31 Aug Letter From Maria Helms
Hello dear friends and members in Canada,
I am happily back in this beautiful country – this time at the foot of Mt. Nemo. And this is my new address: 5377 Walker’s Line, Burlington, ON, L7M 0P9, (Tel. 416-836-8993). I will be teaching Eurythmy at the Halton Waldorf School and I have rejoined the Northern Star Eurythmy Group.
Michaelmas Celebration The earth is a living being with a soul. In winter, earth and soul are one. In summer, earth and soul are two. Soul moves out of earth into the cosmos. At Easter, the soul travels out of the earth into the cosmos bringing everything dead to life. At Michaelmas, the earth soul travels from cosmos to earth. Michael brings back the soul from the clouds so soul and earth unite, with the request to man being: unite on a social level. Let your deeds make sense for others. Let everything you do originate in the spirit, in the cloud that Michael brings toward the earth. The motive for the festival is purely in the spiritual with the aim that all men would unite in feeling, so we learn to become socially reliable and find deeds that connect earth and cosmos, spirit and earth, bringing spirit back to man.
Maria Helms invites all interested in the creating of a festival on Michaelmas day, Sat. Sept. 29th, to her house, for Eurythmy, a potluck meal, and a sunset to moonrise walk on Mt. Nemo. Please call her if you are interested.
From Rudolf Steiner’s “Festivals and their Meaning”: “We must also understand what it means for us and for our age that the soul of the earth is exhaled at midsummer into the far reaches of the cosmos, is there united with the stars and then returns. He who fathoms the secrets of the earth’s journey during the course of the year will know that the Michael force now descends with the returning nature forces, which it did not do in former centuries. As autumn approaches and the leaves begin to fall to earth, we can therefore go forward to meet the descent of Michael’s power from the clouds….”
“….a special relationship was established between the archangelic power, that being whom we call the archangel Michael, and the destiny of mankind. I have drawn your attention to the fact that, since November 1879, Michael must be as it were the ruler and guide for all those who seek to bring to humanity the forces necessary for its healthy progress.
When one speaks of such matters today, two things have to be taken into account: firstly, the objective fact; but secondly also the way this objective fact is connected with what people are willing to receive into their consciousness, into their will. The objective fact is simply this, that in November 1879, beyond the sphere of the sense world, in the supersensible world, that event took place which may be described as follows: Michael had attained the power to permeate people with his strength if they came towards him with all that lives in their souls, so that they can transform the old, materialistic force of intellect and understanding — which had become so widespread and dominant in humanity — into a force of spiritual understanding….”
Winter Retreat. I am also planning to celebrate the Holy Nights with the Foundation Stone Meditation by Rudolf Steiner, with Stars, Peace and Silence. Please call me if you think you would like to participate.
Best thoughts,
Maria Helms
No Comments