Fourth Holy Night applied to April

December 27-28 – Aries

Consciously purify the Astral Body: antipathy and sympathy are converted into universal love. Passions and desires keep silent. The power of Christ penetrates with his light and his strength what is Luciferic in us.

Mystery: The work on ourselves serves the best interests of the whole. The Archangel Uriel holds up a mirror in which we see ourselves as we are.
Rudolf Steiner

This is a new translation using Google to translate from the original German and adjusted by Laura Zanutto and slightly tweaked by Kristina Kaine in 2015 See original German at the end of post.

Fourth Contemplation by Kristina Kaine

How often do we think about the impact of our personal development on the universe? How could a seemingly insignificant human being such as ourselves effect this enormous universe? This idea is expressed in the notion of the “Butterfly Effect.”

While we can’t know for sure if the flap of one butterfly’s wing on one side of the world causes a storm on the other side of the world, the negativity of many human beings in a room is palpable. If this is the case, imagine the effect on another person of our antipathy towards them. Antipathy is usually accompanied by criticism and if we freely engage in this behavior we are a long way from purifying our astral body – even if we think the other person deserves it.

When we unconsciously exercise our sympathy and antipathy we invite Lucifer into our consciousness. Lucifer always degrades our experiences and causes us to focus on ourselves. Lucifer causes selfishness in our astral body, lying in our etheric body, and illness in our physical body. If we become aware of the ways in which we like one thing and dislike another, and try to rise above these instincts, Lucifer’s activity will be exposed.

Lucifer has a rightful place within us, but only as a catalyst for change in our consciousness. He is not there to use our consciousness as his own playing field. As long as we do not resist him, and unwittingly play along with his often mischievous ideas, our astral will be murky. When we start to observe his activity it is a signal to the power of Christ to become active within us like the sun shining through the clouds. If enough people do this it will have a powerful affect on the whole universe.

Image: Virgin of the Rocks (Louvre version) by Leonardo da Vinci, 1483–86

The 12 Holy Nights sow a seed for our progress through the year ahead. Our sole purpose on this earth is to become aware our I Am, our True Self. By applying each of the 12 Holy Nights to each of the 12 months throughout the year we come closer to knowing ourselves more completely. In its highest expression our I Am becomes one with Christ who accompanies us each step of the way.

“The true name of Christ is “I Am”; who does not know or does not understand this and calls Him by another name does not know anything about Him. “I Am” is His only name.” Rudolf Steiner 27 May 1909

Original German – if anyone would like to suggest a better translation I would love to hear from them.

4. Heilige Nacht
27./28. – Widder

Bewusst den Astralkörper reinigen: Antipathie und Sympathie wird in All-Liebe umgewandelt. Leidenschaften und Begierden schweigen. Die Christuskraft durchleuchtet und durchkraftet in uns, was luziferisch ist.
Mysterium: Die Arbeit an uns selbst dient dem Wohl des Ganzen. Der Erzengel Uriel hält uns den Spiegel vor, in dem wir sehen, wie wir sind.