Last week we began to fall into a state of foggy "world-sleep." As the flowers and foliage of nature fall away and we must kindle the fire within our souls to shine like lanterns in the darkness. Like a great inhale, the Earth contracts its spiritual essence, and we turn inward as well. We "behold" the wide space expanses in contemplation of the coming winter. But it is not a time of darkness. It is the spring of the soul in which we may blossom from within.
This week we begin in the Northern Hemisphere the awakening of humanity's soul forces. Now that the orchards and gardens are nearing the end of the summer season, we begin taking life forces into our souls to produce "fruits of the will." It is the spring of the soul as we enter the autumn of the world. We begin to become aware of our own shadow and must actively fill ourselves with the light of the World-Spirit. Only then can it may strive forth into the world through our heart-felt actions. This newly found self-awareness enables us to take willful action grounded in brotherly love.
Practice the Calendar verses to entrain with the rhythms of the seasons. Together, we will radiate these forces out into society through our moral words and deeds of brotherly love. Rudolf Steiner's verses for the 52 weeks of the calendar are here on our website, together with Rudolf Steiner's original German text and several other translations: Rudolf Steiner, The Anthroposophical Calendar.