The Healing Nature of Darkness

In the Northern Hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer. The stores are filled with Autumn Holiday merchandise, much of it scary for the end of October. Our modern culture teaches us to be afraid of darkness, but I have always found it peaceful. I had the pleasure of attending a very interesting event last night in Pasadena. As I had been busy with Church services and such for Michaelmas, I was a bit tired and the thought of going to an outdoor evening event on a Monday night seemed a bit much, but there was something in me that said "go" even though all my friends declined my cheerful invitation to accompany me on the evening of Michaelmas, 2014.

As usual, my Angel encourages me to do amazing things, I am learning to trust her inspirations even when I am not feeling up to the challenge. I learned after I arrived at the Pasadena Carnegie Observatories, 5 minutes before the performance of "Hand in Hand at the Edge of the Sky," getting the LAST parking space, that this is the location where Dark Matter was discovered in 1951. At the observatory on Mt Wilson near Pasadena, Astronomer Vera Rubin was trying to understand how the Universe was revolving. She noticed it was expanding, and her explanation was the concept of Dark Matter. 

The lecture at the evening performance was all about Dark Matter and Dark Energy, which is quite the topic of discussion and research among today's Astrophysicists. The evening proceeded with truly beautiful pictures of deep space, dark matter and hoards of galaxies that are now visible because of the telescopes that have been developed by the pioneering work at the Carnegie Observatories.

So here I was, lying on my beach towel, enjoying strawberries and sugar cookies, watching both the slide show and the glorious stars and crescent moon above, right there where over 60 years ago Dark Matter was "discovered." After the talk from Astrophysicists Andrew Benson and Juna Kollimeier, an incredible music selection was performed. 

Hand in Hand at the Edge of the Sky, written by Matthew Brown was specifically inspired by the Mountain Night Sky where Vera Rubin had her original discoveries. Mt Wilson provides stunning vistas of the Cosmos, and the music matched the magic. 

I am including an excerpt from the soon to be released book The Black Madonna Journey of the Human Heart, by me, Stephanie Georgieff. I hope you enjoy, and that you are inspired to look to the night sky to see the harmony and beauty that was made for our amazement. Darkness is to be celebrated, not feared, for it is the substance of most of this magnificent Universe we call home. The Black Madonna's are reminding us from where we have come, and to where we will go. 

I hope you will come to see Darkness as healing, and containing hidden treasures. If you can look at the pictures of the Galaxies, you will see that the words from Isaiah are so very true. Enjoy the chapter, and stay tuned for more segments and podcasts where I will be reading from the book.

Our continuing space explorations and reports returning to us from the Hubbell telescope have also shattered our materialistic concepts of the universe.  While much science has focused on the nature of light, living within the ecology of our universe of polarities, a new conceptualization of “dark” began to emerge.

Steiner spoke of universal principles throughout his voluminous lectures and writings. He invited us to conceptualize physical matter as an expression and manifestation of the Spiritual World. In other words, he asked us to focus on the invisible forces behind matter, or what is behind the physical world. In other words, the spirit behind and manifested in the material world. It is a beautiful consideration to ponder that what led Steiner to his revelations and formation of Anthroposophy were his studies and cataloguing of Goethe’s scientific writings, specifically the treatises on the theory of Color.

It is my belief that in an act of divine grace and providence, the spiritual world inspired the creation of the Black Madonna’s to BE Black specifically to counteract the effects of materialistic orientation towards life and the disastrous effects it has had on the planet and her creatures.

The Cosmic Nature of Black

Steiner taught that for everything there is a balancing effect. We see this within his Christology, through understanding the balancing effects between the Christ, Lucifer and Ahriman. (Appendix 5) Steiner also spoke of the balancing force to gravity as being levity. It is astounding to note that only until recently has materialistic science started to appreciate the phenomena throughout the existence of “dark matter.” Nigel Smith and Neil Spooner through “The Search for Dark Matter” in a 2000 issue of Physics World (24) reported, “Astronomers were …surprised and disturbed to learn in the 1930’s that our own Milky Way galaxy behaved as if it contained more matter than could be seen with telescopes. This puzzling non-luminous matter became known as ‘dark matter.’ “ Particularly challenging to the materialistic astronomers in the 30’s was that the universe was constantly expanding at an increasing speed, and yet there was not an obliteration or spinning out of control of creation. In fact, the universe and all of her inhabitants keep expanding uniformly. The key to comprehending this phenomena of every expanding universe is to visualize the baking of raisin bread, the planets and stars as raisins, and the dough as the dark matter space in-between.

Astronomer Vera Rubin in 1951 noticed that while galaxies rotate, the outer edges of galaxies traveled as fast in the center as they did on the outer edges. What was of particular interest was that the galaxies did not fall apart during all of this motion. The glue holding all of the inhabitants of these galaxies together was termed dark matter. Through the evolution of String Theory, (Appendix 6) the understanding of light as well as dark matter is to conceptualize the dark matter stretching to hold onto stars and galaxies as they travel throughout the universe.  It is interesting to note that Steiner, in his attempts to define light, said that it bends and circles back and does not travel indefinitely in a straight line. (25)

Throughout our explorations of the galaxies and the quest to understand our origins, the phenomenon of “Black Holes” has emerged. These entities supposedly range from the size of a thumbnail to the center of the Milky Way that is four million times bigger that our sun (26) Black Holes seem to be located in the center of their respective universes or galaxies. NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Survey telescope has recently received scanned images of the entire sky over a period between 2009 through 2011. Apparently there is a “bonanza of black holes in the universe,” according to astronomer Daniel Stern from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

It is thought that Black Holes are collections of the densest material imaginable, the ultimate nothing, some even label the holes collections of “anti-gravity.” These black holes are the result of collapsed stars and cosmic communities. While considered dense lifeless remnants of dead stars, black hoes emit atoms needed for the creation of new life. Scientists now believe our own Milky Way may have burst forth from a black hole. Pictures from the Hubble Telescope illustrate that black holes connect darkness to the light. Due to the depletion of hydrogen and other gasses, they become white hot. It is also thought that through black holes; there lies a connection to parallel universes, as a conduit to other realities. Another way to look at this phenomenon and associated theories, is out of the death of universes, black holes connect and birth new life.

Spiritual Understanding of Black

Sr. Madeleva, resident artist for the Sisters of St. Joseph’s of Orange, California teaches that Black is the color of the feminine. It is considered a generative color throughout all cultural artistic manifestations. In her own creations, she enjoys employing Black. When asked why, Sr. Madeleva says that, “Black makes the colors jump out.”

Steiner revisited ancient knowledge when he explained the evolution of the planet. He states that the Third Hierarchy comprised of the Archai, Archangels and Angels are the mediators between light and darkness. This activity brought about the admixture through which colors could arise. Within classical Greek Cosmology, which influenced Alchemy, Black is the color of condensation, representing the Earth. As Earth is implicit in all life processes, it is a constant. In all representations of color, Black is present in one degree or another.

Steiner invites us to think of light as ensouled, and realize the habit of seeing light as merely vibrations emanating from the sun. The Sun, as described by Steiner in Man, Hieroglyph of the Universe, (28) has a sucking action that annihilates, and in that process generates light, not warmth. Its opposite, darkness, he teaches, is filled with warmth. Light is permeated by soul and spirit.

Consider our previous discussion on the Council of Constantinople of 869, where the official dogma of the Church was that humans had no spirit, only a body and a soul. According to Steiner’s theory of Color, Light involves Human and Cosmic thought, Color reflects Human and Cosmic Feeling, and Darkness reflects Human and Cosmic willing. Color is thought to reflect the Soul, while Darkness and Light reflect the Spirit. (29) I think it is no accident that the Black Madonna’s started to appear in mass after the Council of 869, in all their Black Beauty to be a symbol of how darkness, Blackness was a reflection of the human spirit, of the spiritual nature of the Cosmos.

Goethe observed that color is perceptible only as a result of the interweaving of the two polarities of light and darkness. Too much of either end of the spectrum makes the visibility of color imperceptible. At the heart of Goethe’s theory of color was the mystery of light and darkness opposing one another as two real polar entities. When considering the deepest aspect of the cosmos, space and dark matter, there are actually only degrees of darkness. Steiner states that this dark content of space is filled with soul and spiritual beings, something similar to what the beginning words of the Bible speak of as “darkness weaving over the face of the deep.” Genesis 1:2 The miracle of balance illustrated by these phenomena is that there is no stability in cosmic activity unless the force of darkness is everywhere interwoven with the force of light. Steiner states that it is the hindrance of both light and darkness that allows colors to manifest. From this we can deduce that the challenge of the soul is influenced by the light of thinking spirit and the darkness of the will in matter, which will be lifted into the realm of true knowing. By interweaving these two states, we too can manifest spirit into matter.

Blessings on your journey!

To see amazing pictures of Galaxies, which are the treasures in the heavens, you can click on the link below: 

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/galaxy

And if you are ever in Pasadena, you should stop by the Carnegie Observatories. 

https://obs.carnegiescience.edu/

Michael and the Black Madonna

September 29 for many Christians is the Festival of the Archangel Michael. In some Eastern Orthodox traditions the date is in November. It is an interesting correspondence that the Archangel Michael is often depicted quite prominently with the Black Madonna. At the Shrine of Jasna Gora in Czestochowa Poland, Michael is depicted over the entrance to the Shrine

The entire cosmic drama of creation from the time told in Genesis to the incarnation of the Christ has been set in motion to allow Humanity to be come fully conscious of the Divine in Freedom. The overseer of Cosmic Intelligence is the Archangel Michael. To aid us in our journey of evolving towards this full, free consciousness, many gifts have been placed before Humanity by the Spiritual World. Michael sacrificed his rulership of Cosmic Intelligence and sent it to the Earth so Humanity could have a deep, full and free understanding of the entire significance of the Christ Impulse. By the Ninth Century this transfer was complete, and this was also the time when the Black Madonna's began their appearances throughout Europe. In my estimation, this was a gift to allow messages from the Spiritual World to be presented to Humanity to show us our task.

The Color Black is the symbol of Cosmic Will being transformed into Human Will. The Black Madonna's also have very large hands, hands being the agent of the Will. In essence the Black Madonna's are bringing a message from the Divine that we are to use our will to bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth. 

Courage is a theme of Michaelmas. Michael is depicted with a sword and always by standing on a dragon. He does not slay the dragon, he subdues it. The dragon is the symbol of the lower animal nature of Humanity. This nature can take form for us in modern times as fear, hate and doubt. The way we can subdue our own personal dragons is through truth in our thinking, devotion in our will and with a loving heart.

Archangel Michael and Uriel at Mt Tepeyac in Mexico City, Basilica of Guadalupe

I think the reason Michael is portrayed with the Black Madonna is that to help manifest our destiny, to unify in conscious freedom with the Christ in order to transform the cosmos of wisdom into a cosmos of love, we will need Courage. 

These are times of great trial, there is much fear and doubt around. But the Spiritual World, the Angels and the Trinity has faith in Humanity, that we can progress. The greatest antidote to the fear and hatred that swirls about is to immerse ourselves in the Love of Christ. To fill our mind with thoughts of wisdom, and to use our wills to be faithful to our task, and to reach out to know one another.

Archangel Michael by Hildegard of Bingen

This is a time to focus our thinking and use our wills to live up to our highest potential. The Black Madonna's are a message from the Divine that we are not alone, that we can endure and triumph.

The Problem with Evil

Matthew 6:9-13King James Version (KJV)

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Prayer is a powerful deed. It is often confusing as to what exactly we should pray for and how we should pray. The Lord's Prayer above was given to us as a perfect example of how to communicate with the Divine. All needs and issues are covered in this simple 65 word prayer. For one year, my resolution was to say this every morning before I got out of bed. The knowledge that this is uttered constantly through out the world by millions of souls is both comforting and amazing all at the same time. Even when you do not understand the language it is spoken in, you always know when it is being said, for there is a deep calm that envelopes the environment when it is recited.

Something that can be difficult is the part about being delivered from evil. In so many ways, we think we can give the Divine suggestions and commands when it comes to how Spirit interacts in our lives. Particularly when it concerns the deliverance from evil. 

I have practiced medicine for over 25 years. In that time, I have heard every story imaginable in terms of human suffering. Deep healing in my estimation must include emotional and spiritual healing. When a particular patient was strong enough to start remembering the abuse she endured as a child, it shattered her concept of a loving God. "How could a loving God allow such vile acts be done on an innocent child?" She cried to me, with big tears rolling down her cheeks. "How could God leave me?" 

The images flooding the media and imagination these days are of dark hooded men severing the heads from loving, gifted people who were trying to help those harmed by war. The collective response to these heinous acts is to deny the humanity of the perpetrators, labeling them as worse than animals deserving of annihilation. Global support now exists to do just that, raining bombs, drones and missiles upon the lands where these people are reported to be hiding. Somehow, the raining of violent mass death is justified. One priest said to me when I was asking him about how we could meet this evil in a new way, because the old ways only prolong the problem, he responded, "well, the evil must be stopped."

Can evil be stopped? Who exactly should stop it?

I have faced pure evil more than once in my life. There is a cold and stifling nature to it that defies explanation. The only thing one knows when confronting it, is that it IS evil. We can be frustrated when evil prevails, and it seems to be doing just that on all levels. Goodness and mercy are punished, while evil is richly rewarded in the material realm.

These are times of great evil. In Anthroposophical cosmology, this is the time of the incarnation of the great Satan, the greatest evil ever known has been unleashed upon the Earth. No wonder we are all so tired. But the Divine tells us what we are to do in these instances. These are spiritual battles, and we are not to fight them in the physical realm. We are to put on the Armor of God and protect ourselves from the Spiritual Warfare that swirls about. We must fill our thoughts with Spiritual Truths, the Word of God, and of images of Beauty, both from the natural as well as the artistic world. The Apostle Paul speaks to us in Ephesians 6:10-20

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Do you notice a glaring lack of emphasis on weapons of war in this verse? We are to arm ourselves with truth, peace, and faith, for the evil one does not understand these things. He and his legions operate on fear and mistrust. To think one can wipe out evil with weapons and war is the greatest idolatry possible.

My Priest remarked in a recent Bible study, that there are worse things than being beheaded by a terrorist. Once before, she told me after a friend's daughter had been brutally murdered by a crazy man, that when the soul looks back on their death by such violence, it is remembered as an event of sublime joy because even though the person lost their body, it was ultimately a triumph of life over death.

I told my patient that God was with her when she was violated, and that the Christ understood from personal experience the betrayal that she felt from her family. She took this to heart and began the long process of forgiveness and healing.

We are the people armed with the knowledge of the Resurrection. The Christ experienced the greatest betrayals and murder, and yet he triumphed, all to be closer to us and to guide us in our personal and collective evolution. If we armor ourselves with truth, peace and faith, we can withstand evil and ultimately transform it. Those who perpetrate barbarity did not come from a vacuum. If we wish to transform evil, we will have to love on a level and have faith on a level that surpasses all that we have done before. We have many models, the ultimate ones being the Christ and the Madonna.

The Black Madonna's speak profoundly on this transformation. Their somber scarred faces and narratives of endurance through all trials are the examples we must emulate in this great age of evil.

We will endure, we will transform and we will triumph through love, compassion and peace.

The Spiritual Significance of Art

 The Divine Sophia and the World

“Art is the creation of organs through which the gods are able to speak to humanity.” Rudolf Steiner, 1861 – 1925

The Black Madonna is an art form, taking shape in Icons, paintings, stained glass windows, statues and mosaics. In a wonderful book Spirit and Art, Pictures of the Transformation of Consciousness, Author Van James shows a tapestry of how the visual arts have been a window on the relationship between the Divine and Humanity since our inception. The word Icon comes from the Greek word "eikon" which means "image." In Eastern Christian traditions, Icons  are seen as a window, a portal into the spiritual world. The Sacrament of Confession in these traditions is done kneeling before an Icon in the presence of a priest. When parishioners receive Communion, they kiss and venerate the Icon before receiving the bread and wine.

Our Lady Chapel at the Shrine of Czestochowa, Poland

When I visited the shrine in Czestochowa Poland on All Saints Day in 2008, it was the first time I truly experienced what the quote from Steiner about the nature and purpose of art meant. Our Lady of Czestochowa is one of the most recognized Black Madonna's in the world. When I sat in the small chapel before the Icon Altar, I truly felt like I was looking at a threshold into the Cosmos. From my vantage point, I could barely make out the image behind the golden Riza, or cover over the Image. The devotional atmosphere felt like I had entered into a tunnel in between the worlds, almost like a palpable velvet in the air. My deepest questions revolved around whether it was the devotion that created this threshold image, or the image was actually the threshold between the worlds.

“Thus behind Matter, within matter, the creative Spirit is concealed.” Wassily Kandinsky,  1866 - 1944

I am trained as a scientist. For me, delving into the the mysteries of nature, of space and of the workings of the body only deepened my faith. Creativity, sleep, emotions all have explanations that can be partially presented with only material facts, the spark behind them is Spirit, the Divine.

I stumbled on an incredible video the other day. It shows the vastness of the Universe.

Another graphic video, shows how our little "corner" of the Universe is in constant motion, in a spiral.

And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name  Isaiah 45:3

What these videos illustrate, but do not name is vast, they in essence show the miracle of love that exists in the universe.

What keeps all of creation going? What enables the stars, planets and galaxies to coexist and not either crash or disintegrate? Science has been grappling with this since the invention of modern telescopes. With the Hubble space telescope we have been able to peer into the depths of space as never before, only broadening the mystery and beauty of creation in the imaginations as well as tangible experience of Humanity. It is fitting that a woman astronomer, Vera Rubin, was the first to articulate the material science behind this phenomena. She called it "Dark Matter" This substance and it's sister "Dark Energy" make up most of the universe. It's defining quality is that it holds everything together in this ever expanding embrace, allowing creativity, birth, death and the cycles of time to exist. Dark Matter allows creation to be in balance, in community, to express the Divine Justice that permeates the entire universe.

I would call Dark Matter the scientific description for the Divine Sophia. In order for the Logos, the creative Word of God to unfold creation, he had to first create a container for his expression. It was the Sophia. The Sophia is a being that was the first of all creation by the Logos. The Logos is the powerful word, the inspiration and catalyst for creation. But a context, a matrix for creation needed to be created in order for it to be manifest. Therefore, the Logos created the Sophia, Wisdom, to be the container and matrix for the creative impulse of the Logos. Sophia is also known as the Divine Feminine Wisdom of God.

The Sophia is articulated in the cornerstone of the Wisdom Scriptures of the Bible: Proverbs. We are told about this being, this Divine Wisdom of God in Proverbs 8: 27 – 30:

When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:  When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;

To contemplate our place in the Universe, within the heart of creation, we have been given Imagination by the Creator. This Imagination is our personal portal into the Cosmos, where the Divine can express itself through the Arts. 

One of the most magnificent works of music is the Ode to Joy by Beethoven. This music has inspired generations of people, often in the darkest hours of their struggle. This is a clip from a movie about Beethoven, and the scene is one of the cosmic joy he experienced, his inspiration for this music, which came out of suffering but healed not only himself but countless souls afterwards.

The arts, music, painting, sculpture, dance, they can not be explained by reducing the process to simple synapses of the brain. Love, courage, loyalty, devotion, these are not experiences that can be reduced to neurochemical transmissions. What is the spark, what is the beginning?

For those of us who have a belief that has been transformed into living knowledge, we see the Divine everywhere, the handiwork of creation is the ultimate art. Is it any wonder that the Madonna's that dot the landscape are Black? From the Blackness of the Cosmos lies the hidden treasures of Darkness. The message from the Divine through Art that there is a cosmic order, a cosmic love permeating all of creation. As we contemplate what the Gods are saying to us through the portal of Art, it is my hope that you see messages of love, hope, encouragement and triumph everywhere, but particularly in the Black Madonna. Love, hope and endurance are the main messages that these Dark Images convey. They tell us of the treasures, the hidden riches that are ours if only we can reach out to them.

These topics and more will be explored in the book, The Black Madonna, Journey of the Human Heart by Stephanie Georgieff. Stay tuned for more excerpts from the book and publication information.

Blessings on your Journey!