Fifth Holy Night applied to May

December 28-29 – Taurus

Consciously purify the body of thought.
Discipline thinking. Concentrating on the positive. Converting the black doves of thought into white doves, because our thinking is, until it is not consciously conducted with discipline, like a dovecote! This dovecote also [keep] closed against foreign, negative thoughts.

Mystery: The purification of the temple by Jesus Christ.

Rudolf Steiner’s indications for the Holy Nights given to Herbert Hahn

This is a new translation using Google to translate from the original German and adjusted by Laura Zanutto and slightly tweaked by Kristina Kaine 2015

5. Heilige Nacht

28./29. – Stier

Bewusst den Gedankenkörper reinigen. Gedankenzucht. Konzentration auf Positives. Umwandeln der schwarzen Gedankentauben in weiße, denn unser Denken gleicht, solange es nicht bewusst in Zucht genommen wird, einem Taubenschlag! Diesen Taubenschlag auch schließen vor fremden, negativen Gedanken.

Mysterium: Die Tempelreinigung durch Jesus-Christus.

Fifth Contemplation: Kristina Kaine

If our goal is to purify ourselves it means we have glimpsed our own impurity. Sometimes we can feel defeated by this lack of purity, when really we should see it as a challenge; a reason to live. All too often when we become aware of our inadequacies we devalue ourselves. We say, “This is me and I fall short, I am not good enough.” A dark mood can come over us and we struggle to feel positive. These are the black doves.

When we have this dark experience we have completely missed the point of being able to see our less-than-perfect self. The insight we seek is the exact same insight that enables us to see our imperfections. Seeing these imperfections is no reason to persecute ourselves; seeing them enables us to take a step closer to purification.

“Only the prepared human being who has experienced the hard ordeals, the internal purification, and the catharsis can understand the divine. Hence, the young man is killed who approaches the lily before he is prepared and purified.” Rudolf Steiner, Goethe’s Secret Revelation. Part II: The Fairy Tale of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily.

By accepting our trials and our less-than-perfect characteristics (without excusing them) we change them from negative to positive. Our personal characteristics are like stairs leading up to the lookout where we can see everything in perspective. It is through disciplining our thinking that we accept our individuality, and the individuality of others. If our temple was already pure our life would have no meaning. If we can fully participate in the purification we become co-workers with Christ Jesus.

Image: Annunciation Unknown Artist