Very interesting, and Ive been listening to Steiner lectures, like Nature and Spirit Beings, and he always talks about man's transformation. Question though, I searched for actual footage or photo of a pelican feeding it's blood but couldn't find any. Then AI says it could be a misinterpretation of them feeding regurgitated fish.
It's a metaphorical symbol, not an actual habit of the pelican's.Though some have thought it may have originated in the habit where pelicans press their bills into their pouches to empty fish or preen; from a distance, this may have looked like self-wounding.
ok, thanks. I searched for examples of sacrifice like this and there are mother spiders that sacrifice itself for the babies- matriphagy: https://youtu.be/h8z2RrBZbiQ?si=nE_4nlENttUV5zeK , but not as elegant as the pelican symbology!
The phrase, "moral striving" Tom quotes when paraphrasing Steiner's idea that we are developing three qualities of soul (imagination inspiration intuition) isn't the best translation for the concept. I think it's better to understand it as 'the self-evident knowledge gained from inspirations'.
Fascinating article, whether or not it is naturalistically accurate.
Appreciate your insight Gregory! You're right that Steiner’s phrasing carries nuances depending on the context, moral striving speaks to the preparatory work, but the fruits are indeed the kind of self-evident knowledge you're describing. Thanks for reading and engaging. Glad you enjoyed the article!
Wow. This is an amazing piece of scholarship… Thank you! I thought I knew a lot about the Pelican as a symbol in the Church, but your piece takes the discussion to a whole new level (at least for me). Every year, American White pelicans migrate south from the Great Plains of Alberta, Canada, and the northwest US here to Lakeland, FL (my home). This year over 60 birds (at least) made the journey to Florida before returning to their “native” haunts in the north. They are majestic, gregarious birds. I will look at them with new reverence after reading this article.
Thanks for your kind words and the info on pelicans, they are majestic birds. Everything that brings us closer to a reverence for the astonishing intelligence and character in Nature is worthy of consideration. Bird migration is fascinating, one must ponder, where is the relationship between the individual bird's self care and the actions of the group soul overseeing things like migration, murmurations, etc.
Very interesting, and Ive been listening to Steiner lectures, like Nature and Spirit Beings, and he always talks about man's transformation. Question though, I searched for actual footage or photo of a pelican feeding it's blood but couldn't find any. Then AI says it could be a misinterpretation of them feeding regurgitated fish.
It's a metaphorical symbol, not an actual habit of the pelican's.Though some have thought it may have originated in the habit where pelicans press their bills into their pouches to empty fish or preen; from a distance, this may have looked like self-wounding.
ok, thanks. I searched for examples of sacrifice like this and there are mother spiders that sacrifice itself for the babies- matriphagy: https://youtu.be/h8z2RrBZbiQ?si=nE_4nlENttUV5zeK , but not as elegant as the pelican symbology!
The phrase, "moral striving" Tom quotes when paraphrasing Steiner's idea that we are developing three qualities of soul (imagination inspiration intuition) isn't the best translation for the concept. I think it's better to understand it as 'the self-evident knowledge gained from inspirations'.
Fascinating article, whether or not it is naturalistically accurate.
Appreciate your insight Gregory! You're right that Steiner’s phrasing carries nuances depending on the context, moral striving speaks to the preparatory work, but the fruits are indeed the kind of self-evident knowledge you're describing. Thanks for reading and engaging. Glad you enjoyed the article!
Wow. This is an amazing piece of scholarship… Thank you! I thought I knew a lot about the Pelican as a symbol in the Church, but your piece takes the discussion to a whole new level (at least for me). Every year, American White pelicans migrate south from the Great Plains of Alberta, Canada, and the northwest US here to Lakeland, FL (my home). This year over 60 birds (at least) made the journey to Florida before returning to their “native” haunts in the north. They are majestic, gregarious birds. I will look at them with new reverence after reading this article.
Thanks for your kind words and the info on pelicans, they are majestic birds. Everything that brings us closer to a reverence for the astonishing intelligence and character in Nature is worthy of consideration. Bird migration is fascinating, one must ponder, where is the relationship between the individual bird's self care and the actions of the group soul overseeing things like migration, murmurations, etc.
Agreed! If you haven’t read it already, may I suggest The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman?
Great, will check out Ackerman's book, looks fascinating. I love looking into animal intelligence.