gold in return for her necklace (throat chakra connected with The Word, & with future reproduction). The next morning the king takes the girl to a larger room filled with straw to repeat the feat, & the imp once again spins, in return for the girl’s ring (the ring finger connects to the heart). On the third day, when the girl has been taken to an even larger room filled with straw & told by the king that he will marry her if she can fill this room with gold, or execute her if she can’t, the girl has nothing left with which she can pay the strange creature, so the imp gets her to promise that she will give him her firstborn child; so he spins the straw into gold a final time.
The greedy king keeps his promise to marry the miller’s daughter. And when their first child is born, the imp returns to claim his payment: “Now give me what you promised.” She offers him all the wealth she has to keep her offspring, but the imp has no interest in her mundane riches. He laughs that the only way he would have to give up his claim to the child is if she can guess his name within three days (the mystery of transformation is seen in this oft repeated time-frame of 3 days).
Her many guesses fail, but before the final night, she wanders into the woods asking the Virgin Mary for help, & happens upon the strange creature hopping around his fire singing: “Tonight, tonight, my plans I make, tomorrow, tomorrow, the babe I take. The queen will never win the game, for Rumpelstiltskin is my name“— & so his true name is revealed (The name Rumpelstilzchen means literally “little rattle stilt”, a pole that is stuck in the earth – A rumpelstilt is the name of a type of goblin, that makes noises by rattling posts & rapping on planks, similar to poltergeist, a mischievous spirit that clatters about moving or disguising themselves in household objects)
When the imp comes to the queen on the third day, & she reveals his name, he loses his temper. “In his rage Rumpelstiltskin drives his right foot so far into the ground that it sinks in up to his waist; then in a passion he seizes the left foot with both hands & tears himself in two.”
We can wonder what the violent splitting asunder of the little man’s right & left legs means. Could it be an indication that there is not just one source of evil, but two?
The paradigm of a single source of evil has led to the deception of the polarities of heaven & hell; as places completely separate from life on earth. Heaven can be seen as a concept connected to the beautiful & seductive realm of Lucifer, which means Light Bearer. He is the one that tricks the baby humans into putting something that didn’t belong in their mouths, as babies often do, taking them from the Garden of Eden, down a rabbit-hole of self-awareness long before they were ready for it – And Hell as an eternal punishing enslavement ruled by Satan. So we can name these archetypal beings: In the New Testament one is called ‘Diabolos’, which is translated as ‘Devil’ another name for Lucifer; in contrast to ‘Satanos’, which is rendered as Satan.
Evil can be found in degrees, it can be seen as ‘missing the mark’, or as a mistake from which we seek to repent. And/or – it can go to the extreme of ‘black magic’ = selfish greed, systematic enslavement or murder.
The ugly ‘little imp’ Rumpelstiltskin, who works right into the processes of nature, magically transforming straw into gold (stones into bread?) – who ultimately wanted to enslave the future generation of the royal line, is closer to the one who is known as Satan, or taken to the extreme – Mammon – the one who holds humanity in his powerful grip of lies, greed & selfishness, leading ultimately to an earth-bound-Hell in the depths of soul darkness. This Being of evil was called Ahriman, by Rudolf Steiner, an Ancient Persian name for the God of Earth Darkness. These days, the power of this being is greater than ever before.
If Lucifer is a beautiful, but dangerous, Being of Light, & Ahriman an even more powerful Being of Darkness, the Being of the Middle Way can be described as the Light within the Darkness.
It is this same ‘Being of Love’ – the ‘Logos’ or Word, who is referred to in the Gospel of St. John: ‘And the Light shines in the Darkness, and the Darkness has not accepted it.’ This Light appears to us, not simply as a polarity to evil, but a continuous balancing, a health-bringing, ‘breathing’ process – Christ as the central Spirit of Humanity.
Calling things by their true names, in this time of enforced political correctness, requires courage, but without this naming, how will we know where we are going on our human journey.
We are currently living in a world of deep deception, & the time has come for things to be called by their proper names. We must now face the two faces of evil. (I won’t go into the two even more heinous forces of evil embodied in the Asuras & Sorat at this time)
And, also, now more than ever, we need to speak the life affirming names – Names that embody warmth & light, which are waiting with extraordinary patience to be recognized, like: Hope, Goodness, Peace…not mere platitudes, not as empty phrases, but letting the names of these beings of Light ring out like Christmas Bells, to call in, & announce their power in the world.
For in our meeting with evil, in ever more powerful forms, we will either submit thru fear, sloth, or ambition, handing over the keys to our true evolution; OR, we will look at the manifestations of evil with our “I”, to employ the courage & fortitude needed to carry out actions, inwardly & outwardly, to redeem & guide the way into the Light of Love.
This is hinted at in the story of Rumpelstiltskin – for despite his malicious, greedy nature, the ‘little imp’ helped the ‘poor’ girl to become Queen. The adversarial powers are meant to wake us up so that we stand up for what we actually are & to become what we can only become thru our own free, humble actions as human beings, with a little help from the spiritual world which answers when we call them by name.
Knowledge of this is reflected in the coming together of ‘human’ (like the name Adam, which means: earth or soil) & ‘being’ (the ability to act or function independently as soul, spirit, essence) It is a sign of the times, that our wonderful name is increasingly losing its ‘being’ & becoming unhallowed dust.
To meet what is coming towards us thru the ominous abuse of technology & greed, our onward evolution depends on the recognition of the reality of evil, as well as, Good Will, both, as active powers of Soul & Spirit, working into this physical world thru us – And of the awakening to the truth of our capacity as Human Beings, to do something about our individual & collective reality – to change ourselves & the world around us – And perhaps it starts with speaking out the names of these forces, which then directs our will to action.
Thanks to Victoria Capon for her response to yesterday’s blog, which inspired this theme today.
~hag
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TONIGHT: Wednesday 23 December 2020 – 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm CT
Unwrapping our Cosmic Gift: Thoughts on the Christmas Conference 1923
with the Central Regional Council. Themes inspired by Prokofieff’s book: May Human Beings Hear it! include: Turning Points of Time; Christ, Sophia and Michael; Foundation Stone Meditation.Two Turning Points in Time – The Mystery of Wisdom, and The Mystery of Will
Leading thoughts, verses, songs and imaginations will be woven together in this artistic offering before the Holy Nights.
Special guest Lucien Dante Lazar will provide a sprinkle of musical interludes throughout our event.
We will be joined by our old friend Dennis Dietzel in this performance.
We will go into small breakout groups to explore the theme: “How does the Foundation Stone Meditation speak to you?”
| Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83533262486 Meeting ID: 835 3326 2486 If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu |
| May this Advent Season permeate our hearts with Love and Joy – The CRC – Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Lisa Dalton |
*** 
December 24- January 5 (No Meeting December 31)
OVER 1000 PEOPLE REGISTERED!
Daily Schedule:
11:00-11:10am CST – Welcome and silent contemplation with the new zodiac image and virtue
11:10-11:20 am CST – Divine Feminine Sharing
11:20-11:30 am CST – Group Sharing and Closing
** Recordings Posted Daily **
December 24 First Holy Night Presenter: Angela Foster
December 25 Second Holy Night Presenter: Laura Scappaticci
December 26 Third Holy Night Presenter: Joyce Reilly
December 27 Fourth Holy Night Presenter: Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
December 28 Fifth Holy Night Presenter: Jordan Walker and Stefan Ambrose
December 29 Sixth Holy Night Presenter: Ultra-Violet Archer
December 30 Seventh Holy Night Presenter: Deb Abrahams-Dematte
~ ~ December 31 – Pause ~ ~
January 1 Eighth Holy Night Presenter: Lelan Harris
January 2 Ninth Holy Night Presenter: Michele Mariscal
January 3 Tenth Holy Night Presenter: Claudia Knudson
January 4 Eleventh Holy Night Presenter: Jolie Luba
January 5 Twelfth Holy Night Presenter: Timothy Kennedy
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The Festivals Committee for the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago invites you to Our Annual Holy Nights
December 24, 2020, through January 5, 2021
*Please note–No meeting December 29th and 31st. See special offerings below for these dates.
The Fifth Gospel by Rudolf Steiner – Each evening we will study together
on Zoom from 7 pm – 8 pm CST
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92592034861?pwd=Mmo0eURaWDVqYVlabTdSY1ltcUFxdz09
Meeting ID: 925 9203 4861 – Passcode: Peace
On Tuesday, December 29th, 6 pm – 8:30 pm CST,
we will join The ARC in Atlanta for a reading of Goethe’s fairy tale, The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily
This has a separate zoom code: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82656914578?pwd=MHN3Mmt3OEhtQlZTMlc1NHFtUm80QT09 Meeting ID: 826 5691 4578 Passcode: Goethe
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New Year’s Eve, there will be NO zoom call
Thursday 31 December 2020-21 Our Annual Conscious NYE Gathering 6 pm-10:10 pm CT
In-Person at Elderberries Bio-dynamic Outpost & The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago
6 pm CST – Potluck and artistic mask making with Lucien Dante Lazar
8 pm– 9:30 pm CST – Live Music with Jutta and the Hi-Dukes
10:10 pm CST – Project Thought-Seed
The evening ends at 10:30 pm
$20 per person http://donate.rschicago.org/
For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org
***
Nancy Poer
Wednesday 6 January 2021, 2 pm – 4 pm CST
Joan’s Epiphany ‘What Joan of Arc Calls for Today’
In-Person at Elderberries Bio-dynamic Outpost & The Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago & online Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/7052931041 Meeting ID: 705 293 1041
Today on the Birthday of Joan of Arc we welcome special Guest Nancy Poer
We will also explore ‘The Destinies of Individuals and of Nations’, Lecture 5, ‘The Nature of the Christ Impulse and the Michaelic Sprit Serving It’ by Rudolf Steiner with Leading Thoughts by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Social Sculpture: “The Passage” with Lucien Dante Lazar,
+ An Artistic exploration, Singing & Eurythmy
For more info. contact Hazel Archer hag@rschicago.org
Blessings of the Season
~Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Festivals & Events Coordinator
for the Rudolf Steiner Branch
of The Anthroposophical Society
