6 January is The Feast of Epiphany - In Greek: epi-phanos means: Shining forth, the manifestation of a god, a striking appearance or vision of The Divine.
On Epiphany in 1412 Joan of Arc was born - Spiritual Science describes the miracle of her auspicious birth, how she went thru a sort of pre-earthy initiation during the potent time of the 13 Holy Nights, incarnating on Epiphany. What is the true mission of The Maid of Orleans?
From the time of her enchanted childhood around the village fairy tree, & then starting at the age of 12, & for a brief 7 years till she was martyred at 19, Jehanne d’Arc was inspired into by progressive Beings of the Divine Spiritual World. Jehanne or Joan is the feminine form of Joannes or John, which is, in the case of John the Baptist & St. John the Divine, a title of initiation – so here we have a mighty clue. The powers working thru her directed her to battle against the inflammatory Luciferic forces of deception prevailing in humanity at that special time, right before the beginning of the Consciousness Soul Age, which according to Rudolf Steiner began with her birth. Joan of Arc, with the aid of Michael, (& his helpers St. Catherine & St. Margaret) was able to vanquish the seductive Luciferic forces which were vying to prevent this shift in human consciousness.
This led to her sacrifical death, which was orchestrated because all the selfish Luciferic forces of her enemies joined together to bring about her crucifixion by fire. Her misadventure in a battle was brought about thru the jealousy of the very men who were appointed to work with her, & yet were countermanding her divinely inspired mission. At her witch trial she predicted her own death, & said that within 7 years after of her death: “the English would meet with a much greater reversal of fortune than any they had known before”. Spiritual Science tells us that the soul of Joan of Arc continued working across the Threshold to shape these events after her death. What the spiritual powers want to bring about, will occur, whatever the external conditions may be.
Many great individualities are working with us even now from across the threshold. The Maid’s adversaries were able to bring about her death, but they were not able to prevent her mission. The power behind the will of the Maid of Orleans - the forces of Michael - are working still against the immoral Luciferic forces that rage in the world.
Dear friends, we are also having to deal with hostile forces in our time, but now-a-days these are predominantly Ahrimanic forces, not inflaming, but hardening, materialistic forces, that have come up with the industrial age.
But fear not dear friends, we must not try to deny or rebel against these materialistic Ahrimanic elements. We must let them strengthen us; we must develop the courage of Michael to see it as something that is necessary in our time, something that has to be present, so that we can learn to reverse it thru our heart-thinking – transforming these forces thru love. We generate the great strength we need to offer resistance to these hardening forces by approaching the spirit not only thru the inner powers of revelation & faith, like in the case of Joan of Arc, but by concentrating our powers of understanding on what spiritual science has to give – a common sense - yet divinely inspired wisdom, filling us with light. And when we take ahold of ourselves with this attitude, we can consciously work with what Michael, the Spirit of our Age, has to give us now in our time - Meeting every trial & test with a conscious heart-thinking, motivated by the wisdom of love. And so as we remember the deeds of Joan of Arc on this feast day of Epiphany we are also reminded of our current task, to name & tame the modern beasts, to take our will forces in hand, like many, people young & old, who have dedicated themselves to be spiritual warriors for peace, & the light of truth. ~hag
Th Feast of Adoration of the Magi
This day is also called: Three Kings Day; 12th night, featuring ‘The Lord of Misrule’; The feast of La Bafana; The Feast of Recognition; The Adoration of the Magi; The Manifestation of God - The moment when The Cosmic Being of Christ entered into the soul of Jesus of Nazareth at the Baptism.
In ancient Egypt the 6th of January was celebrated as the Festival of Osiris – revealing the mystery of the re-membering of the Sun-god. As you know, Osiris was overcome by his enemy Typhon or Set, & the Goddess Isis, his beloved, seeks & eventually finds his coffin floating in the sea. This notion of finding Osiris is a prefiguring of the Festival of The Three Kings, who also went looking for their representative of the Sun god. This ‘Epiphany’ was also celebrated by the Assyrians, the Armenians & the Phoenicians. Everywhere it is a Festival connected with a kind of universal baptism — a rebirth from out of the water.
Epiphany, like Easter & Pentecost are Holy Days traditionally set aside for initiation rites, emphasizing the mysterious relationship between the elements of fire & water, which invokes the ability to see into the formative forces of the etheric realm.
In both the Eastern & Western churches the feast of Epiphany additionally commemorates the marriage at Cana (see John 2:1-11), at which Christ performed his first miracle, an allegory for the mixing of water & wine=liquid fire, changing water into fire, which the ancients called The Alchemical Marriage, or the Great Work… Epiphany, has been observed since before AD 194, so it is much older than our Christmas celebrations. It has always been a profoundly esoteric Festival of the highest rank.
~Andrea del Verrocchio + his pupil Leonardo da VinciAt one time the Nativity & Epiphany were celebrated together & were referred to as the First & Second Nativity - the first, as the birth of the physical vessel prepared thru many generations from Adam down thru the House of King David - & the second being Christ’s manifestation into that vessel, linked with the cosmic event of Christ’s Baptism by John in the Jordan - & then moving with the blood into the Earth in the Death & Resurrection of Easter.
The Three Magi from the East were wise men initiated into the mysteries of the stars by Zarathustra. They followed the starry script written in the heavens that was foretold by the ancient prophets, to Bethlehem, where they paid homage to the their reborn teacher & presented him with gold, frankincense & myrrh.
Gold reflects the kingship of The Christ as a ‘Solar King’. Frankincense, the incense of seership & worship, for meditative & invocational purposes, symbolizes his priestly role, & myrrh, a purifying substance used in healing & burial embalming, points to the crucifixion & resurrection.
The 3 Magi represent the evolution of humanity, & show in their inclusiveness that The Christ Impulse is for all of humankind.
The 12 days of Christmas ends with the Feast of Epiphany which comes with its own traditions, rituals & symbols for the common folk. Carolers go from house to house; & in many homes the Christmas Tree is taken down & burnt in a big bonfire.
For the children this is an especially joyous occasion because, when the tree is taken down they get to “plündern” (raid) the tree of the sweets – the chocolate ornaments wrapped in foil or cookies, which have replaced the sugar plums, & become the raiders’ rewards.
January 6th is also called Oiche Nollaig na mBan, Women’s Christmas, when the Irish men take on household duties for the day & the women relax & celebrate together.
The Witch of Christmas, La Befana, is also celebrated on the eve Epiphany – The legend of La Befana began thousands of years ago & remains to this day a tradition practiced by many folks with an Italian heritage (my father’s people are from Montefegatesi, the highest of the Bagni di Lucca villages in Tuscany) it’s also practiced in many Waldorf schools.
The Legend: This story takes place at the time of the birth of the Matthew Jesus. La Befana is an wise old woman who lives in a house in the hills of Italy. Befana spends her days sweeping & baking, & giving sage advice to the village folk when she’s not needed as a healer. One night, Befana notices a bright light in the sky, she winks at it & goes back to her work. Later, a glorious caravan led by Three Wise Men stop & ask La Befana for directions to Bethlehem inviting her to join them in their search for the Christ Child. Befana says she must first get ready, setting things right in the village - she tells them where to go & that she can meet them later. After the caravan disappears over the hills, she remembered a box of old toys that she had collected over the years, many that were tossed out because they were broken. She fixed & re-painted them, always thinking of the many children who needed them. O how she loved seeing them smile. So she placed some sweet bread & the repaired gifts for the Christ-child in a sack, took her broom to help the new mother clean, & raced out after the caravan in search of the Baby Jesus. La Befana was soon overwhelmed with all the needy children everywhere in the world. And just as she was getting very tired, angels appeared from the bright light of the magic star in the sky, to give flight to La Befana on her broom – it was a night of miracles after all. And she flew off searching for the boy king.
La Befana still searches, even today, after all these centuries. And so, every year on the eve of the Epiphany, whenever La Befana comes to a house where there is a child, she drops in to see if it might be the child she seeks. She leaves a gift, or a treat. La Befana has come to realize, over the years, that her searching is not vain, that in a way, the Christ Child is found in all children. Ever since then the old wise woman has been known as “La Befana” or simply “Befana.” In fact, Befana’s name comes from the same ancient Greek word “epifania” which means “epiphany.”
This celebration, in remembrance of the Magi’s visit, often includes purifying rites & benedictions with water. Water set out by the fireplace on the eve of the Epiphany (the night that La Befana flies the skies) is said to have sacred properties that can ward off evil spirits & is used in critical moments of a family’s life. Celebration of the Epiphany can be traced as far back as the 9th century, & is one of the most popular Italian feasts especially in the backcountry or in the hills. In the time when our grandparents were children, La Befana was tremendously popular & was awaited with a mixture of joy & anxiety. Children hung hand-knitted stockings on the fireplace & wrote long letters to her expressing their wishes. Often they were disappointed as their families had little money to spend on gifts; however, sometimes they found little hand-sewn dolls & puppets in their stocking. If they had been bad, their stockings were filled with onions, garlic & coal. In modern-day Italy some shops sell carbone or black rock candy that actually looks like pieces of coal.
And to celebrate this day, people would gather together on Epiphany morning to eat chestnuts, & fruit pancakes. My Waldorf girl learned this song at school many years ago: Babuska, Babuska, she sweep & sweep all day Another tradition is to sprinkle the doorways with holy water; & the mistress of the house would write with chalk K + M + B with the number of the year above the house or barn door & say: “Kaspar, Melchior, “Balthasar, behütet uns auch für dieses Jahr, vor Feuer und. ‘Protect our home from the perils of fire & water’.
You may have seen it, especially if you’ve been to Germany or other parts of Europe – that mysterious series of letters & numbers, looking to all the world like an equation, inscribed in chalk over a doorway. The letters are also an abbreviate of the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat: “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross. I remember the days when I would go to the Epiphany Mass with my Italian grandma good witch, & they gave out satchels of blessed chalk, incense, & containers of holy water especially for Epiphany. Another common practice, that my Straga-Nona always observed was to save a few grains of the Epiphany incense until Easter, so that it could be burned along with the Easter candle. Practicing traditions like the chalking of the doors helps us to awaken to the mysteries behind the Holidays. It is a practical concrete way to observe & it serves as an outward sign of our dedication to being more conscious in our Thinking, Feeling & Willing - To take the time to bless our homes – the place where many of us will make the greatest strides in our spiritual growth - thru observance of daily meditations, spiritual reading to the dead, & work offered freely with love – this is vital. It also serves as a reminder of the welcoming that the Magi gave to the wise Madonna & Child. And we, dear freinds, can also strive to be just as welcoming - to all who come our way - To greet the Christ within every body that crosses our threshold. May 2025 hold many light bulb epiphanies over our heads - that we may ‘follow that good star’. 20+K+M+B+25 ~hag
Epiphany in 1828 – Birthday of Herman Grimm – Grimm’s father was Wilhelm Grimm, & his uncle Jakob Grimm, the philologist compilers of indigenous folk tales (“Brothers Grimm”). His other uncle was the painter engraver Ludwig Emil Grimm. Grimm’s reputation is that of the arch-Romantic, Gründerzeit art historian. He viewed himself as the intellectual successor of Goethe. His approach to art history was through the “Great Masters”, & arranging significance of art through a biographical account of art history. His tastes both typified & led German & continental taste. Homer, Dante & Shakespeare were the great writers of their age; in art, only Raphael & Michelangelo could compare. The nineteenth century’s adoration of Raphael is in large part Grimm’s doing. See what Rudolf Steiner wrote: THE WORLDVIEW OF HERMAN GRIMM, GA 62
POD (Poem Of the Day) ~Reveling in gratitude
Here is the recording of Winter Solstice w/ Mysteria Mystica Americana MA A Special gift from the Grand Lodge of MA: Richard Cloud, Hazel Archer, Lisa Dalton + guests: Michael Draskovic, Russell Blackstone These ADVENT recordings are my gift to you ~hag.:.
The Fellowship of Preparation Makers' annual gathering, to be held this year in Viroqua, WI. Registration and further info will be posted on their page as it becomes available: https://www.biodynamics.com/content/fellowship-preparation-makers .
If you want to support the Spiritualization of the Earth thru the Biodynamic Farming done on Zinniker Farm, you are invited to become a paid subscriber, with all donations going directly to the farm
Greetings Friend, you currently a free subscriber to Cognitive Ritual. Thank you for receiving my workings freely offered. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. ALL donations go to support Zinniker Farm - The oldest Biodynamic Farm in America! Together we can spiritualize the Universe. XOX ~hag
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Monday, 6 January 2025
3 Kings, a Witch & a Maiden +
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