Name the Poison
whose antidote is: The Feast of the Solemnity
Happy New Year - Strive to Thrive in 2025
Do you feel like being read to? Listen to the ‘I Think Speech‘ Podcast for this 8th Holy Night…
101 years ago TODAY on 1 January 1924 - At the ‘Chrysanthemum Tea Reception’ after the Christmas Conference, Rudolf Steiner was poisoned !
Here is an account from Marie Steiner von Sivers”:
"Yes, Rudolf Steiner was poisoned on the last day of the Christmas Conference. At the reception which took place in the carpenter’s workshop. I had been sitting there in that room for a long time, while the others who were gathered around Herr Doktor came and went. I couldn’t pay attention to any one person, and I greeted the impending events with the greatest distress; because something incomprehensible, something hideous stood before my soul, and it made me think I needed to ward off something, yet I didn’t know how or what it was. I just couldn’t stand sitting there so quietly any longer, so I went back to my own room which was located in the back.
There I was deep in conversation with Dr. Wachsmuth, when Herr Doktor suddenly came in, as green as this leaf. He leaned against the door post, looked at us frantically and said: `We’ve been poisoned!’
I was paralyzed with shock. He asked us immediately whether we had drunk anything, and as I said no, he also noticed that Dr. Wachsmuth didn’t [drink anything either], and so he [Steiner] gave a deep sigh of relief.
`So it’s only me! That’s good!’ he whispered and then staggered into the room. Dr. Wachsmuth immediately wanted to rush out and call a physician, but Dr. Steiner vehemently forbade him to do so. Dr. Wachsmuth finally left with the promise that absolutely no one was to learn of this event and that no physician was ever to be summoned.
Herr Doktor then demanded he be given all the milk that was present and nearby, and with it he administered to himself a “stomach purge.” ("Magenspülung" in German = “stomach douche” - in French as “gastro-lavage.” - gulping down milk in order to expel the posion. But the poison was very caustic causing damage to Steiner’s esophagus, stomach lining, & digestive tract, which made eating even small mouthfuls very painful for him after this)
In the meantime, more milk was fetched from the Villa Hansi. All the existing milk was brought in, and for the rest of the evening and through the entire night he continued the purging…
Indeed, even after his death I would have had the obligation to tell the [Anthroposophical] Society, yet even the insinuation, which I made in the epilogue to [Steiner’s biography] “The Course of my Life” met with resistance on the part of the Vorstand.
No one ever wanted to learn the truth about it. This event [i.e. Steiner’s decree of silence when it first happened] was treated fearfully, as if it were [Steiner’s last will and] testament. So, I had to keep quiet about it.” ~Lidia Gentilli, “A Recollection of Marie Steiner”
This from eurythmist Ilona Schubert:
“Since Dr Steiner's death the question has often been asked as to whether there is any truth in the rumour that he had been poisoned. Up till now the question always came from the circle of the Members, but lately a man from the public, a journalist, raised the same question with me, but in such a way that I had to conclude that he had already been told a great deal about it which was inaccurate or misleading. Over the years I have kept silent about all the things of which I have personal knowledge. Now, however, I feel it incumbent upon me to encounter these rumours with what I know from my own experience.
On the occasion of the evening party during the Christmas gathering on New Year's Day 1924, several of the eurythmists were serving the guests who sat at small tables in the large hall of the Workshop. From the large room a passageway led past the stage to the dressing rooms. In one of these rooms a tea - kitchen had been set up and from there we carried tea , coffee and cakes to the guests. As I happened to be walking along this passage with a cup of tea, the curtain separating it from the rest of the hall parted and Dr.Steiner came staggering towards me, a snow - white and groaning loudly. I quickly out the cup down and was just able to guide him to a chair. All he said was : 'I feel so poorly." I wanted to go quickly to fetch Frau Dr.Steiner and Frau Dr. Wegman, but he held my hand firmly and said, ' No, stay with me -- water please ,water.' Fràulien Mitscher, who just then appeared , ran for the water but I could not go away because my arm was supporting Dr.Steiner. He emptied the glass which Frälein Mitscher gave him. We asked him what had happened and he said, 'I have been poisoned.".
One could see that he was in terrible pain . He was icy cold and bathed in sweat. Fräulein Mitscher and Frau Turgenieff, who had also arrived and I decided to go to fetch help. Then Frau Dr.Steiner came from the hall and asked, "Has something happened?" When she saw Herr Doctor lying there in the chair she went up to him and asked again, ' What has happened?" Dr.Steiner told her too: " I have been poisoned -- how are the other Members of the Vorstand? ' Frau Dr. told him that they were all happily chatting. Only she had felt uneasy at his long absence. We then brought Dr.Steiner with great difficulty to his room and bedded him down on the sofa. Then Frau Turgenieff went to fetch Frau Dr.Wegman. Frälein Mitscher, Frau Turngenieff and I waited by the door for news of him. After a while Frau Doktor appeared and said that Dr.Steiner wanted us to say nothing about it to anyone. Dr.Steiner was then taken home to Villa Hansi and after medical attention and a milk - cure he recovered.
Until his death in March 1925, that is to say, till long after the tea - party, he did a tremendous amount of work and went on lecture tours, so that one cannot say that he died of poison. The cause of death according to the Doctor's certificate was something quite different, but it also true that from that time onwards he was never in quite such good health. As often and as intensely as Frälein Mitscher, Frau Turgenieff and I have pondered about what happened at the tea - party; there was never a solution to this riddle.”
Of course we know that this poisoning of the Rosicrucian Initiate Rudolf Steiner, whose mission it was to part the veils of occult secrecy, was carried out by the Jesuits in league with the dark brotherhoods, who were also behind the arson of the 1st Goetheanum.
Steiner was trying to protect the others by not speaking about it – but it was taken too far.
The time of fearful silence is past – We must name the adversarial forces working to destroy the highest goals of humanity - or the posioning will continue…
May we make a resolution to take on our karma with grace:
‘Whatever life will
Set before my spirit
From its depths
From world sources of fate –
My courageous soul finds
The Right way
Through trusting the light
And heat
Of my radiant Selfhood I’.
~Rudolf Steiner
1 January 2025 - “Speaking with the Stars”: Every year, we can ring in the New Year by going out at Midnight to find the dazzling star Sirius. This year the star of Isis is joined by Jupiter &Mars. The bright constellation Orion the Hunter makes them easy to find.
Today January 1st is the Feast of the Solemnity of Mary, where we are called to join the Mother of God – in contemplating the gift of the Logos – allowing the grace of these Holy Nights to speak in us.
To call on Mary, the Theotokos - the “God-Bearer,” is to celebrate the unique role that she has played—& continues to play—in the Cosmic & Earthly evolution.
And as we honor the Theotokos, on the 1st day of the New Year, we also celebrate the Octave Day of Christmas, “…On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Eight Maids a Milking…”
This octave recalls the naming of the Luke Jesus on the 8th day after his birth (Luke 2:21).
The iconic Christmas image of Mary holding her infant Son embodies the mystery of the sacrifice of birth, bringing together the human & divine elements of the Incarnation. And yet, in honoring Mary as the Mother of God, we are also invited to consider another image - The Pieta - The same arms which held the Prince of Peace in a stable in Bethlehem, received the body of the crucified god on the hill of Golgotha. This juxtaposition is worthy of our contemplation.
January 1st is also celebrated as the World Day of Peace, reminding us that the Prince of Peace must reign in our hearts if it is to rule in our world.
Today, after experiencing the Hidden Holy night of NYE, we come to the 8th Holy Night: which brings us to the Constellation of Leo, the LION (ruling the heart ) in which dwells The Sphere of the Thrones, Spirits of Will.
We receive an interesting picture from 2 Chronicles 9:17: ‘Then King Solomon made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom’.
This description of Solomon’s temple gives us insight into the Spirits of Will in the realm of Leo the Lion which fortifies the Thrones. So let’s look deeper into the numerology & other symbolism that we meet in this description. But what comes to mind first off is The sacrifice enacted by these Spirits of Will during our primal beginnings on Old Saturn which was the impetus for all further evolution. Steiner talks about this in his ‘Occult Science’ a must read basic book of Anthroposophy.
In the countenance of the Lion we have the transition from Sacrificial Will, to the heart-forces of courage – a readiness to fulfill the design of the Divine Will, & become thru its own inner forces, an external reality, which we see embodied in the 12 petals of the human heart.
We are gifted with 6 Petals, & we have to earn the other 6 (this is seen in the symbol of the 12 lions on the 6 steps). Yes, We must take steps by working with what Spiritual Science calls ‘the 6 Basic/Essenial Exercises’, to evolve & create a ‘fifth chamber’, in our lion-hearts, which Rudolf Steiner calls a new spiritual organ - an Etheric Heart – pictured in the Arthurian Legends as the Holy Grail – the fountain of love pouring forth the Waters of Life.
Rudolf Steiner calls the heart ‘the seat of the will’ spiritualizing the blood, working into the physical body to engender ‘eternal life’. The warmth accompanying this alchemical Sulphur process becomes the new ‘blood sacrifice’ for as it dies away from the heart, to nourish the muscles & limbs, it encourages the human being to acts of Good Will.
The Spirits of Will bring a connection with The god Saturn, as Chronos, the Father of Time – associated with looking into the Past, reading there the Karmic Laws that apply to the present. (A perfect contemplation for New Year’s Day!)
The forces of inner courage bounding from the region of the Lion can help us create a right relationship to our karma, giving us the fortitude to deal with all the trials of destiny, so we learn to carry it, & work thru it consciously.
Looking back to the symbolism from Solomon’s Temple in Chronicles, we can see in the number 12 = the 12 tribes of Israel, which are of course, related to the Zodiac. So it’s interesting to note that the Solomon Jesus of the Matthew Gospel was from the Tribe of Judah-the Lion, related to the constellation of Leo. We see this quality strongly in the individuality of Zarathustra, (the soul behind the Matthew Jesus) who had once been the pupil of Melchizedek, who, along with Abraham, was given the task of preparing the human vessels for the Jesus children from out of the Hebrew people – working thru 42 generations..!
We see how Leo’s connection to Old Saturn, with its genesis of the physical body, relates to this process of creating in the Matthew Jesus, Wisdom - & an understanding of the Law. It also shows Courage & the Will to Sacrifice – for remember: This individuality sacrificed himself when he merged with the Nathan Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, & again at the Baptism.
Thru the spiritual research of Rudolf Steiner we also learn that in earlier times the Zarathustra individuality sacrificed his etheric body to Moses, & his astral body to Hermes!
The 4 ‘Pre-earthly Deeds of Christ’ (the last being the deed on Golgotha) made it possible for The Christ as ‘The Lord of Karma’ to take upon himself the ‘sins’ or karma of humankind, bringing the old Saturnian Laws of necessity to an end, & inaugurating the new Sun Karma – so human beings could meet karma in freedom.
Since the Mystery of Golgotha, these forces of The Christ Live in the Heart-Sun of every human being, & also in the Earth’s etheric realm.
In the earthly cycle of the year, the time of Leo is at the end of July into August, when the strength of the sunlight begins to wane, yet it’s often the time of greatest warmth. This hottest time in the seasonal round preserves an echo in our evolutionary memory of the conditions on Old Saturn, & of the sacrificial streaming forth of warmth-substance thru the Spirits of Will – The great gift of the Thrones.
May we foster that warmth in our lion-heart, during the dark winter-tide time, to activate our will for good in the world.
And to help us achieve this, we can contemplate & practice the ‘Virtue: Compassion Becomes Freedom’.
Yes, when we are willing to become our brother’s keeper we are serving in freedom, with an open heart which engenders warmth in the world for human connection & healing. Let us be ever Roaring in Love for Peace –
I will end this New Year’s Day contemplation with this quote from the Dream Song, a Norwegian folk tale:
“And young and old they all gave heed, To Olaf’s words they harkened - That told them of his dreams. You have slept long indeed…Awaken now, O Olaf Åsteson!”
Yes, friends, let us rub the sleep from our eyes, & decide we are done with letting the blind lead the blind. May we be alive to New Revelations for 2025, co-creating the dawning of a New Sun.
Blessings & Peace on this New Years Day & everyday
~hag
1944 - Deathday of Dr. Felix Peipers - Color Therapist & doctor who workd with Steiner to deveolp the indications for the healing Madonna sequence.
Cognitive Ritual is a Free Offering to All Worlds. Tuning in adds to & supports this work. AND if you sign up as a paid subscriber all proceeds go directly to Zinniker – One of the oldest Biodynamic Farms in America! Together we can Spiritualize the Earth! xox
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 also 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 .
Wow! Thank you so much for drawing the connections of concepts in spiritual science. Inspiring
Rudolf Steiner's Soul Calendar
translated by Roy Sadler
NEW YEAR with trust in the world's cold for the light & warmth of my radiant Selfhood I
v39
Devoted to the spirit's revelation
I win the light of Cosmic Being;
Thoughts clarifying power grows
To give me who I really am
And in me, waking,
From thinking's power Self-awareness flows.