Journal for Star Wisdom: 2015

Journal for Star Wisdom 2015 includes articles of interest concerning star wisdom (Astrosophy), as well as a guide to the correspondences between stellar configurations during the life of Christ and those of today. This guide comprises a complete sidereal ephemeris and aspectarian, geocentric and heliocentric, for each day throughout the year. Published yearly, new editions are available beginning in October or November for the coming new year. According to Rudolf Steiner, every step taken by Christ during his ministry between the baptism in the Jordan and the resurrection was in harmony with-and an expression of-the cosmos. The Journal for Star Wisdom is concerned with these heavenly correspondences during the life of Christ. It is intended to help provide a foundation for cosmic Christianity, the cosmic dimension of Christianity. It is this dimension that has been missing from Christianity in its two-thousand-year history. Readers can begin on this path by contemplating the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets against the background of the zodiacal constellations (sidereal signs) today in relation to corresponding stellar events during the life of Christ. In this way, the possibility is opened for attuning, in a living way, to the life of Christ in the etheric cosmos. In this year's journal there is an article concerning the relationship between the zodiacal ages and the cultural epochs by Robert Powell, and an article by Estelle Isaacson about the early stages of Christ's Ascension into cosmic dimensions. Claudia McLaren Lainson's article relates events of our time against the background of St. Paul's experience of Christ at the gates of Damascus. Richard Tarnas's article, "The Evolving Tradition," offers important perspectives on the development of astrology in our time. There is also an article by Kevin Dann, which looks at the universal significance of the vortex-following up on an indication given by Rudolf Steiner. Nicholas Kollerstrom has contributed an article, "Power of the Sun," concerning research into a new understanding of our Sun. Two articles by Brian Keats contribute to research into aspects of biodynamic farming in connection with cosmic rhythms. The monthly commentaries for the year 2015 by Claudia McLaren Lainson are supported by monthly astronomical previews provided by Sally Nurney that offer opportunities to observe and experience the stellar configurations physically during 2015. This direct interaction between the human being on Earth and the heavenly beings of the stars develops our capacity to receive their wisdom-filled teachings. "If you lift your arm and point upward, you have up there the realm of particular Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. If you move and again point upward, you would find other Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim above you.... Suppose you wanted to point to some particular Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. They are by no means identical, like a group of twelve similar soldiers, for instance. They differ considerably from one another. Each bears its individual stamp, so that as one looks upward from various points, one sees quite separate beings. In order to locate particular Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim, one denotes them by a particular constellation. It is like a signpost. In that direction over there are the Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim known as the Twins, over there, the Lion, and so on. The constellations of the zodiac are more than mere signposts.... It is important to realize that, when we refer to the zodiac, we are speaking of spiritual beings." -Rudolf Steiner, Spiritual Hierarchies and the Physical World, April 17, 1909

Robert A. Powell, PhD, is an internationally known lecturer, author, eurythmist, and movement therapist. He is founder of the Choreocosmos School of Cosmic and Sacred Dance, and cofounder of the Sophia Foundation of North America. He received his doctorate for his thesis The History of the Zodiac, available as a book from Sophia Academic Press. He is the author and coauthor of numerous work, including The Sophia Teachings (a six-tape series), as well as numerous books on star wisdom (Astrosophy), the divine feminine (Sophia), the Christian Mysteries, and sacred movement. He has also been a contributing editor of the annual journal Star Wisdom. He translated the spiritual classic Meditations on the Tarot and co-translated Valentin Tomberg's Lazarus, Come Forth! Robert teaches a gentle form of healing movement: the sacred dance of eurythmy, as well as the Cosmic Dances of the Planets and signs of the zodiac. Through the Sophia Grail Circle, Robert facilitates sacred celebrations dedicated to the Divine Feminine. He has also offered numerous workshops in Europe and Australia, and with Karen Rivers, cofounder of the Sophia Foundation, and has led pilgrimages to the world's sacred sites since 1996.

Daniel Andreev (1906-1959) was born in Berlin. His father was the well-known Russian writer Leonid Andreev. His mother Alexandra Veligorsky died during childbirth. Daniel's father, overcome with grief, gave up Andreev to Alexandra's sister Elizabeth Dobrov, who lived in Moscow. It was a critical event in Daniel Andreev's life, for in contrast to many of the Russian intelligentsia at the time, the maintained its Russian Orthodox faith. Daniel's childhood included contact with persons as his godfather Maxim Gorky. Daniel was conscripted as a noncombatant in the Soviet Army in 1942, and after the war he returned to writing fiction and poetry. Daniel Andreev was arrested in 1947, along with his wife and many of his relatives and friends, and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, while his wife received twenty-five years of labor camp. All of previous writing was destroyed. With the rise of Khrushchev, Andreev's case was reviwed and his sentence reduced to ten years. He was released to his waiting wife in 1957, his health ruined following a heart attack in prison. While in prison, he had written the first drafts of The Rose of the World and Russian Gods (a collection of poetry), as well as The Iron Mystery, a play in verse. Andreev spent the last two years of his life finishing his work on these works. Andreev's wife Alla, realizing the negative reception the books would get from the Soviet authorities, hid them until the mid-seventies, but didn't publish them until Gorbachev and glasnost. The first edition of The Rose of the World (100,000 copies) quickly sold out, and since then several editions have been equally popular in Russia.

Estelle Isaacson is a contemporary mystic and seer, whose first books were published by LogoSophia in 2012: Through the Eyes of Mary Magdalene: Early Years and Soul Awakening. In volume 1 in her trilogy on the life of Mary Magdalene, Estelle Isaacson presents her visions of the life of Christ as seen through Magdalene's own eyes. Volume 2, Through the Eyes of Mary Magdalene: From Initiation to the Passion, enters the profound mysteries of Christ's Passion, culminating in the Resurrection. Estelle is coauthor with Robert Powell of Gautama Buddha's Successor: A Force for Good in Our Time(2013) and The Mystery of Sophia: Bearer of the New Culture: The Rose of the World(2014).

CLAUDIA McLAREN LAINSON is a teacher and Therapeutic Educator. She has been working in the field of Anthroposophy since 1982, when she founded her first Waldorf program in Boulder, Colorado. She lectures nationallyis the founder of Windrose Farm and Academy near Boulder. Claudia most recently founded the School for the Sophia Mysteries at Windrose. She is the author of The Circle of Twelve and the Legacy of Valentin Tomberg.

Richard Tarnas is a professor of philosophy and cultural history at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS, )San Francisco, and the founding director of its graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness. He also lectures on archetypal studies and depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara. A graduate of Harvard and a former director of programs at Esalen Institute, he is the author of The Passion of the Western Mind, a history of the Western worldview from the ancient Greeks to the postmodern culture, which became both a bestseller and a required text in many universities. His most recent book, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View, received the Book of the Year Prize from the Scientific and Medical Network in the UK.