Orion photo by John Hill

Out from the silent portal of the hours,

When frosts are come and all the hosts put on

Their burnished gear to march across the night

And o'er a darkened earth in splendor shine,

Slowly above the world Orion wheels

His glittering square, while on the shadowy hill

And throbbing like a sea-light through the dusk,

Great Sirius rises in his flashing blue.

Lord of the winter night, august and pure,

Returning year on year untouched by time,

To hearten faith with thine unfaltering fire,

There are no hurts that beauty cannot ease,

No ills that love cannot at last repair,

In the victorious progress of the soul.

~from Winter Scene by Bliss Carman (1861-1929)

In the cold midwinter we come to the cross quarter time known variously as St. Brigit's Day, Candlemas, Imbolc, Ground Hog's Day ~ each observance a celebration of the deep mystery of the season. Now is the time for nurturing and celebrating the inner light, for the light that we kindle now flames forth as renewed life come spring.

While the solstice and equinox points mark the beginning of each season, the cross quarter days mark the turn within the season, at its mid-point. These turns occur at the beginning of February, May, August, and November, halfway between solstice and equinox.

The nights before each of these cross quarter days are often more widely known than the days themselves, and each includes a notable mood of mischief. Consider All Hallowed's Eve on October 31st, which just precedes All Saints and All Souls in early November; the carnival that comes during the midwinter, as February arrives (the word februa means "to purge"); at the eve of May Day, Walpurgis Night on April 30 was dramatized in Goethe's Faust; and Shakespeare placed the birth of his tragic heroine Juliet at the eve of the summer cross quarter, as described by her maid:

On Lammas-Eve at night shall she be fourteen;
That shall she, marry; I remember it well.
‘Tis since the earthquake now eleven years;
And she was wean’d,—I never shall forget it,—
Of all the days of the year, upon that day

The February cross quarter time is also described in chapter two of the Luke Gospel, as the fulfillment of the days of purification from the birth of the Jesus Child (40 days), when the Child was presented at the Temple and Simeon and Anna prophesied over him. 

There are many factors contributing to the idea that the February cross quarter is also aligned to pre-birth mysteries, to what Rudolf Steiner described as the mystery of "unbornness." Several anthroposophical communities around the US have taken up the call to create festivals of unbornness in this season, bringing light to the path of souls journeying earthward toward birth.

With this email newsletter we include a link to Peter Selg's recent talk about this mystery of unbornness, as well as a few story ideas for your consideration.

In the sky this season the mighty constellation Orion dominates the star field, striding through the night with his dogs, Canis Major and Minor. Orion is known as Winter Maker to many tribes of North America, and this constellation's journey through the sky allows for the telling of the tales that are only permitted when the Earth is covered with her blanket of snow. Why wait for the snow? And what tales can be told now?  This practice is connected to the fact that when Orion the Winter Maker is on high, the Serpent (Scorpio) is below the horizon and inactive. It is worth noting that when one of these constellations is in the sky (Orion and Scorpio), the other is always absent, and because they never appear above the horizon at the same time, their presence may inform festival life.

From this it's also possible to imagine that the observance of sacred storytelling when the Serpent is out of the sky is akin to Rudolf Steiner 's descriptions of unbornness, and why we would celebrate it in this season. The souls are gathering in the Moon sphere for their final journey earthward now and the "serpent" does not have access to this pre-birth sphere of human becoming. This is part of what makes it essential to awaken our awareness. 

We hope you find inspiration here for your own observance and festival of pre-birth mysteries!  And if you do, please share!

~Mary

It's Aquarius season, and we are grateful to be able to share this recording of Andrew Linnell's presentation from our Holy Nights Series, to support the seasonal contemplation of the virtue of discretion and its expression through master works of art. 

Access the recording here

Image by Patricia Delisa for Fairy Tale Moons

There are many stories that address the mystery of "unbornness", including Diamond's Dream, from George MacDonald's book At the Back of the Northwind, and How the Whale Got His Throat by Rudyard Kipling (excerpt and link to story below):

IN the sea, once upon a time, O my Best Beloved, there was a Whale, and he ate fishes. He ate the starfish and the garfish, and the crab and the dab, and the plaice and the dace, and the skate and his mate, and the mackereel and the pickereel, and the really truly twirly-whirly eel. All the fishes he could find in all the sea he ate with his mouth —so! Till at last there was only one small fish left in all the sea, and he was a small ‘Stute Fish, and he swam a little behind the Whale’s right ear, so as to be out of harm’s way.

Then the Whale stood up on his tail and said, “I’m hungry.” And the small ‘Stute Fish said in a small ‘Stute voice, “Noble and generous Cetacean, have you ever tasted Man?”

~excerpted from How The Whale Got His Throat by Rudyard Kipling, and shared here as a fitting tale for this season of unbornness, especially as it relates to the Old Testament story of Jonah and the Whale, and the imagination that to be "swallowed by the whale" is to arrive at the moment of decision between death and rebirth about taking up earthly incarnation again.  

Some of the dates we're watching:

January 25 Feast of Paul's Conversion at Gates of Damascus, as described in chapter nine, Acts of the Apostles, and the date on which Rudolf Steiner first spoke of the True Nature of the Second Coming at Oslo, Norway. The supreme mystery of the age in which we are living is the Second Coming of Christ—that is its true nature.~Rudolf Steiner, January 25, 1910

February 1, 2026 Full Moon, the first in a series of Moons at its primary phases (Full, Last Quarter, New, First Quarter) that will all occur in the same region of zodiac for the next several cross quarter days. Nine months after the February 1, 2026 Full Moon, the Moon will come to Last Quarter in the same region of zodiac, and it will be All Saints Day, November 1, 2026. Nine months later, at the summer cross quarter August 2, 2027 the Moon will come to New Phase in the same region of zodiac and cause the longest Total Solar Eclipse of the 21st century. Nine months later the First Quarter Moon will occur at the time of May Day, on May 2nd, 2028, then the cycle of primary Moon phases aligned to the cross quarter times will move on. This information is shared here as a way to support our living in harmony with the cosmic gestures, and to live into the variations in the time body. The Moon will only repeat the same phase on the same date in the calendar every 19 years. But the Moon will cultivate one degree of zodiac every nine months with each phase (New, First, Full, Last), shedding light on our becoming.

February 2, 2026 the Moon is a waning gibbous and will pass over the region of zodiac where it will cause a Total Solar Eclipse on August 12, 2026, during the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. 

February 22, 2026 150th anniversary of Ita Wegman's birth, which will be celebrated through The Courage to Heal Conference at the Goetheanum.

February 25, 2026 165th birth anniversary Rudolf Steiner. There is often discussion about the actual date of Rudolf Steiner's birth (was it the 25th or the 27th), which warrants consideration. There seems to be a certain wisdom operating in not knowing exactly, as though it provides a protection or freedom for the individual.

March 29, 2026 Palm Sunday; opening of Raphael exhibit Sublime Poetry at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (through June 28, 2026)

April 17-19, 2026 General Assembly of the General Anthroposophical Society, Dornach, Switzerland

October 9-11, 2026 Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Stay tuned for conference theme, guest speakers and location!

The latest issue of being human magazine is available online at the link below. Submission deadline for Spring/Summer issue is March 31, 2026