Journal for Star Wisdom 2014

Journal for Star Wisdom 2014 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. Journal for Star Wisdom 2014 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.

This year’s journal presents an article by Robert Powell on the ancient prophecy concerning the coming of the Kalki Avatar and an article by Estelle Isaacson about the Bodhisattva who will become the Maitreya Buddha. David Tresemer provides four articles. The first examines corporate personhood and another is part 2 of his “Finding Jerusalem” series. He also takes a look at the controversial theme of the zodiac in “Zodiacs and Calendars.” Finally, with Robert Schiappacsse, Tresemer wrote a brief contribution on the Renaissance personalities Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola. William Bento’s article “Reuniting Psyche with Astro-Logos” offers important perspectives on the integration of cosmology with transpersonal psychology/anthroposophic psychology. There is also an article by Paul Marx, which looks at the evolutionary streams accompanying Christ’s descent into incarnation. Brian Gray contributed the article “Where on Earth is the Zodiac?” concerning his research into the relationship between the starry heavens and the earthly globe.

The monthly commentaries for the year 2014 by Claudia McLaren Lainson are preceded by her article on Kashyapa in the light of Pentecost. Her commentaries are supported by monthly astronomical previews provided by Sally Nurney, which offer opportunities to physically observe and experience the stellar configurations during the year of 2014. This direct interaction between the human being on earth and the heavenly beings of the stars develops the capacity to receive their wisdom-filled teachings.

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).

David Tresemer, PhD, has a doctorate in psychology, and is associate professor of psychology at Rudolf Steiner College for the certificate program in Counseling Psychology, with concentration in Anthroposophic Psychology. He has written in many areas, ranging from The Scythe Book: Mowing Hay, Cutting Weeds, and Harvesting Small Grains with Hand Tools to a book about mythic theater, War in Heaven: Accessing Myth Through Drama, and a book on astrology-seen-intelligently, Star Wisdom and Rudolf Steiner: A Life Seen through the Oracle of the Solar Cross, as well as The Venus Eclipse of the Sun. David’s has also written numerous articles on the connection of celestial events to human experience.

William Bento, PhD, worked in the field of human development for more than thirty years. He was a recognized pioneer and a published author in psychosophy (soul wisdom) and astrosophy (star wisdom), and traveled extensively as a speaker, teacher, and consultant. Dr. Bento was the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California, and worked as a transpersonal clinical psychologist at the Center for Living Health in Gold River, California. He also guided social therapy seminars for Camphill Communities for more than twenty years. Dr. Bento was also the author of Holy Nights Journal and Meditation Cards & Booklet on the Eightfold Path and a frequent contributor to Journal for Star Wisdom. He died June 5, 2015.

Robert Schiappacasse has been a student of Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy for more than thirty years. He developed a deep interest humanity's relationship to the world of the stars and, in 1977, began studies with Willi Sucher, a pioneer researcher in the field of Astrosophy, or star wisdom. He presents at conferences and workshops on star wisdom themes and other anthroposophic topics. He is coauthor with David Tresemer and William Bento of the book Signs in the Heavens: A message for our Time, about the comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp and their crossing of the mysterious and ominous star Algol at the end of the twentieth century. Robert most recently worked with David Tresemer on the Book Star Wisdom and Rudolf Steiner: A life Seen through the Oracle of the Solar Cross. He also coauthored articles with David Tresemer, including “The Chain Reaction Experiment”; “The Signature of Saturn in Christ Jesus’ Life”; and “The Signature of Pluto in the Events of Christ Jesus’ Life.”