LETTRE DU CONSEIL

Aux membres de la Société anthroposophique au Canada

Sujet : Célébration du 150^e anniversaire de la naissance de Rudolf Steiner, 2011

- par Judy King (au nom du Conseil)   

Chers amis,

Nous constatons ici au Canada un intérêt croissant pour faire du 150^e anniversaire de la naissance de Rudolf Steiner (2011) un événement significatif. 

Au Goetheanum, on a mis sur pied plusieurs projets pour faire valoir cet événement en Europe : un voyage commémoratif en train à partir du lieu de naissance de Rudolf Steiner; une conférence de presse internationale au Goetheanum (novembre 2010); une attention particulière donnée à la « Conférence de Bologne » du 8 avril 1911, Les Fondements psychologiques et la Position de l’Anthroposophie dans la Théorie de la Connaissance (Dans Philosophie et Anthroposophie – Ed. Anthroposophiques Romandes).

Ici au Canada, plusieurs activités locales sont prévues : au Québec, des membres préparent un événement pour l’automne; en Nouvelle Écosse plusieurs membres ont l'intention d'organiser une série de conférences; et en Colombie Britannique, un groupe a entrepris l’étude de la Conférence de Bologne.

Les membres du Conseil sont encouragés par l'enthousiasme manifesté à travers le pays à l'idée de célébrer Rudolf Steiner et les multiples manifestations de son impulsion dans notre monde actuel.  Nous aimerions à notre tour encourager les membres des groupes locaux qui en auraient envie, à prendre des initiatives dans ce sens.  Nous sommes toutefois parfaitement conscients que beaucoup de membres sont déjà très engagés dans le travail et la vie anthroposophiques – il n’y a dans ce que nous vous communiquons ici aucune « obligation à célébrer. »

Le Conseil conçoit cette année commémorative comme étant une occasion pour, d'une part, faire connaître notre travail dans la grande communauté, et, d'autre part, pour prendre conscience de la nature de notre propre lien personnel avec Rudolf Steiner.  Nous avons porté les questions suivantes : Que veut dire « commémorer Rudolf Steiner ? »  Dans quelle mesure est-ce que cela peut générer de la vie?  Quelle importance donnons-nous au fait d'assurer que le nom de Rudolf Steiner soit clairement identifié à toutes les initiatives qui s'inspirent de ses indications?  Célébrerons-nous au Canada à l’échelle du pays?  Si oui, comment?  Et y aurait-il quelque chose que le conseil pourrait coordonner?

Or, lors de nos plus récentes réunions du Conseil, à Vancouver du 8 au 11 octobre, nous avons eu une rencontre, en deux sessions, avec les membres locaux au Rudolf Steiner Centre à North Vancouver.  Ces échanges nous ont été d'une aide précieuse dans notre effort de préciser notre position face aux célébrations de 2011.  L'idée de célébrer la vie et l'œuvre de Rudolf Steiner a été reçue avec enthousiasme.  Un des membres de Vancouver nous a offert une image pleine d'énergie : « …une célébration qui déferle sur le Canada comme un tsunami! »  Un autre membre nous a raconté une anecdote émouvante sur un jeune de dix-neuf ans qui participait à un de ses ateliers de biodynamie.  Les préparations ont été brassées et puis vaporisées sur des arbres dans un parc de Vancouver.  Le jeune homme a déclaré : « Toute ma vie j'ai voulu redonner quelque chose à la terre.  Voici maintenant une façon pour moi de le faire. »  

De là, notre conversation nous a amenés à évoquer les multiples indications laissées par Rudolf Steiner pour le travail de guérison de la terre.  À cette évocation est venu s’ajouter le phénomène observable de la vigueur croissante du mouvement biodynamique au Canada.  Tout ceci a fait ressortir une idée que nous aimerions proposer et coordonner, en tant que Conseil, comme faisant partie du raz de marée de célébrations que connaîtra le pays : Que soit réalisé au même moment, au plus grand nombre possible d'endroits à travers le pays, l'acte de brasser et de vaporiser des préparations biodynamiques.  Ceci pourrait être vu comme un geste de guérison pour la terre en relation directe avec le fait que Rudolf Steiner s’est incarné il y a 150 ans. 

Nous aimerions rentrer en contact avec les cultivateurs et les jardiniers pratiquant la biodynamie au Canada, aussi bien qu'avec d'autres individus intéressés, pour vous consulter par rapport au moment propice et aux modalités qui permettront la réalisation de cette activité.  Nous entretenons l'espoir que l'idée suscitera de l'enthousiasme parmi les membres de la Société au Canada.  Si vous avez des suggestions ou des questions, ou que vous aimeriez jouer un rôle actif dans l'organisation de cet événement, nous vous prions de contacter le membre du Conseil de votre région ou Mark McAlister au bureau de Toronto. 

Et une dernière interrogation – quelqu'un aurait-il une réponse à la question suivante : Cette vague puissante devrait-elle déferler d'est en ouest, dans le sens du mouvement du soleil, ou d'ouest en est, comme se répandent parfois les nouvelles idées?

En tant que Conseil nous espérons que vous ressentirez un  peu de l'enthousiasme que nous avons vécu lors de nos rencontres à Vancouver, et que vous voudriez bien « monter dans le train » avec nous!

Nous vous exprimons nos meilleurs vœux de bonne santé et de bon travail en ce temps de l'année où les journées se replient sur elles-mêmes.

Le Conseil

MOT DU SECRÉTAIRE GÉNÉRAL

Chers amis

Dans la première semaine du mois de novembre les Secrétaires généraux se sont réunis au Goetheanum avec le Comité Directeur et les responsables de Sections de l’École de Science de l’Esprit.  La question qui a occupé notre attention tout au cours de la semaine : la compression à effectuer dans le budget du Goetheanum pour l'année 2011, le montant de cette réduction sera de 3,900,000 francs suisses (légèrement plus que le même montant en dollars canadiens.)  Ce chiffre tient compte de la diminution des contributions des membres de la Société universelle, de la baisse du montant des dons faits au Goetheanum, de la décision d'exclure du budget l'argent des héritages, et d'une perte de 800,000 francs suisses en frais d'échange à partir d'autres monnaies. 

L'activité de la scène du Goetheanum (théâtre et eurythmie) sera considérablement réduite une fois terminées les représentations actuelles des Drames-Mystères.  La Section des Arts plastiques n'a plus ni responsable ni collaborateurs au Goetheanum.  D'autres Sections – comme par exemple la Section des Mathématiques et la Section des Sciences sociales, ont encore des responsables mais n'ont plus de collaborateurs sur place.  D'autres sections sont encore en train d'étudier comment leur travail pourra se poursuivre.  Lorsque Cornelius Pietzner quittera son poste de Trésorier en avril de 2011, son poste sur le Conseil directeur ne sera pas comblé pour le moment. Paul Mackay servira de trésorier par intérim pour la Société anthroposophique universelle. 

Ce que je viens de mentionner décrit la situation actuelle au Goetheanum.  Mais à un autre niveau, beaucoup plus humain, vivent toutes les réactions et les luttes individuelles dans les âmes de ceux qui sont touchés directement : frustration, colère, regret, mais aussi une acceptation de ce que la situation actuelle exige et une expression d'empathie pour ceux qui ne pourront plus continuer dans leurs fonctions de collaborateurs au Goetheanum.  C'était à ce niveau d'une expérience humaine directe que nous, Secrétaires généraux, avons été témoins des conséquences immédiates de cette situation financière. 

Durant nos réunions des Secrétaires généraux, on a cherché comment montrer notre appui au Comité directeur et aux responsables de Section, plutôt que de chercher à culpabiliser qui que ce soit pour la situation – à moins que ce ne soit de reconnaître que la décision de procéder à des coupures budgétaires aurait pu être prise plus tôt.  Pourtant, une croissance de l'activité anthroposophique partout dans le monde et la réponse énergique suscitée par plusieurs activités au Goetheanum avaient nourri l'espoir de voir une augmentation correspondante de fonds dirigée vers le Goetheanum.  Or, cet espoir ne s'est pas réalisé. 

Pour chacun de nous, les Secrétaires généraux, la question est alors devenue : Comment moi-même et la Société anthroposophique dans mon pays devrons-nous établir un rapport juste avec cette situation?  De la part des Sociétés européennes ayant de nombreux membres (tels que l'Allemagne et les Pays-Bas) une réponse a été offerte : que les Conseils de leurs Sociétés nationales travaillent en collaboration directe avec le Comité directeur au Goetheanum.  Étant donné ce que nous avons tenté de réaliser ici au Canada depuis quelques années, et en tenant compte du fait que nous sommes une petite société éloignée géographiquement du Goetheanum, de quelle manière pouvons-nous répondre aux besoins de la situation?  Comme point de départ, je me suis demandé : Qu'est-ce que je peux reconnaître, en tant que membre de la Société anthroposophique au Canada, comme étant les tâches du Goetheanum que je considère essentielles et que je suis prêt à soutenir?

En premier lieu, je compte sur le Goetheanum pour rendre visible l'être d'une Société anthroposophique universelle qui a une tâche pour l'humanité.  Cela trouve sa manifestation à la fois dans le travail fait au Goetheanum et dans l'activité se réalisant ailleurs dans le monde. Il suffit de consulter des organes de diffusion comme Anthroposophy Worldwide et notre bulletin des membres ici au pays pour s'en rendre compte.  Je suis pleinement conscient par ailleurs de combien les membres eux-mêmes, ici au Canada et partout dans le monde, donnent forme à une Société universelle par leurs gestes et par leur propre être.  Lorsque je vous rencontre personnellement, lorsque je parle avec vous au téléphone, je suis frappé maintes et maintes fois par la profondeur et l'envergure des rapports que beaucoup d'entre vous entretenez avec la vie anthroposophique d'au-delà des frontières de notre pays.  Grâce à ces liens et à la conscience qu'ils éveillent, nous donnons corps, ici au Canada, à l'être du Goetheanum comme société mondiale.  Comment donc rendre ces liens plus visibles entre nous-mêmes d'une manière conforme à notre vision de la tâche du Goetheanum? 

Deuxièmement, je compte sur le Goetheanum pour éveiller, nourrir et sauvegarder les organes essentiels de la recherche spirituelle, quel que soit l'endroit où ces organes déploient leur activité et indépendamment de la manière dont ils soient formés.  À l'origine, Rudolf Steiner a donné à ces organes la forme des Sections de l'École de Science de l'Esprit; jusqu'à présent, chaque Section a eu un responsable et des collaborateurs au Goetheanum.  Le temps est peut-être venu, avec la crise budgétaire actuelle, de développer une nouvelle imagination des formes que devraient prendre ces organes essentiels – où ils devraient être situés physiquement dans le contexte mondial du travail de l’École, et comment on peut concevoir une gestion de ces organes qui puisse assurer, à ce moment critique, un chemin viable vers l'avenir. 

Au Canada, le Conseil, avec les responsables de Classe et d'autres collègues de l'École, porte depuis quelque temps la question de comment donner au travail des Sections davantage de visibilité.  Peut-être serait-ce maintenant le moment d'explorer cette question d'une nouvelle manière, avec d'autres collègues de l’École ailleurs dans le monde.

Une question fondamentale sous-tend toutes les considérations ci-dessus :  Qu'est-ce que le Goetheanum pour nous – comment le comprenons-nous et quelle imagination en avons-nous?   Notre compréhension est-elle liée à une activité concentrée principalement à Dornach?  Ou bien imaginons-nous aussi le Goetheanum comme étant présent partout au sein de la Société universelle?  Si oui, comment cette présence peut-elle revêtir une nouvelle forme dont un besoin urgent se fait sentir? 

Durant le Congrès de Noël, dans sa conférence du soir du 31 décembre 1923, anniversaire de l'incendie du Goetheanum (L’envie des Dieux, l’envie des hommes – dans Le congrès de Noël, Ed. Anthroposophiques Romandes), Rudolf Steiner a déclaré que le Goetheanum est une réalité d'esprit qu'aucun feu ne pourrait jamais détruire, et il voulait que l'on s'engage envers cette réalité.  Comment donc pouvons-nous, à ce moment critique que nous vivons, éveiller de nouveau ce que Rudolf Steiner appelle « l'esprit du Goetheanum »?  Comment pouvons-nous, grâce à cet éveil, travailler de concert avec nos collègues à Dornach pour comprendre le moment présent et lui faire face? 

En terminant cette lettre, je voudrais vous informer du passage du seuil de Linda Link, qui a vécu les dernières années de sa vie sur l'île de Quadra, en Colombie Britannique.  Membre fidèle de longue date de la Société anthroposophique au Canada, Linda a été co-fondatrice de « Capers », un des premiers magasins d'aliments naturels dans la région du « lower mainland.»  Elle est morte d'une pneumonie au mois de juin, et ce n'est que récemment que j'ai appris son décès.  Je souhaiterais qu'un membre de sa famille puisse écrire un article sur sa vie pour un numéro futur de Glimpses. 

Je tiens aussi à attirer votre attention sur le congrès qui se tiendra cet été en Finlande :  I AM – the Inner and Outer Light, qui va explorer le thème du Christ éthérique.  Il se déroulera du 3 au 7 août sur l'île d’åland, au large de la côte ouest de la Finlande.  Le site internet du congrès est : www.innerlight2011.com. Ce congrès donne suite, en quelque sorte, à notre congrès de Whitehorse de 2009 et à celui de l'été dernier en Islande.  J'ai l'espoir que quelques-uns de nos membres auront l'occasion d'y participer. 

Avec mes meilleures pensées pour le temps de l'avent,

Philip Thatcher,

Secrétaire général

Letter from Philip Thatcher - Advent 2010

Dear Friends,

During the first week of November the General Secretaries met at the Goetheanum with the Executive Council and section leaders from the School for Spiritual Science. The situation that focused our attention throughout the week is a reduction in the Goetheanum budget for 2011 in the amount of 3,900,000 Swiss francs, just over an equivalent amount in Canadian dollars. This figure takes into account a reduction in members' contributions throughout the world Society, a reduction in donations to the Goetheanum, a decision to remove legacies from the budget, and an amount of 800,000 CHF lost in the exchange of other currencies into the Swiss franc.

The activity on the Goetheanum stage will be reduced substantially once the current production of the Mystery Dramas has run its course, both with respect to drama and eurythmy. The Visual Arts sections of the School for Spiritual Science no longer has a leader or co-workers at the Goetheanum; other sections such as Mathematics and Social Science still have leaders but no longer have co-workers on site; still other sections are in process of determining how their work can go forward. When Cornelius Pietzner steps out of his role as Treasurer in April 2011, his position on the Executive Council will not be filled for the time being. Paul Mackay will act as interim Treasurer for the General Anthroposophical Society.

What I have touched on above is a highlighting of the current situation at the Goetheanum. On another, very human level, live a range of individual responses and soul struggles on the part of those immediately affected: frustration, anger, regret, as well as acceptance of what the situation now requires, along with empathy for those who will not be able to continue as co-workers at the Goetheanum. It was on this level of direct human experience that we as General Secretaries witnessed the immediate effect of the financial situation.

Within the General Secretaries' meetings, the gesture was one of searching for ways of supporting both the Executive Council and section leaders, as distinct from assigning blame for the situation--other than recognizing that perhaps the decision to reduce the budget could have been taken earlier. Yet the increase in anthroposophical activity around the world and the response to a variety of activities at the Goetheanum fed into the hope that in time there would be a corresponding increase in funds directed to the Goetheanum--a hope that was not realized.

For each of us as General Secretaries, the question became: How I and the country society I represent make a relationship to this situation? From European societies with a larger membership, such as Germany and Holland, there was the response of offering to work with the Executive Council on a council to council basis. Out of what we in Canada have tried to bring about in the past several years and given the fact that we are a small society numerically, and geographically removed from the Goetheanum, in what ways can we respond? As a point of departure, I was moved to ask myself: What do I as a member of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada see as essential tasks of the Goetheanum that I am willing to support?

First, I look to the Goetheanum to make visible the being of a worldwide Anthroposophical Society with a task for humanity. This gesture can be embodied both in the work at the Goetheanum and activity around the world, and communicated through organs such as Anthroposophy Worldwide and our country news for members. I am also aware, however, of the extent to which members around the world and here in Canada embody the being of a worldwide society in what they do and who they are. When I meet with you in person, when I speak with you on the phone, I am struck time and again by the depth and breadth of the connections many of you have with anthroposophical life and activity beyond the borders of Canada. Through those connections and the consciousness awakened by and through them, we in Canada embody the being of the Goetheanum as a world society. How then can we make these connections more visible to one another in a way that supports this task of the Goetheanum?

Secondly, I look to the Goetheanum to awaken, nurture, and guard essential organs of spiritual scientific research, wherever these organs may be active and however they may be formed. Rudolf Steiner initially gave these organs the form of sections of the School for Spiritual Science; up to the present time each section has had a leader and co-workers at the Goetheanum. Out of the current financial situation the time may have come to re-imagine the forms needed to embody these essential organs, where they are to be placed in the worldwide working of the School, and the character of the leadership needed to turn this critical moment into a way forward.

In Canada the Council, with the Class Holders and other colleagues in the School, has carried for some time the question as to how to make section work  more visible. Now  may be the moment for us to take up this question in a new way, with other colleagues in the School worldwide.

Running through all of the above is the question: What do we understand and imagine the Goetheanum to be? Is that understanding focused primarily on activity centered in Dornach? Or do we also imagine the Goetheanum as being present throughout the world Society? If so, how can that presence now take new and urgent form?

In the lecture Rudolf Steiner gave on New Year's eve during the 1923-1924 Christmas Conference*, on the anniversary of the burning of the first Goetheanum, he asked for an awareness of and commitment to the Goetheanum as a spiritual reality that no fire can destroy. How then at this present, crucial moment in the life of the Goetheanum can we awaken anew what Rudolf Steiner calls the "spirit of the Goetheanum" and out of that awakening work with our colleagues in Dornach to understand and meet this moment?

In bringing this letter to a close, I want to make us aware of the passing of Linda Link, who lived the latter years of her life on Quadra Island in British Columbia. A  long time and faithful member of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada, Linda was a co-founder of Capers, one of the first health food stores in the lower mainland. She died of pneumonia in June, and I learned only recently of her death. I hope a member of her family will be willing to write of her life for an upcoming issue of Glimpses.

As well, I want to bring to your attention the conference in Finland this coming summer:  I AM--the Inner and Outer Light, which will engage the theme of the Etheric Christ. It will take place from August 3rd through 7th, on Åland Island, off the west coast of Finland. The conference website is: www.innerlight2011.com. This conference follows on in a good way from our conference in Whitehorse in 2009 and last summer's conference in Iceland. I hope some of us will be moved to make that journey.

With good thoughts for Advent,

Philip Thatcher,
General Secretary

*December 31st, 1923, in World History in the Light of Anthroposophy

Winter Solstice Total Lunar Eclipse

Winter Solstice Total Lunar Eclipse - December 21, 2010

- by Debbie Allen

The Winter Solstice has, of late, become associated with the end of the Mayan Calendar in 2012.  As if in anticipation of that event, the Spiritual Beings will be hosting a Total Eclipse of the Moon visible from North America in the midnight hours between December 20 and December 21, 2010.  This event has captured the interest of Astronomers.  The Nov/Dec 2010 issue of SkyNews contains an article titled “Eclipse at Solstice”:

“Five days before Christmas, the Moon turns red amid the brilliance of the winter Milky Way.  A total eclipse of the Moon is the highlight of any year of sky watching, and 2010 ends with a good one.  On the night of December 20/21, the full Moon turns rusty red as it glows high in the south in the middle of the star-rich winter Milky Way.  Its position in the sky couldn’t be better.  The Moon is as high as it can possibly be.  However, the price we pay is that the eclipse occurs in the middle of a long winter night; indeed, the longest night of the year – winter solstice….Because the full Moon, by definition, lies 180 degrees opposite the Sun, the Moon on eclipse night sits at the same spot in the sky where the Sun shines at the summer solstice, in Taurus but near the borders of Gemini and Orion…with the full Moon at that position, it climbs as high into the sky as it can for the year.  That, and the timing of the event in the middle of the night (at least for Western Canada), gives us an eclipse with the Moon at its maximum altitude above the horizon for the year.”

In back-to-back issues of SkyNews, the position of the Moon is discussed  to demonstrate where the Sun will be in the future: first at the Vernal Equinox point, and then at the Summer Solstice point.  Between those two forecasts, Jupiter and Saturn will reach their third and final point of opposition before Jupiter catches up with Saturn for another conjunction on the Winter Solstice 2020 (see separate article).  So, in addition to being a Herald to the end of the Mayan Calendar on the Winter Solstice 2012, the total eclipse of the Moon on this year’s Winter Solstice in 2010 is also a Herald to the next conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on the Winter Solstice one Decade hence!

For an understanding of what lives in the Mystery of the Winter Solstice one might turn to what Rudolf Steiner revealed as the Mysteries of the North, the Hyperborean Mysteries as relayed by a significant student of Rudolf Steiner.  Those of us who attended the Whitehorse Conference in August 2009 heard again of these Northern Mysteries as Sergie Prokofieff brought them to life in his lecture titled “The Christ Mysteries of the North and the Coming Cultural Epoch”, (from the incomplete notes of Janet Goldammer, Christian and Karin Reuter, as kindly provided by C. Reuter; notes of D. Allen):

“In the Hyperborean times the mysteries came from the North.  The Celtic population was inspired by the Hyperboreic Order and led by them.  In the 8th century BC a great Initiate came from Hyperborea to Greece to bring the knowledge of the sun, the stars, and of agriculture, and inspired all of Greek culture.  Pythagoras experienced the Hyperboreic Initiation and the Hyperboreic Apollo was the esoteric name of Pythagorus, he was the God Apollo.  Apollo’s mother was born in Hyperborea.  Remarkably, there is among the Greek Islands an Island that is comprised of Granite from the North – the Island of Delos.  Apollo travelled to the Mystery Centre at Delos every spring, returning to Hyperborea in the fall.  There, a few days after the Winter Solstice the mystery students were invited to see the Sun at midnight – opposite to the physical Sun.  Then in spring the Initiate returned to Greece.  Easter and Ascension all belong to the special time of year when the Sun is going to the Hyperborean Mysteries in the North.”

The Cosmic Event coming before us in the total Lunar Eclipse on the day of the Winter Solstice, in the place in space occupied by the Sun at the Summer Solstice, offers an opportunity to “see the Sun at Midnight”.

In the Nov/Dec issue of SkyNews magazine, earlier referred to, there is a small insert into the discussion on the Total Lunar Eclipse where the author was inspired to show, through a computer generated image, what the eclipse will look like from the Moon’s View, or we might say from the viewpoint of the Angels:

“If you could stand on the reddened Moon on eclipse night, you would see a total eclipse of the Sun by the planet Earth, with the Earth located in the Milky Way in Sagittarius.  Earth would appear as a dark disc with a glowing red ring surrounded by the outer corona of the Sun.  That ring of red is our atmosphere being backlit by the hidden Sun.  It is this red filtering through our atmosphere that illuminates the Moon during a total lunar eclipse and turns it red.”

This brought to my mind the words of Rudolf Steiner from the Fifth Gospel, Lecture 2 given in Oslo on October 2, 1913:

“This, then, is what you read in the occult symbol of the Sun darkened by the Moon.

As a clairvoyant you feel that the higher, truly spiritual regions of the world are obscured by the knowledge of ancient times, for this has put itself in front of true perception just as the Moon goes in front of the Sun in an eclipse.  The outer event in nature gives expression to the fact that humanity had reached a level where knowledge that had come from humanity itself had obscured insight into higher things.  You feel that the darkening of the human soul in Earth evolution was written in the cosmos as a tremendous occult character at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha…We can do no other but stand before the darkening of the Sun as if we were reading what this natural event brought to expression: Moon Knowledge cast darkness on the higher message of the Sun.”

To those words of Rudolf Steiner I add the following from “How can the psychological distress of today be overcome” given in Zurich on October 10, 1916:

“For men who live here on earth, it is right to say: With the Mystery of Golgotha, Christ rightly entered earthly life and is since then present in earthly life.  From a certain point of view it can be felt as a source of happiness for earthly life that Christ has entered into it.  But if one puts oneself into the point of view of the Angels, (and this point of view is no invention of mine, for this point of view is found as something quite real by the true spiritual researcher), the Angels in their spiritual sphere experienced it differently; they experienced the opposite.  Christ had gone from their realm to men, He left their realm.  For themselves, they have to say: Through the Mystery of Golgotha Christ has departed from our world.  They have reason to be as sad about this, as men can feel it as for their salvation that Christ has come to them, as dwellers in the physical body.

This sequence of thoughts is real; one who truly understands the spiritual world knows that there is only one Salvation for the Angels for whom what I have just expressed is correct, and that is, that men on earth in their physical bodies so live with the thought of Christ that the thought of Christ shines up as a light to the Angels, since the time of the Mystery of Golgotha.  Men say: Christ has entered our being, and we can develop ourselves in such a way, that he lives within us: “Not I, but the Christ in me.”  But the Angels say: For our realm Christ has departed from our inner being, and shines up to us like many stars in the Christ-filled thought of individual men; there we recognize Him again, from thence He shines up to us since the Mystery of Golgotha.  It is a real relationship between the spiritual world and the human world.”

The Ursids meteor shower is scheduled by the Hierarchies to accompany the Lunar Eclipse so that if one can bundle up warm enough, and get out of the cities far enough, and if the Spiritual Beings will hold back the veil of the clouds long enough, then, just as in far off times, we may step out under the Heavens to see the Sun at Midnight!  Perhaps for the Angels they may see Christ-Thoughts flaring up from Human Beings permeated by Michaelic Iron!  

The great marker in time, as the Astronomer has claimed it, is Christmas.  This is the Celestial Scene the Hierarchies will inscribe in the Heavens as we enter into Christmas and the Holy Nights of 2010.

Merry Christmas to all

The Great Cosmic Opposition: Jupiter in Pisces, Saturn in Virgo

- by Debbie Allen
 
The September 2010 issue of the ASC e-News carried an article by Mr. Michael Roboz on the Great Opposition of Jupiter and Saturn. Mr. Roboz brought this topic to the English speaking members through his contemplation of that which was brought forth in the German SternKalendar, and a Camphill article by Hazel Straker, “The Challenge of Saturn and Jupiter Beings”. To this topic I wish to add my further thoughts on the matter and thank Mr. Roboz for first bringing this to our greater attention.

The manifestations of the Spiritual Hierarchies working together take shape before our eyes, presenting themselves as the planets traversing the Heavens leaving behind the trails of the Cosmic Script they have written, and pressing before themselves the Cosmic Script to come. As the physical Planets move about in their orbits around the Sun they come together and move apart in great rhythms; the myriad of Spiritual Beings associated with these planets are all the while directing their conversations to the Earth in our yearly orbit around the Sun. From our human earth-centered perspective this plays out in the nightly heavens as the movement of the Moon and Planets against the nightly backdrop of the Zodiac. The movement of the Sun through the Zodiac makes it appear as if the Zodiacal Constellations get swallowed up by the encroaching Sun to appear again months later in the evening resulting in the seasons of the Zodiac.

As we know from Mr. Roboz’s article, Saturn and Jupiter require 30 years and 12 years respectively to complete one revolution through the Zodiac. Although Saturn travels more slowly, it still is moving, thus Jupiter requires approximately 20 years to catch up to Saturn from one conjunction to the next conjunction. Conjunction is the term used to define when two or more planets, Sun, or Moon, are closely aligned together in their orbits relative to the earth. When a conjunction of planets is visible in the night sky it can be quite beautiful due to the rarity with which these events are visible from any given location on earth under prevailing atmospheric conditions.

At a point half-way between Conjunctions these two great planets, Jupiter and Saturn, come into Opposition. Opposition is the term used to define when planets are farthest apart from one another in their orbits. Rhythms of Opposition between Jupiter and Saturn occur also approximately every 20 years with such a scenario currently at work during this present time. We have entered a time when Jupiter and Saturn are occupying opposite sides of the Zodiac. Jupiter the planet of the karmic future (Zachariel and the Kyriotetes) is traversing the constellation of Pisces. Saturn the planet of the karmic past (Oriphiel and Thrones) is traversing the constellation of Virgo. The whole world is caught between the tensions arising out of our collective past actions, and our collective intentions for the future.

From our Earthly, geocentric perspective, Jupiter and Saturn are almost standing still in their ‘Moment of Opposition’ setting the main backdrop of the cosmic stage through which the earth is passing over the next while. The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars travel nearly a full pass through the Zodiac bringing them first nearer to Saturn, then to Jupiter, and on towards Saturn again while Jupiter and Saturn anchor opposite sides of the Zodiac.

I would define this “Moment of Opposition” between Jupiter and Saturn as being from the first opposition on Whitsunday, May 23, 2010 to the third and last opposition on March 28, 2011, or approximately 10 months. The wider umbrella of time under which this Great Opposition is working arises and falls away from Easter 2010 to Whitsun 2011, with the three “moments of opposition” contained within that time frame.

The question might arise in the reader: “How do Planets come to opposition three times?” Due to the relative speed of the planets in their orbits, combined with our yearly motion around the Sun, the Planets appear at times to stop in space and then travel backwards for a time before stopping again to move forward. The apparent backward movement is called Retrograde Motion. The rhythms of retrograde motion happen in different locations of space, and with varying relationships to Sun, so that special spatial relationships are required for human beings to witness three moments of Opposition between Jupiter and Saturn such as we are currently witnessing. Unlike conjunctions, one cannot witness both sides of an opposition at the same time – one must witness Jupiter in the evening and Saturn in the morning. This will reverse as we approach the third opposition.

In the September article the third and final point of opposition is referenced with respect to Easter 2011. Easter, defined by the Sun crossing the Vernal Equinox in space and the appearance of the first full Moon that follows it in time, will be on April 24, 2011, almost three weeks after the last place of the Jupiter Saturn opposition, but still under its influence.

However, the final and perhaps true opposition occurs on March 28, 2011, very near Rudolf Steiner’s 85th death anniversary on March 30, 2011. This event will take place in the year of global celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s birth This is noteworthy to the occult student of Rudolf Steiner for with respect to the significance of the Great Opposition and Easter, one must ponder the significance of Rudolf Steiner to our Anthroposophical understanding of Easter.

This present Jupiter Saturn opposition is taking place along the Equinox Line with Jupiter hovering over the Vernal Equinox and Saturn hovering over the Autumnal Equinox, and each Planet, through apparent retrograde motion, crosses over and back and over their respective Equinox locations so that they may be said to be pivoting around the two points in space where the Celestial Equator meets the Ecliptic.

As an eye-witness to these planetary events, perhaps I might sufficiently acquaint the reader with the events playing out on the Heavenly stage so as to encourage you to turn your eyes skyward for the events to come.

After leaving their last place of conjunction on May 28, 2000 at 23 degrees Taurus, Jupiter travelled 10 Zodiac signs to arrive at the Vernal Equinox and Saturn travelled a little more than 4 Zodiac signs to arrive at the Autumnal Equinox in the ten years that brought them to opposition on Whitsunday May 23, 2010. By May the inner planets and much of the night viewing is already becoming limited by the Sun racing towards the Solstice and long day light hours, however in the spring of 2010 Venus, Mars, and Saturn, in that order from the West after the Sun set were visible stars near the ecliptic line that runs above the southern horizon.

Venus is the easiest of the planets to observe being the brightest visible star to appear after the Sun sets or before the Sun rises, and can rise quite high above the horizon. Saturn is currently visible above Venus in the wee morning hours in the constellation of the Virgin. Saturn, moving retrograde over the Autumnal Equinox, came into Opposition to the Sun from our Earth prospective on Sunday March 21, 2010, the day after the Sun crossed the Vernal Equinox. Thus, Saturn, at its location near the Autumnal Equinox, was at its brightest when the Sun crossed the Vernal Equinox in 2010. Saturn has since disappeared behind the Sun, re-emerged as a morning planet and is once again growing towards maximum brightest on April 3, 2011.

On May 23, 2010 the waxing full Moon and Saturn were in near conjunction high overheard in the midnight hours; Mars could be located between bright Venus in the West and Moon-Saturn high in the south.

As time progressed towards the second of the Great Oppositions we find the Planets in a very interesting line up. Once again facing south looking towards the west just after sunset (late at that time of year here in the North) on August 12, the first night of the Perseid Meteors, one would have seen the faint brief glow of Mercury close to the horizon, followed by the first sliver of the new crescent Moon, the imperceptible light of Saturn, the brighter glow of Venus and the nearly imperceptible Mars who had just recently overtaken Saturn and Venus on its way to a reunion with Jupiter. That is what some people got to witness as was reported live on the evening news from Toronto.

For those who were able to view the meteor shower they were also able to witness Jupiter rising in the east in the midnight hours through the spectacular display of Michaelic Iron. The Cosmic Display continued on through August 13 with the exact Jupiter Saturn opposition occurring on August 16th, 2010. The Sun was on its way to the Autumnal Equinox, and conjunction with Saturn (making Saturn invisible), and opposition to Jupiter. When a Planet is in opposition to the Sun, the planet shines most brightly.

That event of the Sun crossing the Autumnal Equinox is now behind us and with that event we have entered the season of Michael when the meteor showers are most prevalent. After the Perseids, the next best meteor shower viewing will be between November 3 and 13 under the Taurids (seeming to arise out of Taurus the Bull, near Orion. Meteor showers take place bi-monthly from October through the Holy Nights into January, so are visible most nights from now until after the New Year 2011. Here in the North we are experiencing a strong display of Northern Lights to go with the meteors, and the full Moon - Jupiter dance high in the southern sky.

At the time that the Sun crossed the Autumnal Equinox, the Full Moon rose in conjunction with Jupiter, both in opposition to the Sun and cradling the space on either side of the Vernal Equinox. This was significant enough to capture the attention of Astronomers. The SkyNews Astronomy magazine, in the Sept/Oct 2010 edition carried an article titled “Equinox Encounter” that was accompanied by a computer generated image of the event as follows:

This year, the full Moon officially occurs early on the morning of September 23, six hours after the autumnal equinox. So the full Moon that rises on the evening of September 22…can be called the year’s Harvest Moon. By coincidence, Jupiter reaches opposition the day before, placing both Jupiter and the Moon close together and close to the point in the sky directly opposite the Sun, marked here” (in the computer generated image) “by the location of the Earth’s invisible shadow. What’s more, all are clustered near the imaginary spot where the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator. This is the vernal, or spring, equinox position, where the Sun will sit six months from now.”

The marking of the imaginary Vernal point by the Moon (Angels) and Jupiter (Kyriotetes) embracing the invisible shadow of the Earth cast by the Earth impeding the glow of the Sun (Exusiai) is truly something to reflect upon.

Recall that on March 21, 2010 Saturn was at opposition to the Sun, and we had the very opposite scenario of this Great Opposition: Saturn at its brightest in its place near the Autumnal Equinox when the Sun crossed the Vernal Equinox, the space it will occupy again in 2011. There was no Moon with Saturn on the Vernal Equinox Day but that is precisely what happened on May 23, 2011: the Moon Angels sat with the Saturn Thrones and cradled the Autumnal Equinox. The Moon was conjunct with Saturn on May 22, 2010 on the Virgo side of the Autumnal Equinox and by the next day, May 23, 2010 the Moon had stepped across the Autumnal Equinox position to the Libra side of it.

The conjunction of the full Moon and Jupiter on September 22 and 23 was very bright and beautiful, all but obscuring the stars in their vicinity. Only Pleides and Aldebaran in the Constellation of the Bull rising in the East behind them had the audacity to remain visible. The Moon and Jupiter will continue their visible monthly encounters until the Sun steps in the way as we approach the third and final opposition of Jupiter and Saturn in this round on March 28, 2011, when Jupiter will be invisible.

I must note here that the reason were we able to witness this extraordinary Celestial event of the Moon Angels and Jupiter Kyriotetes cradling the imaginary Vernal Equinox is because Jupiter has been moving retrograde since July 23, 2010 and crossed backward over the Vernal Equinox just two weeks before the Sun crossed the Autumnal Equinox, and thereby just bracketing this imaginary place between it and the full Moon. Jupiter progressed backwards farther away from the Vernal Equinox until November 19, 2010 when it stopped, to charge forward to cross it again on January 23, 2011. Between January 10 and 12, 2011 there will be another opportunity to witness a slightly different manifestation of the Autumnal Equinox event; the Moon will be in is first quarter not full; Jupiter will be much less bright due to the approaching Sun Exusiai, but the Moon and Jupiter will still be visible.

Midway between the Autumnal Equinox we have just left behind, and the Vernal Equinox in 2011 as we approach this final opposition, lies the Winter Solstice December 21, 2010 and a Total Eclipse of the moon (see separate article).

On a physical level the movements of the planets are beautiful – but to come to a clearer understanding of the “Great Cosmic Conversations” as Mr. Roboz so rightly called them, we cannot look at this event as a stand alone event. In fact we must look at the chain of astronomical events that have occurred since Humanity crossed the threshold into the 21st century and ask ourselves “How is it that I have arrived at this place in time when the Spiritual Hierarchies are gracing the Heavens with so many rare and wondrous sights?” The scope of the discussion of these events must be limited to the activities of Jupiter and Saturn but there have been rare transits of Mercury and Venus, and other significant planetary constellations on the way to this present one.

To better understand why this one planetary alignment is significant, one needs to better understand the aspect between Saturn and Jupiter that is more often discussed: their conjunction or the Great Conjunction, as it is known. We are exactly midway between two Great Conjunctions.

As stated previously, all conjunctions between planets take place in repeated rhythms of varying durations. Owing to the great distances of their orbits, and the relative time it takes Jupiter and Saturn to traverse the Zodiac, Jupiter requires actually 19.86 years to catch up to Saturn between each conjunction.

Therefore, conjunctions happen approximately every 20 years but they do so in a formation called a trigon. In brief, the conjunctions take place in three different Zodiac signs in a 60 year period with the conjunctions occurring in signs predominantly of one element (Fire, Earth, Air, and Water, in that order, over a 200 year period. For the Conjunctions to traverse all 12 Zodiac signs a much longer period of 800 (794.4) years is required. The Grand Conjunction, particularly at a change of trigon, such as we are in now, was traditionally viewed as an indicator of social or political change, and at an Occult level, the time when one might most likely expect the birth, or appearance of an Initiate. The conjunction at the Vernal Equinox, at the beginning of a Grand Conjunction Cycle, had exceptional significance.

According to Joachim Schultz from “Movement and Rhythms of the Stars, A guide to the naked-eye observation of Sun, Moon and planets”:

The tropical revolution of the conjunctions, embracing almost eight centuries and falling into four natural subdivisions of two centuries each, was known in ancient star-lore, as well as in medieval times, as the rhythm of the Great Conjunction. An exceptional significance was attached in particular to the passage of the positions of conjunction through the vernal equinox. This point of time was reckoned as the beginning of a new eight-hundred-year conjunction-period. The last such passage took place in 1593, at the time of Kepler. Kepler himself devoted much attention to the rhythms of the meetings between Jupiter and Saturn. In the forward to his early work Mysterium Cosmographicum (1596) he describes in detail how the construction of the trigon figures of the Great Conjunction led him to the idea which became the most fundamental feature of his astronomical research during the whole of his life: proceeding from the regular geometrical figures and the Platonic solids, to discover the proportions and harmonic relationships between the sizes and separations of the different planetary orbits.

To summarize the above: A Jupiter Saturn conjunction on the Vernal Equinox was considered significant; the last such conjunction was in 1593; the Great Conjunction cycle lasts 794.4 years divided into four 200-year cycles, one cycle per element of the Zodiac: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.

The present Great Conjunction Cycle will end approximately 2,387 A.D., or approximately 155 years after the end of the present Earthly Ruler ship by the Archai Michael; in other words, almost one third through the reign of Oriphiel the Saturn Archangel. Of the reign of Oriphiel it is said “No seed, no harvest.” What is it that needs to be planted during the Reign of Michael so that Oriphiel may harvest what is necessary for mankind? The seeds of Consciousness of the Spiritual Beings, in whose bosom we reside between death and a new life, needs to be planted in the hearts of Human Beings. Mr. Roboz took this view forward beyond the end of the Reign of the Archai Michael all the way to the future Jupiter: “Humanity needs to prepare for the next stage of earth evolution, the future ‘Jupiter’.” I agree with that; and, I might say that the Jupiter evolution is yet a long way off. The call to the Michaelites is now. Since Humanity crossed the threshold into the 21st century, Michael has been rising to the Apex of his Rulership over Humanity.

The Great Conjunction cycle that ended in 1593 began in approximately 800 AD, or the Ninth Century under the change of Planetary Rulership from Zachariel the Jupiter Archangel, to Raphael the Mercury Archangel as the Cosmic Intelligence descended to Earth.

In 2010 during the Great Opposition, at the mid-point between two Great Conjunctions, we are also at the mid-point of a Great Conjunction Cycle. The Great Conjunctions of 2000 and 2020 mark the transition in the trigons from the Earth element to the Air element at the 400 year mark within the 800 year Great Conjunction Cycle. We are truly at the middle of this great cycle.

The 2000 AD conjunction took place at 23 degrees Taurus on May 29, 2000; however, the Sun being also in the Sign of Taurus at that time of year, the conjunction took place behind the glow of the Sun from our perspective. Still, the approach to conjunction and the separation from conjunction for the outer planets yields an umbrella of time under which Earthly events proceed. In this case the binary constellation of Jupiter Saturn, traversing the Fixed Constellations of Aries and Taurus, drew together as evening stars, disappeared behind the Sun, emerged as morning stars over the time period approximately expressed as Christmas 1999 to Michaelmas 2000 after which time the Sun occulted them both and Jupiter sped towards this place in time and space which is furthest from Saturn and that we are now discussing: the Great Opposition of 2010 – 2011 and it’s significance.

The elements of significance so far outlined:

1. The opposition is taking place along the Equinox line with Jupiter crossing the Vernal Point: the Vernal Point being of significance out of the Old Mysteries; Jupiter being the Planet that symbolizes the next stage in Earthly Evolution. On September 23, 2010, hours after the Sun crossed the Autumnal Equinox, the full Moon crossed the Vernal Equinox. As the Full Moon rose, followed by Jupiter, there existed the possibility to reflect on the black space between the Moon and Jupiter as holding the mystery of the Vernal Equinox.

2. The opposition is occurring at the middle of the Great Conjunction Cycle that began in 1593 and will end approximately 2,387AD. At this time the conjunctions have entered a new trigon of 200 years until approximately 2,188 A.D.

3. The influence of this opposition lasts from Easter 2010 to Pentecost 2011. (150th Anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s birth and 86th Anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s death fall under this umbrella of time.)

To provide one way of looking at segments of history, I offer the following table of events differentiated by the sequence of the trigons of Jupiter Saturn conjunctions. The events and people I have chosen to highlight in my interpretation of history arise out of my research into Rudolf Steiner’s “Karma Cycle Lectures”, and the collection of Rudolf Steiner Lectures printed in book form as “The Archangel Michael His mission and Ours”.

In a Table (click here to view) I have summarized the relationships between Grand Conjunction Cycles,  Events of Interestand/Significant People, and the Ruling Archangel.

The Appendix of the above mentioned book on the Archangel Michael contains a wonderful work by Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516) the Abbot of Sponheim: “A Treatise on the Seven Secondary Causes. i.e, Intellegences, or Spirits, who move the Spheres according to God. A Little Book or MYSTICAL CHRONOLGY Containing within a Short Compass Marvellous Secrets Worthy of Interest”. I would turn the reader to that account by the Abbot of Sponheim for a more detailed account of Earthly happenings under the changing Rulership of the Seven Archangels.

The sequence of Great Conjunctions that began at the Vernal Equinox in 1593 and inspired Kepler includes the year 1861, the year Rudolf Steiner was born, November 28, 1901, September 10, 1921, and so on up to the present. There were two eras in which the Jupiter Saturn conjunction occurred at Sun Opposition giving rise to triple conjunctions over a period of about 1 year due to the apparent retrograde motion of both Jupiter and Saturn. These two eras occurred in 1940-1941 and 1981.

The first exact conjunction in 1981 was on January 1, 1981, during the Holy Nights. The conjunction took place at 9 degrees Libra, not far from where Saturn is presently residing at 15 degrees Libra. By January 1981 the Sun had stepped aside enough to have made this Great Conjunction quite visible (had I been looking!) The second manifestation of this event happened on March 2, 1981 at 8 degrees Libra when both planets were moving retrograde. The conjunction was brightest at the second meeting for as it approached the third and finally conjunction on July 24, 1981 at 5 degrees Libra the Sun was coming into view.

So, on Mar 2, 1981, days after the 120th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s birth, Jupiter and Saturn shone brightly in the Heavens together 100 years and a bit into the Reign of Archai Michael. I would hazard a guess that this did not go unnoticed by Mr. Steven Roboz during his group meetings in Vancouver in 1981.

Since the 1981 triple Great Conjunction, the May 29, 2000 Great Conjunction was lost behind the Sun. So in essence, one might say that the Great Opposition of 2010-2011, which has three moments of opposition between Whitsun 2010 and Rudolf Steiner’s 86th death anniversary in 2011, is a window of opportunity to contemplate the next approaching Great Conjunction on December 21, 2020. One might take time to reflect on this planetary opposition that the entire world is feeling, and reeling under(Wiki Leaks comes to mind).

By March 28, 2011 the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and Mars will all be descending into Jupiter’s arena, all but dimmed by the brightness of the Sun. On the other hand Saturn will be increasing in brightness up to its opposition with the Sun on April 3, 2011. On the evening of March 19, 2011 the full Moon and Saturn will be bracketing the Autumnal Equinox once again, the flip side expression of one aspect of this Great Opposition.

The last moment of opposition will take place on March 28, 2011, with Saturn at 14 degrees Libra and Jupiter at 14 degrees Aries, very near to the 86th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s death. I find it prudent to bear in mind, and reflect upon Celestial events near the time of Rudolf Steiner’s death anniversary. As time moves on the relevance of Rudolf Steiner’s birth to our times will become less and less. I say this not irreverently as Anthroposophists worldwide are making plans for celebrating the 150th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s birth. These 150th year celebrations fall 30 years, or a Saturn cycle of time, after the triple Great Conjunction in 1981. For many Anthroposophists it has been a Saturn cycle to remember and a significant time to honour the man who brought the Michael School to human beings on Earth in the form of the School of Spiritual Science.

That said, the 100th year anniversaries of Rudolf Steiner’s deeds are significant, important, and only coming into being since humanity crossed the threshold of the 21st century. For some things we have only just passed the 81st anniversaries, such as the inauguration of the School of Spiritual Science in 1924. This anniversary was celebrated in Dornach through the First International Conference on the 19 Lessons of the School of Spiritual Science held in 2005.

The influence of the Spiritual hierarchies happens whether or not we are awake to them. When we are able to be conscious of the more significant aspects of the harmonies and disharmonies of the planets then can we better chart the rough waters of life. If life has felt a little discordant lately, it has meant to. This agitation is necessary to further our development of the Consciousness Soul – to assist us in becoming more conscious.

Heather Rombough. March 2, 1962 - August 1, 2010

- by Henriette van Hees and friends

Who was she and where did she come from? What was she like? Was there something in her character that stood out for us? What can be shared at this moment in time about her amongst people who knew her and who wish to bid her farewell? Here are some contributions from people who got to know Heather through Anthroposophy. 

Connie White, who got to know Heather more than twenty years ago in London, Ontario, writes: “I remember Heather for and was blessed by her infectious laugh, her sense of humour and her accepting and positive attitude towards life. She loved the outdoors and was an avid hiker. She appreciated healthy food and was a member of a monthly macrobiotic potluck group in London. One summer Heather and her daughter Melissa joined the WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) organization and worked on farms in the Maritimes, New England and Ontario.
 
Heather was an active parent at the London Waldorf School for eight years and served as a board member for several of those years. She was a member of the Storytellers of London and spearheaded a Storytelling Conference with Nancy Mellon as guest speaker, which was jointly sponsored by the London Waldorf School and the Storytellers of London. Heather, a wonderful storyteller in her own right, also assisted in presenting Waldorf marionette performances at public venues. Many of us also remember her for her beautiful ‘cut paper’ cards.Ever appreciative of the London Waldorf School and Sunnivue, the local Biodynamic farm, Heather strove to understand the underlying world view these organizations were based upon and attended the Anthroposophical Study Group for a short time before moving to Western Canada with her husband Dean and daughter Melissa.

I visited Heather in Edmonton several weeks before her passing. She looked like an angel when she met me at the door in her wheel chair with a sweet smile and a tear in her eye. During that week when I was privileged to spend time with her, I was inspired by how she consciously prepared for her transition, while continuing to live her last days fully and positively.”

Claude Benevent, who, together with her family, has been interested in the works of The Camphill Movement for many years, writes that she met Heather while hosting a wet on wet painting study of Parsifal, led by Kathleen Thompson, in the summer of 2002. “Heather was pregnant, lively and bright. She had the capacity to bring out the essence of each chapter in a few words”… thus helping participants to better understand the Old English text. Together with her creative friends, Heather brought to her community the celebration of festivals. “The magic of story telling, puppetry, song and flute enchanted the children and their parents. In cherishing these memories, Heather lives on.”

Anne Force, who has been active as a Waldorf parent, kindergarten teacher, doll making teacher and puppet play presenter in Edmonton, writes, "I met Heather in her early endeavours with puppetry here in Edmonton, in which she asked me to help her with one of her marionette presentations.” This puppet play was to be presented in lieu of writing a term paper, while Heather was studying theology at Newman College. The play, based on a folk tale, Stone Soup, “emphasized the role of community in a context of finding peaceful resolutions… It was a poignant moment as her teacher and student peers sat in readiness for the presentation, not knowing what to expect… As the story progressed, I remember how Heather said she noticed the demeanour of her teacher change, hearing him sigh and relax…The whole experience was deeply touching for her teacher and her theological classmates and Heather was, in turn, gratified and delighted by their response."

Muriel Tait, who is involved as a long standing Edmonton member and friend of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada, shared some fond recollections of Heather's involvement in this community. On December 29th, 2009, she invited Heather with her daughter, Dana, to attend an annual potluck social at her home to talk about the Whitehorse Conference. Muriel writes, "Although it was low-key and a discussion followed, clearly the conference was a defining moment in Heather's life and she felt rejuvenated..." After attending Heather's funeral, Muriel writes, "I'm sure Heather's funeral was just as she would have wished. It was held at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church on August 6th, 2010. Family and friends filled the church and an excellent harpist provided...beautiful harp music."

Kathleen Thompson, who had known the Rombough family since the early 1980s, was “delighted to discover Heather was a member of this clan of community-builders” in Edmonton. “Heather lived up to both the meaning of her name and that of her place of birth: heather is the small shrub with pink or white flowers which commonly grow in rocky areas and she was born in Outlook, (Saskatchewan). She came to Edmonton in the 1990s bringing her gift of a sunny outlook. Through the puppets she so artistically created, Heather lived her passion and contributed to healing and building community. I participated in Heather’s puppet workshops and played Choroi flute for some of her storytelling presentations. She enthusiastically participated in our Parzival study group. I wish you Godspeed, Heather.”

As for me, Henriette van Hees, I met Heather about ten years ago when she came for a visit to discuss my connection, having been a Waldorf kindergarten teacher, to Waldorf puppetry. Once a group of us prepared an Advent puppet play, carefully assembled over several months of weekly rehearsals, to be performed for various audiences. Heather brought us to an inner city church, attended primarily by first nations people. The audience of adults and children alike remained quietly focused for the entire performance, and expressed genuine appreciation afterwards. This was for me a blessing.

My best experiences with Heather of late have been our weekly recorder music sessions. I taught her how to read music and she taught me how to listen. Heather most enjoyed playing small duets where the purely melodious lines connected in harmony, and classic melodies that we played in unison on the soprano recorder. Just weeks before her passing we played this carol together so well: 

"Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen aus einer Wurzel zart.
Als uns die Alten sungen: Aus Jesse kam die Art;
Und hat ein Blumlein bracht,
Mitten im kalten Winter, Wohl zu der halben Nacht."
 
Diane Robitelle,  writes that while meeting over the year to study Rudolf Steiner’s lectures, The Four Seasons and the Archangels, Heather questioned “how to bring this spiritual knowledge into practical life.“ She expressed a longing to bridge this gap and “a struggle that’s essential to understand.”  Diane wrote a poem, 'Opening', to accompany this article.  Click here to read it.

Celebration of 150th Anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s Birth in 2011

- by Judy King, on behalf of the Council

Dear Friends,

There is growing interest across Canada in celebrating the 150th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s birth (2011) in a meaningful way.   

At the Goetheanum there are plans to give significance to this milestone in Europe:  a celebratory train ride from Steiner’s birthplace; an international press conference at the Goetheanum (4 November 2010); focus on Rudolf Steiner's "Bologna Lecture" ('The Psychological Foundations of Anthroposophy II – Its Standpoint in Relation to the Theory of Knowledge", Bologna, Italy, April 8, 1911). [Available for download - see Sidebar.  Ed.]

Here in Canada plans are underway for local activities: Quebec members are planning an event for the autumn, in Nova Scotia members plan to sponsor a lecture series, and a group in British Columbia is studying the Bologna lecture.

Council members are encouraged by local responses so far to the idea of celebrating Rudolf Steiner and his work as it is manifest in the world today, and would like, in turn, to encourage local groups to initiate activities, if they are so moved. At the same time, we know that people are already very engaged in anthroposophical work and life itself – there is no ‘ought to celebrate’ here!

The Council sees this anniversary year as an opportunity both for outreach and for raising to consciousness the nature of our own individual relationship to Rudolf Steiner.   We have been asking these questions:  What does it mean to commemorate Rudolf Steiner?   What life can this generate?   What is the importance of connecting the name of Rudolf Steiner to the work of related initiatives in the world?   Will we celebrate in Canada in a larger way?  If so, how?   What, if anything, can the Council co-ordinate?   

At our most recent Council meetings, in Vancouver 8-11 October, we were very pleased to meet with local members, and the conversation in two meetings at the Rudolf Steiner Centre in North Vancouver was very helpful to the Council in reaching a decisive position on 2011 celebrations.   Enthusiasm was expressed for the idea of celebrating the life and work of Rudolf Steiner.   One Vancouver member gave us a very energetic picture:  “…  a tsunami of celebration sweeping across Canada!” Another member gave us a heartwarming picture of a nineteen-year-old youth in a Bio-dynamic workshop she led:  preparations were stirred and then sprayed on trees in a Vancouver park.  The young man said to her “I have wanted to give something back to the earth all my life.   This is a way I can do it.”   

Our conversation led on to Steiner’s legacy of work for healing the earth in so many spheres.   All this, connected to the fact of the growing vigour of the bio-dynamic movement in Canada, presented an idea that we would like to support and co-ordinate as a Council as part of the tidal wave of celebrations across the country:  the act of stirring and applying bio-dynamic preparations taking place in as many different locations as possible across Canada at the same time.   This may be seen as a gesture of healing for the earth that is directly related to the fact that Rudolf Steiner incarnated 150 years ago.  

We would like to connect with bio-dynamic farmers and gardeners in Canada and other interested individuals, to consult about timing and other details. Our hope is that members of the Society in Canada will feel enthusiasm for this idea. If you have suggestions, questions, or would like to be more than peripherally involved, please contact your local Council member or Mark McAlister in the Society office.

And does anyone have an answer to the question: Should this large wave move from East to West, sunwise, or West to East, sometimes the way new ideas move?

As a Council we hope all of you will experience some of the enthusiasm that was felt at our meetings in Vancouver, and climb aboard!   

With very best wishes for your good health and work, as the days draw in,

Judy King and The Council  

More Than a New Agriculture

- by Colyn Cameron

Indeed, not many people know that during the last few decades the agricultural products on which our life depend have degenerated extremely rapidly.  In this present time of transition from the Kali Yuga to a new Age of Light, it is not only human moral development that is degenerating, but also what human activity has made of the Earth and of what lies just above the Earth.
- From the Introduction to Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture Course (1924)

When I first encountered biodynamic agriculture, I was enrolled in a creative writing program at Capilano University in Vancouver--I wanted to become a poet.  I had decided to work on a small BD farm (C-Dar in Squamish BC) for the summer.  I thought it would be a great place to have the space and and inspiration to write.  Well, things changed a little.  As the summer progressed and heated up, I found myself engaged more with the daily rhythm of the farm and less with my writing.  I found the farm community there to be rich and unique, as we practiced new ways of living together with common interests away from the mayhem of urban life, discovering what is possible when people come together, gathered around the soil in spiritual awakeness.  This is really the modus operandi of BD agriculture: together working with the Earth to consciously take part in its healing --which becomes our healing--but with a new kind of spiritual awareness, spiritual presence.

I was so artistically engrossed with the work of the farm, the effortless chores, such as feeding animals, cleaning their living areas, weeding, harvesting, making and spraying the BD preparations, that it became a kind of  "writing poetry with Nature."  The experience became a creative rhythmic process belonging to Nature and to me.  It brought into being a subtle spiritual awakeness in me, both for the Earth and for myself.  This was when I realized that what I was doing was more than just farming.  This realization gave me the beginning of a true relationship to what Steiner  was trying to enkindle in us through his lectures on agriculture.

By midsummer, I was reading all the BD literature I could get my hands on, including Secrets of the Soil by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, Wolf-Dieter Storl's Culture and Horticulture, and of course, Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture.  I was lucky to come across a a wonderful documentary film on Peter Proctor's work with biodynamic agriculture in India--One Man, One Cow, One Planet.  This film was eye-opening for me as it linked my long-time interest in the spiritual traditions of India to the soil.  It showed how people can be actively and wholly engaged with the land, with the soil, while retaining the spiritual striving of their ancestors, and do this while making a transition away from destructive chemical agricultural practices.  Wow!

By the end of the summer, I had stirred and applied preparations 500 and 501 on numerous different occasions, eaten fresh BD eggs, harvested a field of potatoes by hand, dropped a water pump in the river (oops!), sat in Native American sweat lodges, and had many other memorable experiences.  I had been a participant in a process of engaging with ancient wisdom, modern insight, and real living, all in the context of a biodynamic farm.  In September, I was not at university studying creative writing, but at Emerson College in England studying biodynamic farming.  How things do change!

Why is biodynamics more than just a new agriculture?  Rudolf Steiner gave the agriculture lectures to practicing farmers, gardeners and vegetarians based on the conditions of the time, including soil depletion, crop failures and unhealthy livestock.  But there is more to it than that.  Steiner was not merely a scientist who had studied agro-ecology and by deductive measures created some eccentric remedies for Nature.  He was not simply looking to create the most efficient food production system.  He was not only anticipating global warming.  Rather, Steiner was creatively engaged with consciousness and with spirit, and this engagement led to intuitive insights that would awaken the Earth, that would awaken the human being.  We cannot remove biodynamic agriculture from the context of Anthroposophy to understand  it [just] as a way of farming.

Today many young people like myself want to work with and develop Anthroposophy in a new way, free from the dogmas that can gather around it.  Biodynamics, to stay true to its original impulse and to become a true impulse in minds and souls of people today, must remember its essential nature as an art, a creative work involving body, mind and soul.  It cannot be understood and practiced only as a solution to the chaos of the present agricultural Armageddon.  BD agriculture is an answer to the food and climate dilemmas of our time.  But we must not lose our ability to recognize and experience its essential spiritual task, which is to enlighten consciousness through the interface with our Mother Earth. 

There is a beautiful, subtle way of being totally engaged with something practically--as a real solution and work--and yet maintaining the experience of the innate whole reality to which we belong.  Through biodynamic agriculture, we can use the context of the farm, the interface between what is human, animal, plant and mineral, to strengthen our meditative life, the attention to consciousness.  Biodynamics is not only a new agriculture.It is a new method of discovering  what it is to be human, but to be human in a relationship with the Earth and the cosmos.