THE GOLDEN BLADE FREEeO^I >W^gESTfNy+ FREEDOM AND DESTINY THE STARS OF THE YEAR T H E G O L D E N B L A D E FORTY-SECOND (1990) ISSUE CONTENTS A d a m B i t d e s t o n W i l l i a m F o r w a r d Editorial Notes W. F. Man, Offspring of the World of Stars Rudolf Steiner The Observation of the Stars as a Path to Freedom John Meeks and Michael Brinch The Life between Death and Re-birth in the Light of Astrology Elizabeth Vreede The Bridge of the Green Snake A. Bockemiihl Some Questions concerning Rainer Maria Rdke R. Lissau The Tasks and Deeds in the Life of William Mann (1861n —1925). Heo f descnbeditas"apathofknowledge,R u d o l f to guideS the t e spiritual i n e r Roswitha Spence in the human being to the spiritual in the universe". W i l l i a m M a n n — T h e T e a c h e r T e d R o b e r t s Addiction as an Impulse towards the Renewal of Culture The aitn of this Annual is to bring the outlook of Anthroposophy to bear J. van der Haar on questions and activities of evident relevance to the present, in a way which On the Destiny of the American Indian Brian Gold Book Review may have lasting value. It was founded in 1949 by Charles Davy and Arnold Notes and Acknowledgements Freeman, who were its first editors. The title derives from an old Persian legend, according to which King Edited by Adam Bitdeston and William Forward Djemjdid received from his God, Ahura Mazdao, a golden blade with which to fulfil his mission on Earth. It carried the heavenly forces of Ught into the Consultant Editor John Meeks darkness of earthly substance, thus allowing its transformation. The legend seems to point to the possibility that man, through wise and compassionate Printed by Imprint Publicity Service work with the Earth, can one day regain on a new level what was lost when the Age of Gold was supplanted by those of Silver, Bronze and Iron. Crawley Down • Sussex Technology could serve this aim; instead of endangering our planet's life it could help to make the Earth a new Sun. Published by R?ss 5 A D A M B I T T L E S T O N 1911 —1989 xr- Work on the concept and content of this edition ofThe Golden Blade had been virtually completed when, on the morning of 25th May, Adam Bittleston i - a ' died. He had long suffered from the effects of a leg injury, sustained in a fall in the mid-seventies, and in recent years had been effectively bed-ridden. He did not allow this to hinder his work of counselling, writing and editing which he was continuing to do until the last few days before he died. His Work and influence have been greatly valued, especially in the English-speaking world, and many will wish to have a broader perspective on them than can be offered by an obituary notice. We therefore propose to devote space in the next issue to a look back over his life and work. r'Jf Adam Bittleston was bom in 1911 at Ockley, Surrey. At Oxford he took a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Towards the end of his time \ at Oxford he resolved to train for the priesthood of the Christian Community, Adam Biitlcsion which he did in Stuttgart under Friedrich Rittelmeyer, Emil Bock, and other Editor of The Golden Blade 1966 1989 notable teachers. He was ordained in 1935, and worked in Leeds, London and Edinburgh. He mamed in 1937 Gisela Hermann, who has become widely influential as a teacher of the art of puppetry, and had three children, who all went into teaching when they grew up. In 1970 he moved to Forest Row, Sussex, where he was involved not only in the training of priests but also in the teaching and counselling of students at Emerson College in Forest Row. He has written several books, including "Meditative Prayers for Today", "Our Spiritual Companions", "The Spirit of the Circling Stars" and "Loneliness". William Forward 6 7 In this issue John Meeks' commentary on the Stars of 1990challenges us to take on such EDITORIAL NOTES a dialogue out of our own experiences of naked-eye observation and what our cultural heritage brings to us in the way of pictures and characters associated with the planets. Such a bringing toleranceInearliercivilizations—whoseworldviewwean-lpamin^t,^™™^ as we learn more about them there lived for miiion^ ^ -.k- increasing together of the outer and inner experience can be facilitated by what he describes as a star- events in the starry skies had their effectson life on earth Thus like activity we can undertake within ourselves. Having found a night-sky stillness within, and wisdom wenthandinhandwithaslionomy Theastmnoml^! f —i™ ° "To place a word, a thought-content, an image into the middle of this space, is medi-tation. and often admire the skiUs of their predece^^ There it can radiate, as a star or sun, nourishing the life of the soul...". By means of this creative activity we are at the same time living most intensely in the EarthBabylonians.NoonewoulddenytodaythatSun but this is perceived and studied usine the onanritaf' ntetcise then- influence on" present, free from the sensation of being determined by the past or excessively fascinated with unknown events to come: "To be in the present means to work actively for the future on embodiedtlunkingoftodarTbequaUtativ^SlnoThaT?'^^^^ in the science of asPology has gradiLlv dimbdsh^ h the ground of the past, the ground of destiny. To be in the present is to be free". point where astrology is no longer recognized as a scteS™^" i T"" There are yet other ways in which a dialogue with the Stars may be undertaken. Fcff evolution of culture one can see that this has been necesS^fma . of ^ many years now agriculturists working with indications given by Rudolf Steins have taken himself as a free individual to the Doint wherp hp ran o l « come to experience the movement of the Stars into account when planning their planting, weeding, propagating, harvesting, etc. Bio-dynamic agriculture, whilst more labour-intensive, has demonstrated not seenfaultUesnotinoarsta.s...butinSe*^^^Ss^^IC"'^^'^^ theStarofBethlehem and have marveUedat^unSnher""""",?®"'''®^'^'^''® only that it is possible to produce good crop-yields without using chemical fertilizers and to imagine that they would have aUowed it to lead theTi^n^w T®"""' pesticides, but also that the nutritive value of the foods produced under these conditions is harbinger of tiiebirth of an individuahTv^^°J^.tof?he '^^^^ significantly greater. Increasingly, social economists are seeing that the highS^costs ofbio- dynamic farming methods are more than offset by the social benefits of: wefortheEarth.Fnnnaworld-viewinwhichevS™E^C'^^^^ have come to one in which earthly conditions a^ evt^i ®^'"®^''y'''®8tars, frightening picture of a Space fdled with countless objects^nk^onrh® "h 1. Lower unemployment in rural areas; consequences of their participation in a Big Bang only by the gravitational 2. Less expenditure on pollution control measures; Such a view is. however, no longer in accord win, wi... 3. Food of higher nutritive value; of things, however subjectively we judge, is after aU a mattef of e ®*'^"0"08—«he quality 4. An ecologically balanced environment Sun m the changing cycle of the seasons is also experienr^d of "he Earth, is the influence of the Moon in the ebb an^ow o/tidw ^ everyone on 1989 was also a year in which this was beginning to be officially recognized, not only generally. """O''entl "> monthly rhythms in Europe's largest farming nation, France, but also one of Europe's most difficult farming The extraordinary political events of 1989 "nio „ environments — Norway. In February of 1989 a government report on blo-dynamic and U.S S.R., being followed by burgeoning democracy in m^^of ^^"P®'^''oika" in the organic agriculture in Norway recommended: satellite countnes, the open expression of the yearning for dem,^ ® *'®'® ""ow" as the and the release of poUtical prisoners in SouthAfrica to nai^» " ^'®™nmen Square 1. State subsidies to those farmers wishing to convert to these methods; 2. Regular environmental subsidies to bio-dynamic/oiganic farm^; approMhsuggesttherekanebbandflowintheaffairsofme^toSmmn'd to the nexus of influences within which v^e stod ^ tT''''^"8-these 3. Research and development grants for new projects in this area. Such a qualitative approach must come ^ f™®" which dialogue and interaction are the key activities ft w^fof '®®'™'» Subsequently a Norwegian county council funded the purchase of a large farm in prime itUeston called in his last words as Editor of The Golden Bladl^ " '''®'°8"® ^dam agricultural territory by a trust which placed it at the disposal of bio-dynamic farmers. One can already begin to see how out of this dialogue with the Stars man is again quite literally changing the face of the Earth — this time in a healing way. This also has its implications for community forms — from the United States we hear chi^rharSrrto";:^^^^^^ ®ars as how the problem of distribution (which often accounts for ovct half the cost of the fhiit and vegetables delivered) is being overcome by consumers dealing directly with the farmer of their choice, contracting his production, so that he is no longer producing between the twin risks of unpredictable climatic conditions and an equally unpredictable, mechanicallv whose^ homes Moon, these and 'the are, Su^ we 1"i"® aro ®;®f-®hanging to ^ Z ''® ®®"'®- movements "h® ''®»ga of operating market The term "community-supported agriculture", though long in use has now comeSuch dialogue in freedomof between Man and theage.