“The human being is at the center of our Universe. But everything around us loses its spiritual significance, becoming a mere distraction, unless we acknowledge that the outer, sense-perceptible world, cannot solve the riddles that confront us. It is as if spirit were concentrated at a single point. But just as reality compresses altogether, the solution of the cosmic riddle comes back from the periphery as powerfully true, more real than matter itself - a reflection and image of the spiritual. Matter gathers itself together, becomes a oneness at the center, and reappears at the periphery as answer to the riddles of existence, if we are open to receive it. That is reality. Our knowledge is real when it steps in front of our eyes as the structure and process of the entire cosmos. Such knowledge is no longer a form of speculation—a febble stitching of fanciful theory—for true knowledge is born out of the Cosmos. This is the feeling we should develop. Wisdom must become an ideal for us, born out of the periphery of the Cosmos, capable of filling us with great strength, with the strength that enables us to fulfill our own destiny, and to achieve our own Cosmic ideal. With this strength, we shall also be able to realize the human ideal that awaits us in the future.” ~Rudolf Steiner, The Spiritual Hierarchies and the Physical World: Zodiac, Planets, and Cosmos (GA 110) - these ten Lectures given in Düsseldorf, April, 1909 - take us into the exalted regions of the Spiritual World, illuminating the actions of the Spiritual Beings in the kingdoms of Nature & in the Planetary & Zodiacal spheres - laying out the task allotted to humanity in the continuous evolution of these Spiritual worlds which we are part of.
19 May 2025 - “Speaking with the Stars”: Corvus the Crow lies near on the sky’s dome to the bright star Spica in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. Virgo is seen as a harvest goddess. And Corvus the Crow is often depicted as pecking at an ear of wheat, held in the Maiden’s hand.
RUDOLF STEINER'S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL - translated (with added titles) by Roy Sadler - EASTERTIDE V - The Resurrection of the Soul
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (resourses include The original Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner, RSarchives, Antrowiki, EarthSky.org)
19 May 1762 – Birthday of Johann Gottlieb Fichte - a German educator & philosopher. Along with Schelling & Hegel, he is considered an important pioneer of German Idealism - but in contrast to them, he advocated a subjective idealism. Inspired by his reading of Kant, Fichte developed a radically revised & rigorously systematic version of transcendental idealism, which he called Wissenschaftslehre (“Doctrine of Scientific Knowledge”), embracing the philosophy of science, ethics, law or “rights” & religion. Perhaps the most interesting & controversial, feature that inspired Rudolf Steiner is Fichte’s idea of the “pure I.” When Rudolf Steiner was coming into his Saturn return at age 29, he was living in Weimar where he worked for 7 years at the Goethe archive, editing his scientific works & collaborating in the creation of a complete edition of Schopenhauer's work. Weimar was a center of European culture at the time, which allowed Steiner to meet many prominent artists & cultural figures. In 1890 the young Steiner wrote a letter to his friend Richard Specht describing Fichte’s ‘The Way to the Blessed Life’ & the impact it had on his own philosophical conception of freedom, quoting: “…life is love, and the entire form and force of life consists in love and arises from love. – What I have just said expresses one of the deepest principles of knowledge”… Whoever does not merely understand these opening lines of Fichte with the dead intellect, but is able to grasp it in a living manner, such a person lives a wholly independent life. And only those capable of doing this can understand the freedom that I would so dearly like to make into the pivotal and unified point of my entire philosophizing. It is wholly remarkable to me how Fichte and Goethe work their way in from two sides and meet together at the summit in perfection. I believe I understand my epoch very well when I say: the idealism of Fichte and Goethe must bear its final fruit in a kind of freedom philosophy. Because ‘freedom’ is the correlative of that concept for both of them.” Years later in 1915 Berlin, Steiner gave a lecture giving insights into the life of Fichte: “…At Leipzig Fichte went on trying to train himself for the calling of becoming a country pastor. But it proved difficult… And so, one day Fichte stood at the edge of an abyss; and in his soul, like a desperate temptation, the question arose: “Have I no prospects for this life of mine?” Though it may not have been quite present to his consciousness, yet in the background of his mind was the idea of a voluntary death. Then, just at the opportune moment, appeared the writer Weisse, who had become one of his friends. Weisse offered him a post as tutor at Zurich, and took steps to ensure that he could take up this post within three months. And so from the autumn of 1788 onwards we find our Fichte at Zurich. Let us try once more to picture him with the mind's eye, as he stood in the pulpit in the Zurich Minster, now completely possessed with his own conception of the Gospel of St. John, already quite intent on the endeavour to reproduce the teachings of the Bible in a form of his own. He did this in such a way that those who heard his inspiring words resound through the Zurich Cathedral must have thought that a man had arisen who was capable of rendering the scriptures with quite a new eloquence, in a new way, with a fresh inspiration…” ~Rudolf Steiner, The Spirit of Fichte Present in our Midst, GA 65 According to Rudolf Steiner, Fichte's individuality was embodied earlier as Baruch de Spinoza - & at the turn of time, as Philon of Alexandria. “…As an example of the evolution of an individuality, we can consider Philo of Alexandria, a contemporary of Jesus. His individuality came again as Spinoza, and then as Johann Gottlieb Fichte. So here we have a continuous individuality in three personalities. If one reads Fichte without knowledge of these processes, one understands him only slightly. With this knowledge, however, one finds that his words are written in fire script, are written with fire. All great spirits have undergone a regular development. “ ~GA 88
1895 – Birthday of Emil Bock, Priest & co-founder of the Christian Community, anthroposophist and writer. In 1914 he began a study of languages at the University of Bonn . However, the same year he enlisted as a volunteer in the First World War and was sent to the front in Flanders , where he was wounded. In 1916, he met the theologian Friedrich Rittelmeyer , and from 1918 he studied Protestant theology in Berlin, and graduated in 1921. In June of the same year Bock met Rudolf Steiner and became one of the founders of the Christian Community in Switzerland. Right at the moment of the rise of one of the most destructive, anti-human powers the world has ever seen, the Seminary of The Christian Community opened the doors of its first building dedicated to the training of priests in the movement for religious renewal. As Adolf Hitler proclaimed himself the “Führer”students gathered daily to hear words spoken in the sanctuary, from the altar, from the true “helfende Führer” (helping guide). Banned by the Nazi’s in 1941, Emil Bock – one of the founding priests and main teachers at the seminary – worked on a whole new translation of the New Testament while in the prison camp in Welzheim, including Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians and the Letter to the Hebrews. This spiritual work, completed under the pressures of a time of terrible catastrophe and real evil, became a powerful force that emerged above-ground at the end of the war in 1945. Bock was released from the concentration camp in 1942, but was under surveillance for the rest of the war. After the war, Bock was instrumental in the rebuilding of the community. On November 1, 1950, Pius XII proclaimed the Dogma of the Assumption–Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven–which sent shock waves throughout the Christian world. C.G. Jung, for example, wrote his Answer to Job in response. Emil Bock’s response was the ‘Threefold Mary’ lectures, which answer some of the issues and broaden the scope to include not only the Mary-Sophia mystery in human history, but also the meaning of the feminine element in the evolution of consciousness. ~anthrowiki, christiancommunity
“The Mary mystery has meaning for all humankind, and a renewed Christian understanding of the human being in the fullest sense will be able to fathom it“. ~Emil Bock
May 31, 2025 - Come Join us for Our Spring Biodynamic Preparation Day on Zinniker FarmStart is at 10am - We’ll be taking out preparations that were buried last fall. We’ll stir 500 to make and apply tree paste and have other activities as time allows. A light lunch is provided. We’ll round out the day with a potluck dinner and bonfire, please bring a dish to share. Come for the morning, come for the afternoon or come for the whole day. Love Donation: $30-60 We hope to see you there. ~Petra Zinniker
If you want to support 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, 19 May 2025
Point & Periphery
Thursday, 15 May 2025
Riot in Munich
In the early 1920s, an occult wave was rolling across the world, spiritualism, mediumship & astrology were the fad of the day – showing that the human being longed for more than just the materialism of the age. Silent films like ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ echoed this longing. In Germany many people were flocking to hear lectures by Dr Rudolf Steiner, considered in the popular culture of the day, to be a clairvoyant polymath thaumaturge. At that time, growing inflation brought about a feeling of insecurity among broad sections of the population, & right-wing terrorist organizations taking advantage of the situation slowly came into power, working behind the scenes to assassinate many leading politicians & public figures opposed to their agendas of control.
The practical solutions promoted by Anthroposophy in various fields of knowledge & life, primarily the movement for the ‘3-fold Social Order’, made Dr. Rudolf Steiner a target for nationalistic & antisemitic forces. They saw Steiner as a stooge & agent of a ‘global Zionist & Masonic conspiracy’.Hitler’s mentor, Dietrich Eckart, published a long article about Steiner in 1919 in which he mocked Steiner’s social impulse. Hitler himself decidedly rejected 3-folding as early as 1920. According to police reports, after Hiter’s speech at the Munich Hofbräuhaus on 11 May 1920 one person in the audience recommended Steiner’s 3-folding idea as a possible solution to the social question, & Hitler replied: “We don’t want any new ideas but to defend the old ones which have been seen to be correct.” The famous booking agency ‘Wolff & Sachs’, organized Steiner’s lecture tours in several German cities. On the first tour in January 1922, Dr. Steiner spoke in front of over 20,000 people. But this ended unexpectedly because during the 2nd tour, in May 1922, militant opponents from nationalistic populist (voelkisch) circles, planned disruptions during his lectures in Munich & Elberfeld, so that Steiner decided against a 3rd tour. In Munich, on 15 May 1922, according to Christian Community Priest Friedrich Rittelmeyer, Steiner was “physically threatened and put in danger of his life by hooligans at the instigation of a Nationalist newspaper.”Shortly before the incident, the Munich weekly Heimatland (edited by the editor-in-chief of the Völkische Beobachter = the organ of the Nazi Party) wrote: “Are there no longer any men in Munich who feel themselves to be German and who will prevent the arrival of such a scoundrel? Above all, will our battle-hardened youth with its patriotic ethos tolerate this provocation? If ever there is a target worthy of rotten eggs and apples, there is none more worthy for this kind of projectile of contempt than the anthroposophical Cagliostro and betrayer of the homeland.”For the Nazis, Steiner was a parasitic “enemy of the people”.This alone shows how Anthroposophy is, & always has been, opposed to all nationalistic racist thinking.All reports agree in their description that after the 15 May lecture, while the audience was still applauding, attackers stormed the stage as Steiner was just about to leave the hall.The attackers wore swastikas, & were equipped with sticks, knives & firearms. Steiner only just succeeded in closing the door behind him. Meanwhile the anthroposophists pushed the attackers down from the platform – where there ensued a general brawl, with people running from the hall.The incident was even reported as a “riot” in the New York Times. The headline says: “RIOT AT MUNICH LECTURE. Reactionaries Storm Platform When Steiner Discusses Theosophy”.Steiner’s Dornach collaborator Edith Maryon, who had a vision that something was going to happen to him on the tour, received a telegram from Steiner after the incident: “Survived Munich”. Hans Büchenbacher, who become aware at an early stage that Steiner was on a death list, & that an attack was planned, organized his own protection force, since the police had refused to take the appropriate measures. Steiner, aware of the threat to his life, said:“It will probably reach the point that I can only speak in the occupied Rhineland.” (The Rhineland was occupied by the Allies from 1918 to 1930.)
It is clear from eye-witness reports that many people decided specifically as a result of the lectures on this tour to engage more deeply with anthroposophy. The audience was willing to follow Steiner’s unusual & often demanding lines of thought. The great applause, which even the newspaper reporters experienced as being unusual, certainly did not come just from anthroposophist’s alone, since they only formed a small minority among the thousands of people in the audience on each occasion. One young man, Heinrich Liedvogel wrote how grateful he was that his father had taken him along to the lecture as a recalcitrant 18 year old, & that Rudolf Steiner had made an ‘indelible impression’ on him, which had a deep impact for the rest of his life. He was impressed how Rudolf Steiner silenced the hecklers which were, however, subsequently to seize power. Fifteen year later (1933) he experienced in the same hall how the ‘clique of those earlier hecklers’ had ‘grown into a dragon which had, at least outwardly, destroyed the intellectual life of Germany.
The extraordinary courage with which Steiner exposed himself to the ever more brutal actions of his opponents in order to serve, must be admired. He finished the tours, which he admitted exhausted him, with unshakeable equanimity & great self-discipline. Steiner fought against the many misunderstandings & cruel caricatures of his modern Rosicrucian teachings. He differentiated his epistemological method in sharp contrast to the modern materialistic parapsychology, & the old atavistic yogic practices of eastern mysticism, to reveal the spiritual scientific nature of his research - a renewal of the mysteries appropriate for our time. He also showed the way in which Anthroposophy could be productive in education, medicine, agriculture, the religious life, etc. ~adapted from an article in ARCHIVMAGAZIN. Beiträge aus dem Rudolf Steiner Archiv: Nr. 8/2018, Wolff & Sachs-Vortragstourneen 1922 und der Zwischenfall in München. Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Basel 2018
Luke 6:22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!”
15 May 2025 - “Speaking with the Stars”: In the early morning hours the waning gibbous moon will be among the stars of the Teapot asterism of Sagittarius the Archer - near the direction of the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
The Soul Calendar's full moon verse is v4, a month after the full moon of Holy Week. EASTERTIDE IV - BELTANE Translated by Roy Sadler (happy b-day Roy!) The Marriage Gift - v4 - I feel the essence of my being, so speaks perceptive feeling, that in the sunlit world, unites with floods of light; it warms the lucid mind, and marries Man and World.
May 31, 2025 - Come Join us for Our Spring Biodynamic Preparation Day on Zinniker FarmStart is at 10am - We’ll be taking out preparations that were buried last fall. We’ll stir 500 to make and apply tree paste and have other activities as time allows. A light lunch is provided. We’ll round out the day with a potluck dinner and bonfire, please bring a dish to share. Come for the morning, come for the afternoon or come for the whole day. Love Donation: $30-60 We hope to see you there. ~Petra Zinniker
If you want to support 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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